Nats re-up with Single-A affiliates, leaving only Triple-A left

Nats re-up with Single-A affiliates, leaving only Triple-A left
Though the Nationals are still seeking a new Triple-A affiliate for the 2019 season, they already know their Double-A and both Single-A affiliates are going to stay exactly as they have more than a decade. The Nats announced new two-year extensions with both high-Single-A Potomac and low-Single-A Hagerstown on Monday, continuing their longstanding affiliations with both clubs through 2020. Neither announcement was a surprise; the Nationals have enjoyed a strong relationship with each club for...
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Harper delivers late to propel Nats to 10-inning win (updated)

Harper delivers late to propel Nats to 10-inning win (updated)
Whether the remaining month in the Nationals' 2018 season carries significance from the team's standpoint or not, there are individual performances aplenty to care about. Such is life when your roster includes a Cy Young Award candidate, a Rookie of the Year candidate and perhaps the final weeks of Bryce Harper's tenure in Washington. So while today's 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Cardinals probably won't make much difference in a National League playoff race the Nats have unofficially...
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Robles, Ross will be among Tuesday's call-ups (3-3 after nine)

Robles, Ross will be among Tuesday's call-ups (3-3 after nine)
The Nationals' already-crowded outfield is going to get more crowded Tuesday when Victor Robles is promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to make his first big league appearance of the season. And with Joe Ross also making his return from Tommy John surgery, the Nats will have some pitching decisions to make. Though the club hasn't formally announced its full complement of September call-ups, manager Davey Martinez did acknowledge today that Robles will be among the players promoted following the...
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Nats prospect Romero has Tommy John surgery

Nats prospect Romero has Tommy John surgery
The Nationals' long-term pitching plans took another hit last week when prospect Seth Romero had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow. Romero, the Nationals' first-round pick in the 2017 draft and fifth-rated prospect entering the season according to Baseball America, is expected to miss the entire 2019 season while recovering from surgery. The procedure was performed Thursday in Los Angeles by orthopedist Neal ElAttrache, according to a Nats spokesman. It's a...
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Game 138 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

Game 138 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals
Homecoming Week at Nationals Park continues. First, it was Gio Gonzalez and the Brewers. Coming up Thursday it'll be Daniel Murphy, Brandon Kintzler and the Cubs. But today it's Matt Adams and the Cardinals in town. Adams is batting third and starting at first base this afternoon, but it's been a slow start for Big City in his return to St. Louis. He's 3-for-21 with zero extra-base hits since the trade two weeks ago. Adams and his cohorts will be taking their hacks against Max Scherzer, who...
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Williams' scoreless debut a bright spot in loss

Williams' scoreless debut a bright spot in loss
The lasting image of Sunday's game for most will be of the two towering home runs surrendered by Jefry Rodriguez and Tim Collins during a seven-run fifth inning that turned the Nationals' series finale against the Brewers upside-down. For Austen Williams, the lasting image will be of the sixth and seventh innings. Yes, the game already flipped to the opponent's favor, with Milwaukee holding a 9-4 lead it would not relinquish. But the score doesn't matter so much when a young pitcher makes...
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Disastrous fifth dooms Nats during 9-4 loss to Brewers (updated)

Disastrous fifth dooms Nats during 9-4 loss to Brewers (updated)
There are any number of reasons, many of them having already been outlined over the last month, for the Nationals' hugely disappointing 2018 season. But if anyone was having trouble remembering, two of them were on full display today for all to see during a calamitous top of the fifth that proved the decisive frame of a 9-4 loss to the Brewers. The Nationals' pitching staff - most notably the back end of the rotation and the left-handed portion of the bullpen - have been flaws all along. So,...
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Fedde to start Tuesday, Ross coming soon (Nats down 9-4)

Fedde to start Tuesday, Ross coming soon (Nats down 9-4)
The Nationals have several options to fill Gio Gonzalez's open rotation slot over the season's final month, and they may take a look at all of them over the course of September. First up, though, will be Erick Fedde. Fedde, who has been out since July 4 with shoulder inflammation, will start Tuesday against the Cardinals, the first time the Nationals need a replacement for Gonzalez after the veteran lefty was traded to Milwaukee this weekend.fed The right-hander, who is eligible to come off...
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After another sim game, Doolittle on track to return this week

After another sim game, Doolittle on track to return this week
It may come too late to help the Nationals make a last-ditch postseason push, but it does appear Sean Doolittle will be closing games for them for the bulk of the September schedule. Doolittle faced live hitters again this morning in a simulated game at Nationals Park, and barring any complications he's likely to be activated off the disabled list within the next few days. "He looks good," manager Davey Martinez said. "He'll get a day (off) tomorrow, we'll reevaluate him and hopefully...
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Game 137 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

Game 137 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers
The Nationals and Brewers didn't get much sleep last night, so these will be some weary teams that take the field this afternoon for the series finale. The good news: Though it's going to be hot and humid, the chance of rain appears to be minimal, some welcome relief after what happened Friday and Saturday nights. The Nats are going for a series victory, one that would not even be possible if not for their eighth-inning rally last night, with Juan Soto's bases-loaded single proving the...
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Doolittle encouraged after pitching in simulated game

Doolittle encouraged after pitching in simulated game
Having now traded or lost to season-ending injury three different closers, the Nationals could desperately use Sean Doolittle pitching the ninth inning for them again. At long last, it appears as though the All-Star closer is close to making his return from the disabled list. Doolittle threw a 15-pitch simulated game to teammates Michael A. Taylor and Andrew Stevenson Friday afternoon and emerged feeling encouraged about how his injured left foot felt. "I was very happy with it," he said. "I...
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Fighting tears, Gonzalez recalls "emotional" final day with Nats

Fighting tears, Gonzalez recalls "emotional" final day with Nats
Gio Gonzalez walked into the press conference room at Nationals Park from the home side, strolling through the same door Nats managers past and present emerge from every day. On his head, though, was a navy cap with a gold letter "M" above a sprig of barley. Covering his torso was a hoodie with the script "Brewers" across the front. It was nearly 11 p.m., the end of a long and strange day that saw Gonzalez watch from the dugout as the Nationals (the team he made 213 starts for over the last...
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As soon-to-be-traded Gonzalez watches, Nats fall to Brewers

As soon-to-be-traded Gonzalez watches, Nats fall to Brewers
They played a ballgame tonight at Nationals Park, the first of 28 remaining ballgames in a season that - it certainly seems safe to now say - will not extend into October. Gio Gonzalez spent the majority of it watching from the dugout, chatting and smiling with teammates like it was any other game, all the while knowing it would be the last time he would watch a game from that particular dugout wearing that particular uniform. Gonzalez officially will become a member of the Brewers later this...
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Source: Nats sending Gonzalez to Brewers

Source: Nats sending Gonzalez to Brewers
As the clock ticks toward 11:59 p.m., the Nationals aren't done trading away veterans to other clubs seeking some help for the stretch run. The Nats have a deal in place to send Gio Gonzalez to the Brewers, a source familiar with the transaction confirmed just minutes before those two teams opened a three-game series on South Capitol Street, bringing an abrupt end to the left-hander's seven-year tenure in Washington. The trade, which was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, isn't...
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As Madson heads to L.A., Nats cope with summer of trades

As Madson heads to L.A., Nats cope with summer of trades
Ryan Madson said he was surprised. So did Davey Martinez. Truth be told, neither should have been shocked that the Nationals traded Madson to the Dodgers today, not when considering the situation this team is now in on the final day players can be dealt and still be eligible for their new club's postseason roster. "No, I was surprised," Madson told reporters during a brief session as he prepared to leave Nationals Park and catch a flight to Los Angeles. "I've been working all day. Have to...
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Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers
An August to forget comes to a close tonight when the Nationals host the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series (weather permitting). And it will close with another big-name veteran no longer part of the roster after Ryan Madson was traded to the Dodgers for a minor league right-hander. Madson had made only one appearance since returning from his back injury, so the Nats bullpen has become used to functioning without him. But it's nonetheless striking to know neither he nor Kelvin...
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Nats send Madson to Dodgers for minor league pitcher

Nats send Madson to Dodgers for minor league pitcher
The Nationals made the latest in a string of late-summer moves to deal away soon-to-be-free-agents this afternoon, sending reliever Ryan Madson to the Dodgers for minor league right-hander Andrew Istler just hours before Major League Baseball's pseudo-deadline to trade players who have been placed on revocable waivers. Madson heads to Los Angeles after an up-and-down season in Washington, one in which he was counted on to serve as the club's primary setup man but struggled to stay healthy and...
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Nationals' 2019 spring training schedule released

Nationals' 2019 spring training schedule released
There are 4 1/2 weeks to go in the 2018 regular season, not to mention a month's worth of postseason games for those franchises fortunate enough to advance, but Major League Baseball has already unveiled the entire 2019 schedule, including spring training now. MLB released the Grapefruit League and Cactus League schedules this afternoon, far earlier than has been typical in previous years. It's perhaps appropriate, then, that the spring schedule will start and conclude early as well. With...
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More on a lopsided win, Herrera's injury and Harper's pinch-hit

More on a lopsided win, Herrera's injury and Harper's pinch-hit
More thoughts, observations and reactions from Sunday's 15-0 drubbing of the Mets at Citi Field ... * This was yet another game that made you shake your head and try to figure out why this team has been so erratic all season. Clearly, the Nationals have the talent to win games like this on a regular basis. Why, though, haven't they been able to do it on a more consistent basis? Or, at least, play just well enough to win some more close games? Something about these Nationals allows them to...
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Nats end drought with 15-0 win, lose Herrera to injury (updated)

Nats end drought with 15-0 win, lose Herrera to injury (updated)
NEW YORK - At 10:51 p.m. Wednesday, Ryan Zimmerman launched a drive to right-center field that - thanks to a replay review reversal - gave the Nationals a walk-off win over the Phillies. Eighty-eight hours and one minute after that uplifting moment, Trea Turner scampered home from third base on Juan Soto's groundout to first, pumped his fist and was welcomed back to the dugout with high-fives and smiles. The streak was over. After 32 consecutive zeroes on the scoreboard, the Nationals finally...
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