Nats' sloppy performance results in 3-2 loss (updated)

Nats' sloppy performance results in 3-2 loss (updated)
ATLANTA - Tanner Roark pitched well, but not well enough to overcome some sloppy defense behind him, a lack of offense from his teammates and a bizarre wholesale lineup change by the Nationals in the eighth inning. The end result was a 3-2 loss to the Braves, who thanks to R.A. Dickey's pitching gem won the last of the 19 head-to-head matchups between these division opponents for 2017. (The Nats narrowly won the season series, 10-9.) The Nationals trailed much of the night in this one, unable...
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Drew, Goodwin push to return (Nats lose 3-2)

Drew, Goodwin push to return (Nats lose 3-2)
ATLANTA - Stephen Drew knows the odds are stacked against him. He hasn't played in two months, and he still almost certainly needs surgery this winter for a tear in his abdomen. But the veteran infielder has been able to ramp up his workouts over the last week, and today in addition to taking batting practice he also ran extensively at SunTrust Park. All that leaves Drew with one simple goal in mind: Try to make it back to play again for the Nationals before the end of the regular...
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Game 152 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 152 lineups: Nats at Braves
ATLANTA - At this late stage of the season, most matchups against division opponents are going to feature familiar foes on the mound. And tonight is about as extreme an example as it gets: The Nationals are facing R.A. Dickey for the fifth time this year. The ageless knuckleballer has been one of the few constants in the Braves rotation, but this hasn't been a very good matchup for him. In his four previous starts against the Nats, he's 0-2 with a 5.92 ERA, having surrendered five homers in...
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Home field advantage, 100 wins still on the table for Nats

Home field advantage, 100 wins still on the table for Nats
ATLANTA - Just when you thought discussion of the Nationals ending up with the best record in the National League was finished, those wacky Dodgers have gone and brought up the possibility once again. In losing three in a row to the lowly Phillies, Los Angeles has fallen back into its late season slide. This supposed super-team, which only a month ago was on pace to challenge the all-time record of 116 wins, has now lost 15 of its last 20. And thanks to the Nationals' three-game winning...
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Nats walk their way through late rally to beat Braves (updated)

Nats walk their way through late rally to beat Braves (updated)
ATLANTA - They labored all night to even give themselves scoring opportunities. Until finally the Nationals figured out the best way to score runs against the Braves pitching staff: Stop swinging. Four consecutive walks issued by Atlanta's bullpen - three of them via Arodys Vizcaíno with the bases loaded - highlighted a wild, six-run rally in the top of the eighth that turned a tight Nationals deficit into a comfortable 7-3 victory at SunTrust Park. There were some actual hits during the...
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Team weighs options for timing of Harper's return (Nats win 7-3)

Team weighs options for timing of Harper's return (Nats win 7-3)
ATLANTA - The way Bryce Harper has progressed and looked in his on-field workouts the last few days, it's only natural to wonder if the Nationals slugger may be on the verge of returning from his scary-looking left leg injury. That may prove to be the case, but manager Dusty Baker also has some words of caution for those who are ready to throw Harper right back into his starting lineup. "You don't want to jump the gun too much just because of what we've seen," Baker said. "The tendency is...
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Game 151 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 151 lineups: Nats at Braves
ATLANTA - They may not have a realistic shot at surpassing the Dodgers for the National League's best record, but the Nationals do still have a realistic shot at something else before the season is over: the best record in franchise history. The 2012 club, which went 98-64, currently holds that title. The 2017 club currently sits at 91-59. So in order to set the record, the Nats need to go 8-4 the rest of the way. They'd need to go 9-3 to get to 100 wins. The process continues tonight with...
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Turner breaks club record with 42nd stolen base of season

Turner breaks club record with 42nd stolen base of season
ATLANTA - From the moment he made his debut with the Nationals in 2015, Trea Turner seemed destined to one day set the club record for stolen bases in a single season. All the lightning-fast infielder needed were enough time and enough at-bats to break Alfonso Soriano's record 41 steals in 2006. Turns out Turner didn't even need that much time or that many at-bats to do it. On Tuesday night, in only his 88th game of the season, Turner matched and then surpassed Soriano's mark. He stole 42...
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Scherzer pushes himself again as Nats beat Braves (updated)

Scherzer pushes himself again as Nats beat Braves (updated)
ATLANTA - Max Scherzer pushed himself into the seventh inning against the Braves with his pitch count up over 110 once again. And this time, the Nationals ace walked away with a win for his extra effort. Six days after he fell apart while trying to build up his pitch count against Atlanta, Scherzer retired the side in the seventh, walking off the mound having thrown 112 pitches and having helped lead his team to a 4-2 victory at SunTrust Park. "This is the type of start you do hang your hat...
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Zimmerman joins 30-100 club again (Nats win 4-2)

Zimmerman joins 30-100 club again (Nats win 4-2)
ATLANTA - Ryan Zimmerman is heating up at the plate again. Perhaps just in time to make it really count. On the heels of a two-homer performance Sunday night against the Dodgers, Zimmerman opened tonight's game against the Braves with two hits, including a double off the wall in right-center and an RBI single that has helped the Nationals take a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning. Zimmerman's double to lead off the top of the second struck the brick wall in right-center at SunTrust Park, nearly...
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Harper bats in simulated game, could be active next week

Harper bats in simulated game, could be active next week
ATLANTA - Bryce Harper faced a couple of live pitchers this afternoon for the first time since he injured his left leg 5 1/2 weeks ago, yet another encouraging development that could allow the Nationals slugger to return in time to play part of the final week of the regular season as a tune-up for the postseason. Harper participated in a simulated game at SunTrust Park, with a pair of Nationals prospects (Sterling Sharp and Brigham Hill) brought up from the instructional league in Florida to...
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Game 150 lineups: Nats at Braves (Murphy scratched)

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Braves (Murphy scratched)
ATLANTA - Hello from SunTrust Park, here right smack dab in the middle of Unincorporated Atlanta. Some more development has sprung up around the ballpark since the last time the Nationals played here in May, but the Braves' new suburban home still feels far from complete. The Nats open their final road trip of the regular season tonight with the first of three games against Atlanta. And the opener features a pitching rematch from last week's series in D.C.: Max Scherzer vs. Luiz Gohara. That...
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Scoreless streak ends, but Strasburg still in top form

Scoreless streak ends, but Strasburg still in top form
It was a particularly cruel way for the streak to end, with a teammate doing everything he could to make a highlight-reel play only to have the ball bounce off his glove and fall to the ground as a runner crossed the plate. Stephen Strasburg hadn't given up a run in 35 innings. And that's how an opponent finally did it to him? "Nah, it was going to happen eventually," the right-hander shrugged. "I was just trying to minimize the damage." Strasburg did minimize the damage Sunday night....
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Zimmerman powers Nats to victory over Dodgers

Zimmerman powers Nats to victory over Dodgers
When the Nationals needed big-time performances against a premier opponent to avoid what would have been a discomforting series sweep, they turned to a pair of tried-and-true veterans who desperately want to deliver for this team when it really matters. Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg delivered tonight to beat the Dodgers. And both would like nothing more than to deliver a couple weeks from now when the calendar shifts to October. Zimmerman's three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth...
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Harper takes full BP session on field, says timing now is key

Harper takes full BP session on field, says timing now is key
The crack of the bat said it all. This wasn't a sound anyone had heard around the Nationals batting cage in five weeks. This was the sound only Bryce Harper makes when he connects with a ball during batting practice. And this being Harper's first on-field BP session since his scary-looking left leg injury on Aug. 12, it drew plenty of attention. From general manager Mike Rizzo, hitting coach Rick Schu and other team personnel standing behind the cage. From reporters and photographers watching...
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Game 149 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

Game 149 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers
There may not be all that much riding on this weekend's series, but the Nationals certainly don't want to be swept by the Dodgers. That wouldn't be very good for morale, no matter the significance of these games on what will occur next month. The good news: Stephen Strasburg is on the mound tonight, and nobody in baseball has pitched better than he has over the last month-plus. Strasburg carries a 34-inning scoreless streak into tonight's game, and all those zeroes haven't been fluky. The...
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After another ragged start, Jackson goes back to drawing board

After another ragged start, Jackson goes back to drawing board
Edwin Jackson has authored one of the best feel-good stories of the summer for the Nationals, an unlikely source of competent pitching when the club desperately needed someone to step in and replace the injured Joe Ross. Those who have watched the right-hander throughout his long and winding career, though, have known he's always in danger of regressing back into the form that has forced his career to be long and winding. And over the last few weeks, those fears have come to fruition. It came...
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Nationals, Jackson thumped by Dodgers in series opener (updated)

Nationals, Jackson thumped by Dodgers in series opener (updated)
There was an undeniable buzz at Nationals Park tonight, with the National League's two best clubs opening a weekend series and drawing extra media attention and a boisterous crowd of 37,508 to South Capitol Street. Three innings later, with the Dodgers up seven runs and Edwin Jackson taking an early trip to the showers, that buzz had devolved into a soft hum. That was the sound of a lopsided 7-0 result in a game that, truth be told, probably didn't mean nearly as much as everyone wanted it to...
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Lobaton shakes off ankle injury, but Severino making a case

Lobaton shakes off ankle injury, but Severino making a case
When he was trying to shake off the pitch that caught him square on the left ankle in the bottom of the second inning Thursday night, Jose Lobaton was asked by Nationals director of athletic training Paul Lessard if he could walk. In that moment, Lobaton honestly couldn't, so he told Lessard he needed to come out of the game. That justifiably had the Nationals concerned about the long-term health of their No. 2 catcher, but those fears were alleviated when X-rays on Lobaton's ankle came back...
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Game 147 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

Game 147 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers
The Nationals haven't played any truly meaningful pennant-race games in mid-to-late September in any of the last six seasons. They've always either clinched the division or been too far back to have a realistic chance, leaving these last two weeks of the regular season to relatively meaningless ball. This weekend, then, provides the closest thing we may experience to exciting pennant-race baseball. The Dodgers are in town, and so this is a showdown between the National League's top two...
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