Game 158 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 158 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where the Nationals and Phillies wrap up their season series tonight. Many thanks to Byron Kerr for covering the last two games; he's back home tonight hosting "Nats Xtra" on MASN, so I made the drive to Philadelphia to cover this final road game of the regular season. The Nationals have been very good away from home this year, with a 50-30 road record that is best in the National League. And, get this: If the Nats win tonight, they'd become the...
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What can Nats reasonably expect from Harper in return?

What can Nats reasonably expect from Harper in return?
NEW YORK - When he slipped on first base, felt his left knee buckle and tumbled awkwardly to the ground in the bottom of the first inning Aug. 12 at Nationals Park, Bryce Harper didn't know if he'd play again this season. By the next morning, once an MRI confirmed he had not suffered any ligament damage, only a significant bone bruise and calf strain, Harper's outlook was a whole lot rosier. Even so, Harper and the Nationals knew they had a tight window to get healed, get back in baseball...
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Nationals close out Mets, now ready for Harper's return

Nationals close out Mets, now ready for Harper's return
NEW YORK - The Nationals lineup is on the verge of being whole again, with Bryce Harper having done everything required to recover from the scary leg injury he suffered six weeks ago and now poised to come off the disabled list. The club isn't making it official yet - "We're still trying to make up our minds," manager Dusty Baker said. "We'll let you know tomorrow." - but sources familiar with the plan confirmed that (barring something unforeseen) Harper will be active for Monday...
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When will NLDS rotation order be set? (Nats win 3-2)

When will NLDS rotation order be set? (Nats win 3-2)
NEW YORK - We've reached the point in the season when it's time for playoff-bound clubs to begin lining up their rotations for October. The Nationals already know which four starters will take the mound for the National League Division Series. The order in which they'll do so, however, has not yet been made public. It is perhaps notable, though, how the Nats currently have their starters lined up during the final week of the regular season. Stephen Strasburg pitched Saturday night against...
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Game 155 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 155 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - Though their chances of securing home field advantage throughout the postseason are slim - they still trail the Dodgers by 4 1/2 games - the Nationals are on the verge of securing home field advantage at least for the National League Division Series. They enter play today with a seven-game lead over the Cubs, with eight to go. Thus, their magic number to clinch home field advantage for the first round is two, and if things go right, that could be locked up this afternoon. In order to...
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Lind reaches 200-homer plateau, thanks to key blast in win

Lind reaches 200-homer plateau, thanks to key blast in win
NEW YORK - On the surface, it may not seem like that big of a deal, given the rate the home runs fly out of ballparks these days. But let's pause for a moment to give Adam Lind some credit, because even in these inflated times, 200 career homers is nothing to gloss over. Lind's opposite-field, two-run shot during the Nationals' 4-3, 10-inning win over the Mets on Saturday night allowed him to reach that milestone. And the 34-year-old slugger, while not one to show off, did admit this was an...
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Murphy takes down Mets again, this time in extras (updated)

Murphy takes down Mets again, this time in extras (updated)
NEW YORK - They waited much of the night for somebody - anybody - to deliver the big hit that would break a game that had been deadlocked far too long. In the end, who better to deliver that hit for the Nationals against the Mets than Daniel Murphy? Murphy's leadoff homer in the top of the 10th lifted the Nats to a 4-3 victory and added yet another chapter to his lengthy book of damage inflicted against his former team. Murphy's blast to center field off right-hander Jacob Rhame was his ninth...
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Harper just waiting for green light to return (Nats win 4-3 in 10)

Harper just waiting for green light to return (Nats win 4-3 in 10)
NEW YORK - Bryce Harper has taken batting practice multiple times. He has run the bases. He has shagged fly balls. He has worked on throws from the outfield. He has hit in two simulated games against Nationals minor league pitchers. At this point, there's only one thing left for Harper to do: play in an actual game. And at this point, there's only one thing left for the Nationals to decide: when to let their star slugger do that. That decision hadn't been made as of late this afternoon, or...
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Kelley waiting for more tests but confident elbow is sound

Kelley waiting for more tests but confident elbow is sound
NEW YORK - Shawn Kelley is confident his twice-repaired elbow ligament is sound. Beyond that, the veteran reliever doesn't yet know the extent to which his arm is injured, or how long it will take to return to the mound. Kelley had an MRI this morning and received an initial diagnosis of inflammation and nerve problems in his right forearm, explaining in part why his arm went numb while pitching the bottom of the eighth Friday night for the Nationals against the Mets. The 33-year-old will...
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Game 154 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 154 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - First, the most important news of the day: Bryce Harper (along with Brian Goodwin and Stephen Drew) batted in another simulated game today, facing Nationals minor leaguers Steven Fuentes and Alex Troop. By all indications (i.e., from what I could tell from my vantage point up in the press box) things went well, which means it should be decision time for the Nats with Harper, who doesn't seem to have any more hurdles to cross before playing in an actual game. Stay tuned for any...
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Looking at NLDS roster cases for Jackson, Robles, De Aza

Looking at NLDS roster cases for Jackson, Robles, De Aza
NEW YORK - It's no secret the Nationals are using the final two weeks of the regular season to make some final evaluations of players who are in the mix for the handful of postseason roster spots up for grabs. Which makes games like Friday night's at Citi Field - a 7-6 loss to the Mets - meaningful, but in a different way than most have been all season long. "We have the luxury," manager Dusty Baker said. "We don't like to lose, but we have the luxury of trying to find out what they can...
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Robles' efforts can't make up for pitching woes in 7-6 loss

Robles' efforts can't make up for pitching woes in 7-6 loss
NEW YORK - They played the kids, and some of them provided some uplifting moments. But the Nationals lost tonight's series opener to the Mets, 7-6, not because of anything their rookies did but because of what two struggling veteran pitchers did. Starter Edwin Jackson continued his September tailspin, giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings - five of those runs coming in the bottom of the fifth alone - to turn a big lead into a tie game. Joe Blanton then surrendered the go-ahead run in the bottom...
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Rookies get chance to play, make NLDS roster case (Nats lose 7-6)

Rookies get chance to play, make NLDS roster case (Nats lose 7-6)
NEW YORK - Dusty Baker had a logical reason for fielding a lineup entirely of backups and rookies tonight against the Mets. Given the fact the Nationals didn't arrive in New York til 3:30 a.m. following their series finale in Atlanta, the veteran manager thought it would be a good time to let his regulars rest. Which isn't to say Baker is sacrificing this game. He made that perfectly clear. "Number one, I'm not putting them in to paint," he said. "I'm putting them in to win." Baker has...
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Game 153 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 153 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - You want to see the kids? Well, tonight you get to see the kids. After playing his regulars three straight nights in Atlanta, Dusty Baker is giving them the series opener against the Mets off, instead going with a lineup full of youth, energy ... and inexperience. We'll see how that pays off against New York right-hander Robert Gsellman, who has been touched up for 13 runs and 20 hits in nine innings against the Nationals this season. Edwin Jackson, meanwhile, gets the start against...
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Why Nats' wholesale lineup changes caused mass confusion

Why Nats' wholesale lineup changes caused mass confusion
ATLANTA - Everything was moving along nicely. The Nationals had just scored a run in the top of the eighth, cutting the Braves' lead to 3-2. They weren't necessarily going to complete the comeback and win the game, but neither were they going to incite mass chaos on the field that led to an eight-minute delay ... Er, maybe they were. What transpired between the time R.A. Dickey recorded the final out of the top of the eighth and the time Sammy Solís threw his first pitch of the bottom of...
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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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