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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Not a lot at stake, but Nats' series vs. Dodgers will draw attention

Not a lot at stake, but Nats' series vs. Dodgers will draw attention
It's been looming on the schedule for months, a late-season clash between the teams that have held the National League's top two records nearly the entire year. But when the Nationals and Dodgers open their weekend series tonight, there won't be as much on the line as there might have been not long ago. The combination of the Nationals' recent surge and the Dodgers' recent slide came together to take some juice away from this series. The Nats, of course, already clinched the NL East title...
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Nationals ride rookies, Roark to 5-2 win over Braves (updated)

Nationals ride rookies, Roark to 5-2 win over Braves (updated)
In an effort to give many of his regulars a well-deserved breather, Dusty Baker has fielded several lineups recently featuring more rookies and backups than veterans and starters. Not that it has hurt his team's chances of winning. Quite the contrary. Tonight's "B" lineup was plenty effective at the plate against the Braves, and with Tanner Roark tossing another quality start before handing the game over to his bullpen, the Nationals earned a comfortable 5-2 victory to avoid a series sweep...
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Harper ramps up rehab, runs around warning track

Harper ramps up rehab, runs around warning track
Bryce Harper sightings on the field at Nationals Park these days generate the kind of attention usually reserved in this town for a baby panda at the National Zoo. You never know for sure when they're going to happen, and when they do everybody scrambles for their phones to take photos and video of this rare event. So it was this afternoon when Harper emerged in the right field corner during Nationals batting practice, alongside Harvey Sharman, the club's director of medical services. The...
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Game 146 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 146 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The Nationals tonight are trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Braves, not to mention falling to 7-9 overall against them this season. All of that would be a surprise, given the respective state of clubs, but it does show you that Atlanta is making some strides in its rebuild and the Nats (for whatever reason) haven't enjoyed as much success against these guys as other division foes. It'll be Tanner Roark's job to pitch well enough to help change that downward trend. Roark has been...
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Stacking up the NL Cy Young Award contenders

Stacking up the NL Cy Young Award contenders
Max Scherzer and Dusty Baker have offered up their explanation for what happened in the seventh inning Wednesday night at Nationals Park. Whether you want to accept their explanation for pushing Scherzer to 116 pitches, even though it might have cost the Nationals the game and may have extended their ace too far, is up to you. We're not going to debate that again here this morning. The purpose of this post is to examine how that decision may impact Scherzer's chances of winning his second...
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Why the Nats let Scherzer throw 116 pitches in a September loss

Why the Nats let Scherzer throw 116 pitches in a September loss
It's easy to look at the final three weeks of the regular season, with a division title already wrapped up and a heavy emphasis on ensuring everyone's healthy for the postseason, as a meaningless string of games for the Nationals. Max Scherzer vehemently disagrees with that notion. And tonight's game, which ended as an ugly 8-2 loss to the Braves, provided evidence of his point of view. Not in spite of the fact he threw 116 pitches, the last 19 of them after he easily could have been pulled...
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Disastrous seventh inning sends Nats to 8-2 loss to Braves

Disastrous seventh inning sends Nats to 8-2 loss to Braves
Dusty Baker has left Max Scherzer on the mound deep into games more than once this season, justifying his decisions based on the fact the league's reigning Cy Young Award winner is better than anyone he could summon from his bullpen. Earlier this year, given the state of the Nationals' relief corps, it was a defensible decision. And during a pennant race, there's logic to the move. But with the Nats having already wrapped up a division title and now just trying to keep everyone healthy...
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Harper begins running, taking light swings; Werth returns

Harper begins running, taking light swings; Werth returns
Bryce Harper has taken a few more small but important steps in his return from a significant knee and calf injury, offering a more encouraging outlook for his chances to return to the Nationals in time for the postseason. Harper has begun light hitting and running drills, according to manager Dusty Baker, adding to his earlier throwing sessions as his first attempts at baseball activities since he injured himself Aug. 12 trying to beat out a groundball to first base. "He's hit some off the...
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