Harper turns it up a notch with near-cycle vs. Trout's Angels

Harper turns it up a notch with near-cycle vs. Trout's Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Maybe it was the presence of Mike Trout in the opposing dugout. Maybe it was the knowledge he was getting the next day off. Maybe it was just another ballgame and the opportunity to show off his skills like he does so many other nights. Whatever the case, it was hard to watch Tuesday night's game at Angel Stadium and not believe Bryce Harper was particularly motivated to do something special. And Harper indeed did something special during the Nationals' 4-3 victory. He went...
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Trio of newcomers pitch Nationals to tense win over Angels

Trio of newcomers pitch Nationals to tense win over Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Dusty Baker handed the ball to three pitchers during tonight's 4-3 victory over the Angels. Not one was a member of the active roster until 2:30 p.m., each summoned to join this staff at this particular moment in time out of necessity. Edwin Jackson was here because Joe Ross blew out his elbow and suddenly this team with All-Stars anchoring its rotation needed a fifth starter. The 33-year-old journeyman promptly threw seven innings of two-run, three-hit ball to earn his first...
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Fracture and bone bruise keeping Werth out (Nats win 4-3)

Fracture and bone bruise keeping Werth out (Nats win 4-3)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Jayson Werth is back with the Nationals, and that part he likes. But he's not back playing with the Nationals, and likely won't be for some time with his left foot still ailing, and that part he does not like. "It's doing better," Werth said this afternoon. "It's just frustrating because this injury, the bone that's injured is crucial for running." The bone that's injured is the first metatarsal, the large bone at the base of his big toe. And in addition to the bone...
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No designated closer (yet) between Madson and Doolittle

No designated closer (yet) between Madson and Doolittle
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle are both here, both wearing Nationals uniforms - Madson wearing No. 44, Doolittle wearing No. 62 - and both insist they're ready and available for whatever role Dusty Baker envisions for the newly acquired relievers. What roles exactly will those be? Well, the answer for now is a simple-yet-unsatisfying one: Baker doesn't know. Madson and Doolittle certainly will be pitching late innings for the Nationals, particularly when they hold a lead....
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Game 93 lineups: Nats at Angels

Game 93 lineups: Nats at Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Nationals have made only two previous trips to Angel Stadium in their history, and boy were they eventful. In 2005, Frank Robinson (with some help from Jose Guillen) fought Mike Scioscia. In 2011, Davey Johnson returned to a big league dugout for the first time in a decade. Now, in 2017, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson officially join the Nats, and Edwin Jackson officially rejoins the Nats after five years away. The club announced its flurry of roster moves this afternoon....
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Eventful night in Anaheim ahead for ever-changing Nationals

Eventful night in Anaheim ahead for ever-changing Nationals
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Hello from Orange County, home of Disneyland, reality TV stars and - for a quick two nights - the ever-changing Washington Nationals. Fresh off a four-game sweep in Cincinnati, the Nats have made their way west for the second and third legs of a strange road trip to open the season's second half. They'll play two against the Angels, then fly to Phoenix for three with the Diamondbacks before finally heading home for the first time in a long time. There are going to be no...
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Thoughts on the Nationals' blockbuster bullpen trade

Thoughts on the Nationals' blockbuster bullpen trade
We knew it was coming, there wasn't any question about that. We only didn't know when it was coming, whether the Nationals would be able to strike a big deal to address their bullpen early in the summer or whether they would have to wait until the final flurry at the July 31 trade deadline to fix the most glaring hole on their roster. So when it did happen Sunday, it was both surprising and completely predictable, all at the same time. Of course Mike Rizzo and Billy Beane were going to...
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Nationals hope to return recharged after All-Star break

Nationals hope to return recharged after All-Star break
Rarely does anyone ever try to claim the All-Star break came at a bad time. Just about every team in baseball happily takes the four-day midsummer hiatus offered to the entire league, uses that time to rest up physically and mentally and then returns recharged for the second half of the season. The Nationals certainly fall in that category. They limped a bit into the All-Star break, having played 36 games in 38 days, going 19-17 over that span, while also sending five key players to the...
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Solís optioned to Syracuse, weekend rotation announced

Solís optioned to Syracuse, weekend rotation announced
The Nationals will open the second half of their season Friday with at least one change to their roster. Struggling reliever Sammy Solís was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, the club announced today. A corresponding move will be made before Friday's second-half opener in Cincinnati. Solís' demotion comes less than two weeks after he was activated off the disabled list following a long rehab from nerve inflammation in his elbow. The left-hander, who had been out 2 1/2 months, surrendered a...
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Top second-half storylines for the Nationals

Top second-half storylines for the Nationals
As the second half of the season arrives, we have a pretty good idea just what the 2017 Nationals are. This is perhaps the most talented team they've had during their now-six-year run of contention, with an imposing and deep lineup, dominant starters atop the rotation and an experienced and productive bench. This is also, of course, a team with one gigantic hole that could blow the entire thing up: a bullpen that desperately needs a midseason makeover. There's also reason to be concerned...
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Nationals' first-half report card

Nationals' first-half report card
Hope everybody enjoyed the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game the last two nights. One proved to be quite an exciting event. The other proved to be kind of a boring event. But it was nonetheless something to see four Nationals starting for the National League, especially when the camera would pan to the right side of the field and the screen would be awash with curly Ws. Now that the festivities are over, though, it's time for the actual break part of the All-Star break. There are no games on...
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Zimmerman is a "completely different" All-Star eight years later

Zimmerman is a "completely different" All-Star eight years later
It wasn't exactly a joyous occasion for Ryan Zimmerman. Sure, he was excited to be an All-Star for the first time in his career, but his trip to St. Louis for the 2009 Midsummer Classic coincided with several developments that were not to be celebrated. Only five days earlier, Zimmerman's grandmother Ilene had died, forcing him to leave the Nationals and head to North Carolina for her funeral. He rejoined the club in Houston in time for the club's first-half finale - a 5-0 loss, the lone...
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Despite rough stretch, Nationals in strong position at the break

Despite rough stretch, Nationals in strong position at the break
When the Nationals convened at Oakland Coliseum way back on June 2, having just enjoyed a lovely day off in the Bay Area, they knew they were about to begin a particularly difficult and prolonged stretch that would take them right up to the All-Star break. Staring at the Nats at that moment were 20 games in 20 days, then after one day off, another 17 games in 17 games before they at last could enjoy a breather. It was daunting, but this also was a team that not only was playing well but was...
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"Triceps tenderness" ends Ross' afternoon early

"Triceps tenderness" ends Ross' afternoon early
The diminished velocity was noticeable from the outset, with the radar gun at Nationals Park consistently flashing "89" or "88" on Joe Ross' fastballs, with only an occasional "90" or "91" sprinkled in there. But because Ross coasted through his first two innings against the Braves with little trouble, there wasn't much reason for those inside the home dugout to start asking questions. It was the top of the third when the Nationals began to have some concerns about Ross' health, when...
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Nats overcome early Ross departure to beat Braves 10-5

Nats overcome early Ross departure to beat Braves 10-5
For the second straight afternoon, the Nationals lost a starting pitcher by the fourth inning. This time, they still managed to find a way to win. Despite the early departure of Joe Ross, pulled in the top of the fourth with his velocity diminished, the Nationals rode a wave of clutch hits and solid relief work to a 10-5 victory over the Braves to close out the first half of the season on a high note. Matt Wieters drove in three runs, Anthony Rendon drove in two, Ryan Zimmerman and Chris Heisey...
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Roark's relief appearance a small silver lining

Roark's relief appearance a small silver lining
If you're searching for silver linings from Saturday's 13-0 drubbing at the hands of the Braves - an admittedly difficult proposition - how about Tanner Roark's relief appearance? It may not have done anything to help put the Nationals in position to win the game, but on a personal level it was a positive development for Roark, who needed one in the worst way. The end result - three runs allowed in five innings - wasn't especially notable, but Roark looked (and felt) like a much different...
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Game 88 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 88 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The final day of the first half of the 2017 season has arrived, and while it may feel like this day has come quickly, it also comes at the end of a particularly difficult portion of the schedule for the Nationals. They had 37 games scheduled in the last 38 days - one of those was Wednesday night's game that was postponed - and during this time they've seen Jayson Werth, Trea Turner, Michael A. Taylor, Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley all land on the disabled list. The Nationals' record during...
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After disastrous relief appearance, Solís back to square one

After disastrous relief appearance, Solís back to square one
Saturday's game was already out of hand before Sammy Solís ever took the mound at Nationals Park. The Braves held a 9-0 lead after eight innings, so this was supposed to be nothing more than an opportunity for Solís to get some work in and further distance himself from a long stint on the disabled list. And then over the course of one agonizing inning of (to be honest) meaningless baseball, Solís wound up creating more questions about his status and what the Nationals should do with...
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Strasburg "fine" after comebacker, worst loss of season

Strasburg "fine" after comebacker, worst loss of season
First things first: Stephen Strasburg says he feels fine after taking a comebacker off his right hip in the top of the third inning today, and says that won't impact his ability to pitch in Tuesday night's All-Star Game. The decision to remove Strasburg from the game at the end of that inning, with the Braves already leading by six runs and on their way to a 13-0 drubbing of the Nationals, was made by manager Dusty Baker and pitching coach Mike Maddux, not the pitcher himself. Though Baker...
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Nationals battered by Braves during first shutout loss of 2017

Nationals battered by Braves during first shutout loss of 2017
They didn't get the start they needed from Stephen Strasburg. They didn't get the defense they needed to aid their All-Star pitcher. And they didn't get the offense they typically have produced against Julio Teheran. The Nationals didn't do much right this afternoon, and so the ensuing result - a 13-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Braves - shouldn't come as much of a surprise. In a fairly uninspired performance, the Nationals got down early to Atlanta and never put forth a serious...
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