Jonathan Papelbon is back in the Nationals bullpen, but the identity of the player removed from the roster to clear a spot for the veteran closer was a surprise: Michael A. Taylor.
The Nationals chose to option Taylor to Triple-A Syracuse before this morning's Independence Day game against the Brewers, activating Papelbon off the disabled list and giving them - for the moment - a 13-man pitching staff and a short bench.
Papelbon had been out since June 12 with a strained right ribcage muscle,...
And so the baseball season is now half-complete. (Or is it half-unfinished?)
Whatever your perspective, this much you must admit: The Nationals are pretty good. After last night's dramatic, 14-inning victory over the Reds, they now boast a 49-32 record. That's the third-best record in the National League, the fifth-best in the majors. And it's good enough for a six-game lead in the division.
It's also the equivalent of a 98-win pace, which few could find fault with, even the most...
Six full seasons in the major leagues has left Ben Revere with some important perspective on the sport he plays for a living.
"Baseball sucks," the veteran outfielder said. "It absolutely sucks. You ask Jayson Werth - he's been in the game 100 years - and he says it sucks. But it really does. It's frustrating.
"I've had games where I hit four missiles, or four hard-hit balls right at people, and your average goes down. Then there will be games where I hit four bloopers, break my bat...
They played until it was too late for fireworks and too late for many fans to catch the Metro home. But those who stuck it out at Nationals Park at least got to see the home team win in dramatic fashion.
Ben Revere launched a double off the wall in right-center with two outs in the bottom of the 14th inning, scoring Danny Espinosa from second base and giving the Nationals a 3-2 victory over the Reds in a game that took 4 hours, 30 minutes to complete. And that was after a 35-minute rain delay...
One night after their 13-run explosion, the Nationals find themselves in a bit more of a pitchers' duel so far tonight against the Reds.
Tanner Roark and Anthony DeSclafani each have allowed just one run through the game's first four innings, avoiding the kind of crooked-number frames that defined Thursday night's 13-4 Nats rout.
The Nationals struck first, manufacturing a run in the bottom of the first via Ben Revere's leadoff single, Bryce Harper's base hit to right-center and Daniel...
The Nationals announced the signing of pitcher Dane Dunning, the second of their two first-round picks, the final significant member of this year's draft class that had yet to come to terms.
Dunning received a $2 million signing bonus, according to a club source, which is just below slot value for the 29th selection in this year's draft.
A 6-foot-4 right-hander from the University of Florida, Dunning held off signing until now in part because he was still pitching for the Gators in the...
The Nationals are a day closer to Sunday's game, but they are no closer to naming their starting pitcher for that afternoon's series finale against the Reds.
Stephen Strasburg continues to progress well from the upper back strain that prevented him from making his last two starts, and the right-hander has expressed his desire to take the mound. The club, though, has yet to decide whether to give the ball to Strasburg or to take the more cautious route and give rookie Lucas Giolito his second...
It's hard to believe, but we've reached the halfway point of the season. Yes, tonight is Game 81 for the Nationals. So how have they done to date? Well, if they can beat the Reds again tonight, they'll sit at 49-32. Do the math, that's a 98-win pace. Hard to complain much about that, right?
Bryce Harper and Ben Revere are back in the lineup after getting last night off, but Wilson Ramos gets to sit this one out, with Jose Lobaton behind the plate catching Tanner Roark.
Keep in mind the...
Danny Espinosa was the story of last night's blowout win, not to mention the story of June for the Nationals, given his incredible resurgence at the plate that might well have saved his job.
There were a couple other teammates, though, who came through during this 13-4 win over the Reds at a time when each desperately needed that kind of positive performance: Ryan Zimmerman and Gio Gonzalez.
Zimmerman got the Nationals' hitting party started with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first,...
Danny Espinosa had been down this path before, sporting a sub-.200 batting average and hearing calls from various directions for someone else to take his job. And his response - sulking, overworking, overthinking - all too often only made things worse.
This time around, when he found himself hitting .199 on June 1 and hearing the calls for the Nationals to summon top prospect Trea Turner to replace him at shortstop, Espinosa fought the temptation and made a tough choice which wound up paying...
If anyone was worried the Nationals, after the highs of a three-game sweep over the rival Mets, might suffer from some form of letdown against the Reds, they needed watch only one inning of baseball to have those fears assuaged.
The Nationals jumped out to an early lead behind Ryan Zimmerman's three-run homer in the bottom of the first, then rode Danny Espinosa's historic pair of homers in the third and fourth innings en route to a 13-4 thrashing of an overwhelmed Cincinnati club.
Winners of...
Throughout his season-long struggles, and especially this month, it seems like Ryan Zimmerman perpetually has found himself behind in the count, often 0-2, before making an out.
So when Zimmerman finally found himself in an advantageous situation tonight - ahead in the count, 2-0, with two on in the bottom of the first - he made sure to make the most of it.
And when Danny Espinosa found himself at the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, he did the same thing he's been doing...
The Nationals still haven't decided if Stephen Strasburg will return from the disabled list this weekend, but Dusty Baker seems to prefer taking the cautious route with his rehabbing right-hander.
Strasburg, who is eligible to come off the DL on Friday, continues to prepare as though he may start Sunday's series finale against the Reds. Rookie Lucas Giolito, though, also is preparing for the same assignment, with the club holding off for now choosing between the two.
Both Strasburg and...
After a highly publicized, highly significant series against the division rival Mets that resulted in a sweep, the Nationals now find themselves hosting one of baseball's worst teams this season for the next four nights: the Cincinnati Reds.
That, of course, doesn't guarantee anything. The Nats lost two of three at Great American Ball Park last month, and nearly lost the third game before eking out a 10-9 victory. But they'll need to find the same intensity they brought to the Mets series...
Daniel Murphy won't ever say it, at least not publicly, so Max Scherzer was left to explain how his attention-deflecting teammate feels about his performance against the Mets this season.
"It's just obvious that he wants to beat 'em up," Scherzer said. "It's obvious. Everybody wants to. When you face your former team, you obviously want to get the best of them. For him to come out here and really slug against them, it puts a smile on all of our faces because we know what he's going...
It's the last week of June and the season isn't quite halfway complete yet, so there's only so much significance that can be applied to a three-game series at this point.
The Nationals didn't make a profound statement this week. There's too much time left for that script to be flipped, as everyone in Washington painfully found out one year ago.
Then again, it's not like anyone inside the home clubhouse tonight was complaining about a 4-2 victory that completed a series sweep of the...
The Nationals already had this key series won after back-to-back victories the last two nights. But they weren't satisfied with that, so tonight they went for the jugular and succeeded, riding another dominant performance from Max Scherzer and a pair of Daniel Murphy homers to a 4-2 win and a series sweep of the Mets.
Scherzer allowed just two hits over 7 1/3 sparkling innings, retiring 18 batters in a row at one point and striking out 10 to lead the way. Murphy accounted for three of the...
Max Scherzer has dominated a depleted Mets lineup before. He won't be duplicating his end-of-season no-hitter tonight, but the Nationals ace is dealing and looking as sharp as he has in his previous historic starts.
Scherzer has tossed three scoreless innings so far, striking out six as he attempts to lead the Nats to a series sweep over New York.
Daniel Murphy's solo homer - his third against his former team already this season - gave the Nationals an early 1-0 lead, and Jayson Werth added a...
Seeking some insurance in case a need for experienced pitching arises down the road, the Nationals have come to terms with journeyman Mat Latos on a minor league contract.
Latos' deal won't be official until he passes a physical, according to a club source, but once that happens, he'll report to the Nationals' minor league complex in Viera, Fla., and attempt to work his way back after a tumultuous stretch that has seen him employed by five different franchises in the last 365 days.
The...
Three days ago, the Nationals were mired in a seven-game losing streak, unable to drive in a run in a key spot, with a daunting series against the Mets looming. Since then, they have won three games in a row (one over the Brewers, two over the Mets) and tonight they have a chance to sweep their chief division rivals and expand their lead over them to six games. Quite a turn of events, huh?
In order to pull it off, Max Scherzer will need to put together a strong start tonight. Or at the very...