After weekend sweep in Atlanta, Williams' focus is firmly on the future

After weekend sweep in Atlanta, Williams' focus is firmly on the future
Through a quirk in the schedule, the Nationals won't play the Braves again until June 19, when Atlanta comes to D.C. for a four-game series. Washington doesn't return to Turner Field until Aug. 8. After being swept this weekend by the homestanding Braves, it's a good bet manager Matt Williams won't be critical of the schedule-maker. Maybe by the time they next face one another, the Nationals will be healthier, playing better defense and will have figured out a way to beat the Braves. By...
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Braves rake Gonzalez early, lead 6-0 (Nats lose 10-2)

Braves rake Gonzalez early, lead 6-0 (Nats lose 10-2)
It didn't take long for the Braves to get to Gio Gonzalez. Atlanta took a 3-0 lead over the Nationals in the first inning. Gonzalez issued a leadoff walk to Jason Heyward, and then threw away a bunt attempt by B.J. Upton, placing runners at second and third with no outs. Freddie Freeman followed with a sac fly and Justin Upton homered to center for a 3-0 lead. Andrelton Simmons then tripled, but was stranded at third. In the second, Tyler Pastornicky tripled into the right field corner and...
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Rizzo on injuries, Fister's progress, struggles against Braves

Rizzo on injuries, Fister's progress, struggles against Braves
While fans may lament the Nationals' early-season injury problems, general manager Mike Rizzo thinks having multiple key players on the disabled list gives his team a chance to show the depth it added in the offseason. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (broken right thumb) today joined outfielders Denard Span (concussion) and Scott Hairston (left oblique strain), pitcher Doug Fister (lat strain) and catcher Wilson Ramos (broken hamate bone) on the DL. "We feel as good as we can be with the glut of...
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Zimmerman, Span talk about their injuries

Zimmerman, Span talk about their injuries
So much for Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's sizzling April at the plate. Zimmerman, who was hitting .364 with two home runs and six RBIs in his first 10 games, will be lost for four to six weeks with a fractured right thumb. He suffered the injury Saturday night, diving back to second base on a pickoff throw where he was tagged out by Atlanta shortstop Andrelton Simmons. "I probably have more hits this April than I've had my whole career," Zimmerman said Sunday morning after being...
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Nats place Zimmerman on DL, recall Walters from Triple-A Syracuse

Nats place Zimmerman on DL, recall Walters from Triple-A Syracuse
The Washington Nationals today recalled infielder Zach Walters from Triple-A Syracuse and placed third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day Disabled List with a right thumb fracture. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Walters has worked to a .290 batting average in nine games for Triple-A Syracuse this season, with a .303 on-base percentage and .452 slugging percentage. He's clubbed three doubles and a triple, and driven in three...
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Span gives Nats 6-5 lead, Clippard coughs it up (Braves win 7-6 in 10 innings)

Span gives Nats 6-5 lead, Clippard coughs it up (Braves win 7-6 in 10 innings)
Tanner Roark's night has taken a turn for the worse in the second inning. The Braves lead the Nationals 4-0, a three-run homer by shortstop Ramiro Pena capping off a four-run second. Pena is in the lineup because regular shortstop Andrelton Simmons is out with a wrist injury. Atlanta took a 1-0 lead when Justin Upton singled, Dan Uggla was hit by a pitch and Evan Gattis followed with a run-scoring single to center. Pena worked the count to 2-2 before crushing a pitch from Roark into the right...
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Fister passes 35-pitch bullpen session with no problems (plus bullpen note)

Fister passes 35-pitch bullpen session with no problems (plus bullpen note)
Injured right-hander Doug Fister threw 35 pitches during a bullpen session in Atlanta this afternoon and came through without any issues from his strained right lat or the right elbow that troubled him during spring training. "It was really impressive," said Nationals manager Matt Williams. "He threw it where he wanted to, he had good life, he felt good after. So we'll progress from there, but it's a really encouraging sign." While Fister threw mostly fastballs and changeups, he also...
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Nats set rotation order, plus Fister note

Nats set rotation order, plus Fister note
The Nationals have set their rotation for the next five games, starting with tonight's opener of a three-game series against the Marlins. After left-hander Gio Gonzalez faces the Fish tonight, the Nationals will use right-handers Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg for the final two games of the home series. Righties Tanner Roark and Taylor Jordan will start the first two games of the three-game weekend series at Atlanta. Manager Matt Williams said Monday's off-day allowed the Nats to...
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Williams and Zimmerman on third baseman's shoulder, throwing drills

Williams and Zimmerman on third baseman's shoulder, throwing drills
Nationals manager Matt Williams backed off his comment during an interview on 106.7 The Fan on Monday night that third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was dealing with an "arthritic" right shoulder, but Zimmerman spent part of early workouts before Tuesday's game trying to get used to a new throwing motion from a three-quarters arm slot designed to alleviate some of the pressure on the joint. "I think it's a question of semantics - degenerative as opposed to arthritic," Williams said in his...
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Orioles acquire right-hander Guilmet from Indians, move Reimold to 60-day DL

Orioles acquire right-hander Guilmet from Indians, move Reimold to 60-day DL
The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-hander Preston Guilmet from Cleveland in exchange for minor league outfielder Torsten Boss, and optioned Guilmet to Triple-A Norfolk. Guilmet, 26, owns a lifetime 2.57 ERA (297.2IP, 85ER) and 90 saves in 196 games (15 starts) over five minor league seasons in the Cleveland system. He has struck out 9.8 batters per 9.0 innings and walked 1.9 per 9.0. In 2013, Guilmet posted a 1.68 ERA (64.1IP, 12ER), 20 saves and 10.1 strikeouts per 9.0...
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Reviewing the replay reversal with Williams, Desmond

Reviewing the replay reversal with Williams, Desmond
Upon further review, Nationals manager Matt Williams isn't sure the on-field umpires conferring with New York-based replay officials got it right when they reversed a call on an apparent inside-the-park home run by Ian Desmond in a Friday's 2-1 loss to the Braves. Neither does Desmond, who acknowledges he doesn't know all the ins and outs of the new expanded replay but says he's seen plays in the past when outfielders have picked up a ball resting at the base of the wall and thrown it in...
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Replay review reverses Desmond's inside-the-park homer (Braves win 2-1)

Replay review reverses Desmond's inside-the-park homer (Braves win 2-1)
For a few minutes in the bottom of the fifth inning, it appeared that the Nationals had tied the game at 1-1 on an inside-the-park home run by Ian Desmond. Desmond hit David Hale's first pitch of the inning into the corner in left and the ball came to rest at the base of the padded wall. Left fielder Justin Upton immediately raised both arms to signal to the umpires that he felt the ball was unreachable, but third base umpire Marvin Hudson made no signal as Desmond scampered around the bases...
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Zimmermann cruising, showing no ill effects (scoreless no more)

Zimmermann cruising, showing no ill effects (scoreless no more)
Hard to believe Jordan Zimmermann was battling the flu less than 24 hours ago. He looks pretty healthy to the Braves, I bet. Zimmermann is through three scoreless innings and doesn't look like he's being overtaxed. He's allowed one hit - a two-out single to left by Dan Uggla in the second - and is flashing both a mid-90s fastball with movement and a slider that darts out of the strike zone. He's fanned four, using heat to get two swing-and-miss third strikes and enticing a pair of Braves to...
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Good catch: Newcomer Lobaton has quickly fit in behind plate (with Fister note)

Good catch: Newcomer Lobaton has quickly fit in behind plate (with Fister note)
When they acquired catcher Jose Lobaton from the Rays on Feb. 13, the Nationals added an experienced backup backstop with good defensive skills who brought with him a reputation for preparedness and working hard. The Nationals wanted someone with substantial major league experience ready to strap on the gear in case something happened to injury-addled starter Wilson Ramos. Ramos injured his left hand in the season's first game and had surgery earlier this week to remove the hamate bone. He'll...
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Stammen on call in case Zimmermann can't go

Stammen on call in case Zimmermann can't go
While Jordan Zimmermann is listed as the starting pitcher for the Nationals' home opener this afternoon, manager Matt Williams has a backup plan ready to go, just in case the right-hander hasn't completely shaken the flu-like symptoms that caused him to be scratched from yesterday's assignment at the Mets. Zimmermann reported to Nationals Park around 9:35 a.m. on Friday and told manager Matt Williams and the team's training staff that his fever broke around 11 p.m. Thursday night. But...
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Desmond, Gonzalez homer off Colon (Nats win 5-1)

Desmond, Gonzalez homer off Colon (Nats win 5-1)
For three innings, ageless Bartolo Colon tamed the Nationals on one hit. But in the fourth inning, the visitors' bats have awakened. With one out, Jayson Werth doubled and scored on Adam LaRoche's double into the left field corner. That wiped out New York's 1-0 lead, courtesy of David Wright's first-inning sac fly, which scored Juan Lagares, who tripled off lefty Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who came into the game 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his last five games at Citi Field, has yielded three hits...
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Surgery a success, Williams hoping Ramos will return in four to six weeks (Tommy John for Davis)

Surgery a success, Williams hoping Ramos will return in four to six weeks (Tommy John for Davis)
Catcher Wilson Ramos had successful surgery in Baltimore on Wednesday to remove the hamate bone in his left wrist. "We've spoken with the doctor," manager Matt Williams said before Wednesday's game against the Mets at Citi Field. "He's post-surgery now (and) everything went well. He's heading back to Washington and he'll be there when we get back tomorrow." The Nationals are moving on quickly from Ramos' injury, and Williams said he was happy that it wasn't worse. In fact, the...
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Williams: Hitting Harper sixth lets five-tool player potentially show his wheels

Williams: Hitting Harper sixth lets five-tool player potentially show his wheels
Because he's a first-year major league manager, every move Matt Williams makes will be carefully scrutinized. Williams' decision to change his opening day lineup - in part because of the injury to catcher Wilson Ramos, but not entirely - for Wednesday's game against right-hander Bartolo Colon and the Mets drew some curious stares when it was announced. But Williams said hitting Bryce Harper sixth - the lowest the young slugger has hit since batting seventh in the first four games of his...
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Nationals place Ramos on 15-day DL, recall Leon

Nationals place Ramos on 15-day DL, recall Leon
The Washington Nationals today placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to April 1, with a left hamate fracture and recalled catcher Sandy Leon from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Ramos, 26, sustained the injury in Monday's season opener at Citi Field. The 25-year-old Leon is a switch-hitting catcher from Maracaibo, Venezuela. He has played in 14 games...
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Orioles, City Council president continue partnership for fourth annual President's Cup

Orioles, City Council president continue partnership for fourth annual President's Cup
The Orioles and City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young today announced the revamped fourth annual President's Cup. This year, the annual tournament will be replaced with a citywide Showcase game to be held on Saturday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m. at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The showcase will feature an East vs. West game featuring of public and private high school players from schools throughout Baltimore City. The change in format will allow students from diverse backgrounds greater...
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