Game 102 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 102 lineups: Nats at Marlins
MIAMI - So the tone of this weekend's series at Marlins Park has changed just a bit, even in the last 24 hours, huh? The immediate issue: Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching tonight as planned. He's back on the disabled list with a neck injury, only one start after he returned from his shoulder injury. So in his place is Tommy Milone, promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to make an emergency start tonight. Milone, you'll remember made his major league debut for the Nationals way back in 2011 (and...
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Game 101 lineups: Nats at Brewers

Game 101 lineups: Nats at Brewers
MILWAUKEE - Right fielder Adam Eaton had one of his best offensive games this season Tuesday. He went 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored, a homer and tied a season high with three RBIs. His three-run shot in the second off of Brewers starter Junior Guerra opened up a 4-0 Nationals lead. It was his first home run since the two homers he hit back in the opening series of the season at Cincinnati. Eaton is now hitting .324 and has a .364 average in his last 15 games, with 20 hits, six walks and...
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Game 100 lineups: Nats at Brewers (updated)

Game 100 lineups: Nats at Brewers (updated)
MILWAUKEE - Surprising a bit to realize that tonight the Nationals will play in their 100th game of the season, and with a win they would get back to .500 at 50-50. One of their more pleasant surprises this season has been the pitching by starter Jeremy Hellickson (4-1, 3.29 ERA). His consistency has been a key component for the Nats as they attempt to get all of their starters back in sync. Hellickson has allowed only one earned run in his last two starts, a span of 11 innings. Opposing...
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Game 99 lineups: Nats at Brewers

Game 99 lineups: Nats at Brewers
MILWAUKEE - The Nationals have to feel good about gaining a split against the Braves over the weekend, and they arrive at Miller Park trailing second-place Atlanta by five games and first-place Philadelphia by six games in the National League East. The Nats are back at .500 again (49-49) as they embark on a seven-game road trip against the Brewers and Marlins. The Brewers lead the NL wild card standings, a full five games ahead of the Nationals. Milwaukee is a formidable opponent at 56-45, just...
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Game 98 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 98 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The sun is out on South Capitol Street. At least, it is at the moment I'm typing this. It's probably not going to stay that way through the afternoon, with more rain forecast to sweep through the region on the heels of Saturday's deluge. The Nationals aren't calling the series finale against the Braves off just yet, and my hunch is they'll be more willing to wait around a bit today to try to get this one in, given the fact they already have to squeeze one makeup game into Atlanta's next...
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Game 97 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Strasburg, Zimmerman active)

Game 97 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Strasburg, Zimmerman active)
And away we go again. The second half of the season commences tonight, with the Nationals hosting the Braves for a big three-game series. Then again, every series is going to be big the rest of the way, with the Nats needing to make up a 5 1/2-game deficit and catch both the Braves and Phillies in the National League East. As expected, the Nationals will open the second half with two key figures returning from the disabled list: Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman. Strasburg makes the start...
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Game 96 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 96 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - The first half of the season wraps up today, though as has been pointed out already, the season is well beyond the actual halfway point. Today is Game 96 for the Nationals, and if they want to reach a Game 163 they're going to have to play a whole lot better the rest of the way, beginning this afternoon. Jeremy Hellickson will need to give his team a quality start. And Davey Martinez will need to be willing to have a quick hook on his starter, as he has all season to date. No need...
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Game 95 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 95 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - Hello from Citi Field. Yes, I've swooped into town to cover the rest of the Nationals' weekend series with the Mets while Byron heads back home to handle pregame and postgame hosting duties on Nats Xtra. It's been an interesting series already, with the Nats winning Thursday night behind two homers from Anthony Rendon and one from Bryce Harper, then losing Friday night after Tanner Roark gave up four early runs and the lineup unable to get more than two back. Today we'll finally...
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Orioles and Rangers lineups

Orioles and Rangers lineups
Danny Valencia is in right field tonight and Trey Mancini is in left for the Orioles' series opener against the Rangers. Chris Davis is batting seventh against left-hander Cole Hamels. Alex Cobb returns to the mound after leaving Sunday's start in Minnesota with a blister on his right index finger. He's made five career starts against the Rangers and gone 1-0 with a 2.91 ERA and 0.971 WHIP in 34 innings. Shin-Soo Choo is 5-for-12 with two doubles and a home run against him. Elvis Andrus is...
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Game 94 lineups: Nats at Mets (Rendon delivers in NY)

Game 94 lineups: Nats at Mets (Rendon delivers in NY)
NEW YORK - Third baseman Anthony Rendon again reminded fans of his fluid power swing on Thursday, crushing a pair of line drive home runs over the left field wall to help the Nationals take control in a 5-4 win over the Mets. Fans in Flushing are well acquainted with Rendon. In 42 games at Citi Field, Rendon is hitting .302 with 20 runs scored, 11 doubles, 10 homers and 42 RBIs. The modest Rendon said those gaudy numbers at this stadium might be more a product of the frequency of games he has...
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Game 93 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 93 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - The Nationals got themselves into a hole in their division last week after a sweep at the hands of the first-place Red Sox. Many fans and reporters looked at the next three series against Marlins, Pirates and Mets as a chance for the club to get something going right before the All-Star break and cut into the Phillies and Braves' lead atop the National League East. Arriving in New York for another critical divisional series, the Nats are just 4-3 during the stretch in which they had...
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Game 92 lineups: Nats at Pirates

Game 92 lineups: Nats at Pirates
PITTSBURGH - The Nationals and Pirates wrap up their series this afternoon at PNC Park. The Nats are looking to win two in a row and capture their second straight series. Gio Gonzalez is looking to get himself back on track. Bryce Harper is looking to make solid contact after going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts and a groundout Tuesday night. And Daniel Murphy is looking to stay hot after going 4-for-4 in Tuesday's win. And hopefully as many of you as possible will be able to watch the game. But...
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Game 91 lineups: Nats at Pirates (Doolittle to DL)

Game 91 lineups: Nats at Pirates (Doolittle to DL)
PITTSBURGH - The Nationals need innings tonight from their starter. Which means Jeremy Hellickson may have to be pushed beyond the point they've preferred to push him so far this season. The right-hander has pitched six innings only once in 11 starts this season. He has topped the 90-pitch mark only three times. None of that may matter given the state of the Nats bullpen, which has been forced to throw a total of 27 innings over the last six days. That group does have two fresh arms added to...
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Game 90 lineups: Nats at Pirates (Wieters activated)

Game 90 lineups: Nats at Pirates (Wieters activated)
PITTSBURGH - The Nationals have scored 14 or more runs in three of their last 10 games. The Pirates have given up 17 runs twice in their last six games. So, what to expect in tonight's series opener at PNC Park? Maybe a 1-0 nail-biter? Seriously, though, who knows what to expect from the Nats these days? They seem just as likely to hit five balls into the Allegheny River as they are to get shut out. You just don't know what you're going to get on any given day. The Nationals do know they...
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Game 89 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 89 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Now that Max Scherzer finally got his first win in over a month, it's time to get Tanner Roark right. The right-hander is just 3-10, and has not enjoyed a marker in that left column since June 6. He has absorbed four straight losses. So perhaps symbolic of a new beginning, Roark has not only shaved off his beard, moustache and sideburns, but also completely shaved his head following a nine-run outing in an 11-4 loss to the Red Sox on July 3. The Marlins counter with right-hander Trevor...
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Game 87 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 87 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals look to get on a roll after their best comeback of the season Thursday in the series opener against the Marlins. Down 9-0, they roared back for a 14-12 win thanks to Trea Turner's two homers, including a grand slam, and a career-high eight RBIs. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-5, 3.77 ERA) looks to put together a quality start after going four innings in his last outing and then watching as it all fell apart in the fifth. Leading 3-0 at Philadelphia, he allowed three runs in the...
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Game 85 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox

Game 85 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox
The Nationals have lost 14 of their last 18 games. They're seven games out of first place, 4 1/2 games out of second place. They're a .500 club right now that can't seem to do anything right. But you know what? It's Independence Day in the District of Columbia, and there's a ballgame being played today in town. It could be worse, a lot worse. It would be better, of course, if the Nationals could pull off a win today against the Red Sox and avoid a series sweep (not to mention a sub-.500...
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Game 84 lineups: Red Sox at Nats

Game 84 lineups: Red Sox at Nats
After homering twice in the last four games, Bryce Harper returns to the cleanup spot for tonight's Nationals game against the Red Sox. Harper is still mired in a slump, batting .183 in his past 27 games, but he's slashing .300/.419/.577 in 123 career games in the four-hole. Harper previously hit cleanup this year on June 19 and 20 against the Orioles at Nationals Park. Left fielder Juan Soto is hitting second and second baseman Daniel Murphy is batting fifth, one night after his first home...
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Game 83 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox

Game 83 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox
It is scorching hot here in Washington, but the local ballclub is anything but hot. The Nationals just went 1-5 on a road trip through Tampa Bay and Philadelphia and have lost 12 of their last 16. They currently sit two games over .500, six games behind the Braves, three games behind the Phillies. And now they get three games against the Red Sox, owners of the second-best winning percentage in baseball. After all eight active relievers were used during Sunday's 13-inning loss at Citizens Bank...
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Game 82 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 82 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - As is the case across much of the country today, it is blazing hot here in Philly. Temperatures are expected to approach triple digits this afternoon, making for quite an uncomfortable setting at Citizens Bank Park as the Nationals wrap up their four-game series with the Phillies and try to get July off to a positive start after a bad June. There are some interesting nuggets in today's lineup. Bryce Harper and Juan Soto have essentially swapped swaps, with Soto batting third and...
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