lineups - Blog

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

February 28, 2017, 3:08am

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The day has arrived. Not everyone was convinced it would happen, at least not in time. But it is happening, and it's happening on time. Today, the Nationals and Astros play a game inside their new spring training stadium after years of planning and 16 furious months of construction that went right down to the wire. "I'm very impressed, cause they've been working around the clock," manager Dusty Baker said. "Every day, I see something new. The other day I was coming...

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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter

February 27, 2017, 5:20am

Nationals

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter

JUPITER, Fla. - If you want to know what the real benefits of the Nationals' spring relocation are, here's a perfect example: I just drove from The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches to Roger Dean Stadium in 17 minutes. And, had I been gutsy enough to try to beat a yellow light, I might've done it in 15 minutes. That's a beautiful thing. You should notice a difference on the field, too, as a result of these short drives, with more veterans making road trips than they did while training in Viera....

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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Twins in Fort Myers

February 25, 2017, 4:08pm

Nationals

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Twins in Fort Myers

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The biggest reason the Nationals moved their spring headquarters from Viera to West Palm Beach was to avoid all the excessively long road trips that were a byproduct from training in such a remote locale. But while they will reap the benefits of that switch over the course of the entire spring, with the majority of their road games requiring a drive of 15 minutes or fewer, there do remain a couple of doozies. Like today's trip to Fort Myers, a short 2 1/2 hours west of West...

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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

February 25, 2017, 4:47am

Nationals

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - No, it doesn't count for anything, there are a bunch of non-regulars in the lineup and the pitchers will be going one inning apiece. But disregard all that and just focus on the following three words: Ball. Game. Today. Yes, the Nationals play the first of what they hope will be more than 200 baseball games in 2017 this afternoon, and while the games that are played months from now will matter far more than today's Grapefruit League opener against the Mets, it's still...

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When it comes to lineup combinations, Baker has options

February 24, 2017, 12:57pm

Nationals

When it comes to lineup combinations, Baker has options

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - When Dusty Baker's first lineup of the spring was posted yesterday morning, it was impossible not to immediately notice how the Nationals manager chose to align his top four hitters. The batting order: Trea Turner, Adam Eaton, Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper. There's certainly nothing controversial about that order. It features perhaps the fastest player in baseball leading off, a high on-base percentage guy batting second, a guy who hit .347 last season batting third and...

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NLDS Game 5 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

October 13, 2016, 11:49am

Nationals

And so it has come to this. Game 5. Winner-take-all. One team heads to Chicago this weekend for the National League Championship Series. One team heads home for the winter, wondering what might have been. We've experienced this once before during this era of D.C. baseball. The final outcome is one that continues to haunt everyone. Tonight's result could go a long way toward pushing those bad memories aside. This is, quite simply, Max Scherzer's game. He's rested. He's ready. He was brought...

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NLDS Game 4 lineups: Nats at Dodgers

October 11, 2016, 10:23am

Nationals

LOS ANGELES - The Nationals today have the opportunity to do something they've never done before, not to mention something no major pro sports franchise in D.C. has done in a long time. With a victory in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, they would advance to their first National League Championship Series. In doing so, they would become the first D.C. team to reach the semifinals of its sport since the 1998 Capitals went to the Stanley Cup Final. So no pressure today, guys....

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NLDS Game 3 lineups: Nats at Dodgers

October 10, 2016, 7:11am

Nationals

LOS ANGELES - Greetings from Chavez Ravine, where it is an absolutely perfect day for postseason baseball in Southern California. It is expected to be 83 degrees at first pitch at Dodger Stadium. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez is 0-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three playoff starts. In his last matchup against the Giants in 2014, Gonzalez tossed four innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout. He made it known Saturday he doesn't want to look back to his up-and-down...

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NLDS Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers (take two)

October 09, 2016, 6:56am

Nationals

NLDS Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers (take two)

The good news: There's no rain in sight today. (Not that there turned out to be much of it yesterday after Major League Baseball postponed Game 2 of the National League Division Series.) The bad news: It's cold. And it's windy. There's a stiff wind blowing from left field to right field, and it's supposed to stay that way all afternoon. That wouldn't seem to benefit a right-handed-heavy lineup like the Nationals have, but potentially benefit a left-handed-heavy lineup like the Dodgers...

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NLDS Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

October 08, 2016, 8:59am

Nationals

It's a gray, dreary afternoon in the District, perhaps appropriate given the mood around here after last night's frustrating 4-3 loss in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. The Nationals are basically in must-win territory today in Game 2, not a position they want to be in, but the position they find themselves in regardless. Tanner Roark, though, is a good person to have on the mound for a situation like this. You know Roark isn't going to let the pressure get to him. And you...

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NLDS Game 1 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

October 07, 2016, 9:30am

Nationals

The day has come at last. It's been a long wait since the Nationals clinched the National League East title 13 days ago. But this afternoon, the postseason begins in D.C. It's Game 1 of the National League Division Series, and it's as good a pitching matchup as you can get: Max Scherzer vs. Clayton Kershaw. The two aces will take center stage and draw most of the attention in the buildup to the game, but there are other storylines to this one as well. Such as the significant presence of...

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Orioles and Blue Jays wild card lineups

October 04, 2016, 12:07pm

Orioles

TORONTO - Michael Bourn is in the Orioles' lineup for tonight's wild card game against the Blue Jays. Bourn is playing right field and Mark Trumbo is serving as the designated hitter. Hyun Soo Kim is batting second against Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman. For the Orioles Adam Jones CF Hyun Soo Kim LF Manny Machado 3B Mark Trumbo DH Matt Wieters C Chris Davis 1B Jonathan Schoop 2B Michael Bourn RF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Tillman RHP For the Blue Jays Devon Travis 2B Josh Donaldson 3B Edwin...

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Game 162 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

October 02, 2016, 8:06am

Nationals

And so we have reached Game 162, always a big day on the baseball calendar. This, of course, isn't the end of the 2016 season for the Nationals, who have far more important things still to come later this week. But it's officially the day to turn the page from the regular season to the postseason. What's at stake today: Max Scherzer is going for his 20th win and perhaps one last push for Cy Young Award votes. Daniel Murphy isn't expected to play, but if he does get a pinch-hit appearance,...

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Game 161 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

October 01, 2016, 8:51am

Nationals

It's yet another gray, dreary, rainy day here in the nation's capital. If I didn't know any better, I would swear I've been in a coma the last 12 years and MLB actually relocated the Expos to Portland instead of Washington. As has been the case all week, the Nationals will do everything they can to try to get today's game in. The Dodgers, if you weren't up real late last night, lost 9-3 to the Giants. So the Nats still hold a two-game lead with two to play, and thus their magic number to...

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Orioles and Yankees lineups

October 01, 2016, 9:21am

Orioles

NEW YORK - The Orioles will be a playoff team in 2016 with a win today and either a Blue Jays or Tigers loss tonight. Reports of their demise, again, were greatly exaggerated. The wild card game will be played at Camden Yards if the Orioles win and the Jays lose. The pitching continues to lead the way, with the Orioles posting a 2.90 ERA in September. The Orioles have won six of seven since the Red Sox swept them in a four-game series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jonathan Schoop was...

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Game 160 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

September 30, 2016, 10:49am

Nationals

The final weekend of the regular season has arrived, and so it is now, as Dusty Baker described it the other day: "Hero Time." That means it's time to play through nagging ailments and push yourself to do more than you might have during the vast majority of the season. In that vein, Bryce Harper is back in the lineup tonight. Harper had missed the last four games with a swollen right thumb suffered on that slide in Pittsburgh when Jung Ho Kang faked the tag. He said he was ready to play...

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Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays

September 29, 2016, 11:34am

Orioles

Hyun Soo Kim is batting second and playing left field tonight as the Orioles attempt to tie the Blue Jays for the first wild card. Chris Davis has moved down to sixth in the order. Michael Bourn is playing right field and Mark Trumbo is the designated hitter, which excludes Pedro Alvarez from the lineup. Kim's two-run homer last night made him 6-for-9 as a pinch-hitter. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only three other active players began their careers with at least six hits in their...

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Game 159 lineups: Diamondbacks at Nats

September 28, 2016, 5:20pm

Nationals

The Nationals hope to bounce back quickly with an early game today as they wrap up a four-game series against the Diamondbacks. Right-hander Joe Ross (7-5, 3.48 ERA) faces off against former Nats prospect lefty Robbie Ray (8-14, 4.77). Ray, a 12th round selection by the Nationals in 2010, is making his first-ever start at Nats Park. This is the Nationals' final game against Arizona this season and have won 13 of the last 18 meetings. Bryce Harper (thumb) and Daniel Murphy (buttocks) have not...

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Game 158 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

September 28, 2016, 10:53am

Nationals

So, here are the answers to the two questions on everyone's mind right now: 1) It's going to rain this evening. Hard. And it's not supposed to stop until Friday morning. 2) According to a Major League Baseball official, any postponed games that could impact home field advantage for the National League Division Series must be played before the postseason begins. What that means: The Nationals, who currently lead the Dodgers by two games with five to play (but would lose a tiebreaker based on...

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Game 157 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks (torn ACL for Ramos)

September 27, 2016, 10:53am

Nationals

Game 157 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks (torn ACL for Ramos)

We just got word just yet on Wilson Ramos' MRI, and it's not good: He has torn the ACL in his right knee and will have surgery sometime in the next week, ending his season (and potentially his Nationals career, since he's going to be a free agent). Plenty more coming on that, but in the meantime the club has called up Spencer Kieboom from Double-A Harrisburg, giving them three healthy catchers (along with Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino) and incredibly a full 40-man active roster. (Kieboom...