As teammates, good friends and roommates, Steve Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore are around each other a lot.
That's why, as a joke, an unknown member of the Nationals took Moore's jersey, hat and baseball gloves during the last homestand and put them in Lombardozzi's locker.
When Moore walked into the Nats clubhouse and made his way toward his locker, he noticed his stuff was gone. The confused Moore started spinning around looking, trying to figure out what was going on, only to find his gear...
With Bryce Harper still out of the Nationals' lineup with a hip injury, Tyler Moore will play left field tonight in the opener of the Nats' four-game series against the Mets.
Gio Gonzalez will oppose Mets right-hander Carlos Torres, who the Nats got to for eight earned runs in just three innings in a 14-1 win back on July 28.
For the Nats
CF Denard Span
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Jayson Werth
SS Ian Desmond
1B Adam LaRoche
C Wilson Ramos
LF Tyler Moore
2B Anthony Rendon
LHP Gio...
The Nationals send Stephen Strasburg to the hill this afternoon in Miami to try and take the series from the Marlins.
With Bryce Harper is back in D.C. getting his sore hip looked at, the lineup has a slightly different feel. The Nationals still hope Harper will rejoin them Monday when they open a four-game series against the Mets at Citi Field.
For the Nationals:
CF Denard Span
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Jayson Werth
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
C Wilson Ramos
LF Tyler Moore
2B Anthony...
The Orioles will try to complete a four-game sweep of the White Sox today and put together their first four-game winning streak since they won five in a row from July 14-22.
They took the first game before the All-Star break and the next four after the season resumed.
Brian Roberts is the designated hitter today, with Ryan Flaherty starting at second base. Nate McLouth moves up to fifth in the order.
For the Orioles
Brian Roberts DH
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Davis 1B
Adam Jones CF
Nate...
Here are the lineups for tonight's series opener in Miami between the Nationals and Marlins. Dan Haren will take on rookie sensation Jose Fernandez, who was named National League Rookie of the Month for July and August.
Bryce Harper returns to the starting lineup after getting Wednesday off due to a sore hip.
for the Nationals:
Denard Span CF
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Bryce Harper LF
Jayson Werth RF
Ian Desmond SS
Adam LaRoche 1B
Wilson Ramos C
Steve Lombardozzi 2B
Dan Haren P
For the...
Nick Markakis is back in right field tonight for the Orioles after being used as a defensive replacement last night.
Michael Morse is in left field and Danny Valencia is the designated hitter.
Orioles starter Scott Feldman has a lifetime 5.16 ERA in September/October, compared to 3.98 in August. He's 4-2 with a 4.09 ERA in 15 career games against the White Sox, including nine starts.
White Sox left-hander John Danks is 5-4 with a 4.08 ERA in 11 career starts against the Orioles and 1-1 with...
PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper remains in the Nationals' lineup despite being bothered by what we learned last night is a hip injury.
Harper said that he's fine and wants to continue playing through the ailment, and manager Davey Johnson will allow him to do so.
Gio Gonzalez (8-6, 3.56 ERA) takes the ball for the Nats tonight, with right-hander Ethan Martin (2-3, 6.39 ERA) going for the Phillies.
For the Nats
CF Denard Span
3B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Bryce Harper
RF Jayson Werth
SS Ian Desmond...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals will cross paths with Roger Bernadina tonight for the first time since Bernadina was released Aug. 19 by the only major league organization he'd ever known.
After his release, Bernadina pulled a John Lannan and signed with the Phillies, choosing to stay in the National League East and play in a park with which he has a good bit of familiarity.
Bernadina will hit eighth and play right field for the Phillies tonight, and he'll dig in against Nats righty Stephen...
It's taken Jayson Werth a little while to build his plate appearances up to the level needed to qualify among the league leaders, but he has finally gotten there.
And he now finds himself in the top three among National League players in three major categories.
Werth's .325 batting average ranks third in the National League behind just Yadier Molina (.330) and Chris Johnson (.326). His on-base percentage (.402) ranks third, behind Joey Votto (.434) and Shin-Soo Choo (.410). And Werth ranks...
After finishing off a three-game sweep over the Marlins, who occupy the cellar in the National League East, the Nationals welcome the fourth-place Mets to town. Then it's off to Philadelphia for three against the third-place Phillies.
The tour of mediocre division opponents continues.
The Mets come to D.C. having lost 11 of their last 17. They'll send right-hander Dillon Gee to the mound tonight, a guy who has had plenty of success against the Nats recently.
Gee has gone 3-1 with a 2.10...
Steve Lombardozzi gets the start at second base tonight for game two of this three-game set against the Marlins, with Anthony Rendon getting a day off.
Stephen Strasburg (6-9, 3.00 ERA) will get the start for the Nationals tonight, opposing Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez (2-3, 3.86 ERA)
The 23-year-old Alvarez came to the Marlins in the monster trade with the Blue Jays this winter, and while he's been pretty impressive this season, he has allowed at least four earned runs in each of...
The Nationals open a three-game set with the Marlins tonight, as Ross Ohlendorf squares off against Miami right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.
All eight starting Nats position players will be in there today despite bumps and bruises to Jayson Werth (infected right foot), Bryce Harper (left foot), Ian Desmond (back, hamstring) and Ryan Zimmerman (shin).
This time of year, everyone's battling something.
Ohlendorf is 2-0 with a 2.58 ERA this season, while the 23-year-old Eovaldi is 2-4 with a 3.82...
Jayson Werth missed yesterday's game with an infection in his right foot, but the Nationals' hottest hitter is back in the lineup today, serving as the designated hitter.
Werth is batting a ridiculous .384/.481/.661 since the All-Star break, so the Nationals will be plenty happy to have him back in the cleanup spot today.
Tyler Moore will get his third straight start in left field, and Anthony Rendon is back playing second base today.
Dan Haren (4-0 with a 1.32 ERA in his last six games)...
Yesterday, Brian Roberts played second base and Ryan Flaherty was the designated hitter in the Orioles lineup.
Today, they've switched roles for the finale of a three-game series against the A;s.
Flaherty is at second base and Roberts is the DH against A's rookie Sonny Gray.
For the Orioles:
Nate McLouth LF
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Davis 1B
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Nick Markakis RF
J.J. Hardy SS
Ryan Flaherty 2B
Brian Roberts DH
Scott Feldman RHP
For the Athletics:
Coco Crisp CF
Jed...
Ian Desmond is in the Nationals lineup despite a stiff back and what manager Davey Johnson said after yesterday's game was a tight hamstring.
Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon, however, are not in the lineup for tonight's game against the Royals.
Werth served as the designated hitter yesterday, but Ryan Zimmerman will fill that role tonight. Bryce Harper will play right field for a second straight day, Tyler Moore will again play left and Steve Lombardozzi will play second with Rendon...
Ryan Flaherty is serving as the designated hitter today against Oakland right-hander Jarrod Parker, and Brian Roberts is starting at second base.
Nick Markakis is batting sixth again between Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy.
For the Orioles
Nate McLouth LF
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Davis 1B
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Nick Markakis RF
J.J. Hardy SS
Ryan Flaherty DH
Brian Roberts 2B
Chris Tillman RHP
For the Athletics
Coco Crisp DH
Jed Lowrie SS
Josh Donaldson 3B
Brandon Moss 1B
Yoenis...
After getting double-switched out of Wednesday's game in the fifth inning and missing yesterday's game due to back stiffness, Ian Desmond is back in the Nationals' lineup for tonight's game against the Royals.
Yesterday marked just the third game that Desmond has missed all season. His back originally tightened up on him during batting practice Wednesday.
Jayson Werth will serve as the designated hitter for the Nats tonight in their interleague matchup against Kansas City.
Bryce Harper...
CHICAGO - The Nationals' lineup for this afternoon's series finale in Chicago is without three regulars - Ian Desmond, Adam LaRoche and Denard Span.
Desmond felt his back tighten up on him during batting practice yesterday and was pulled from last night's game as a precaution as part of a double-switch in the fifth inning.
He said after the game last night that he was fine and that on a scale of 1-to-10 of injuries that he's played through, this was a one.
Still, Desmond is out of the...
CHICAGO - Roger Bernadina was released by the Nationals on Monday, but he won't be going too far, either geographically or within the realm of Major League Baseball.
Bernadina has signed with the Phillies, the team announced today, meaning the Nats will see the speedy outfielder in about a week and a half when they head to Philadelphia for a three-game set against their division rivals.
After clearing waivers, Bernadina - who had been the longest-tenured Nats player prior to Monday - was...
CHICAGO - Davey Johnson is again loading up his lineup with right-handed hitters against a left-handed starter, leaving Adam LaRoche and Denard Span on the bench in favor of Tyler Moore and Scott Hairston.
Moore will play first base and bat sixth, while Hairston will play left field and bat eighth.
Bryce Harper will slide over and play center field tonight and hit leadoff as the Nats face Cubs left-hander Chris Rusin.
Rusin has a 3.06 ERA in six starts this season, and he's surrendered just...