Knee issue lands struggling Doolittle on injured list

Knee issue lands struggling Doolittle on injured list
The Nationals won't be answering incessant questions about closer Sean Doolittle's recent ineffectiveness - well, for at least another 10 days or so. Doolittle was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday morning with right knee tendinitis, hours after coughing up four runs in one-third of an inning and failing to protect an 11-8 lead in the ninth inning. The Nationals went on to lose 15-14 in 14 innings Saturday night. Manager Davey Martinez and Nationals medical personnel met with Doolittle...

Doolittle, Martinez will reconsider closer's workload

Doolittle, Martinez will reconsider closer's workload
Sean Doolittle insisted before Saturday night's game, he was good to pitch. As soon as he actually tried to pitch in the top of the ninth, he realized he didn't have what he needed to be effective. "Tonight, man, I just didn't have anything," the Nationals closer said. "So, yeah, we're going to have to figure something out. I'm going to have to figure something out. Because this team, they deserve better right now." What had been looming as a potential problem for a while now has...

Wildest game of year ends with loss in 14th (updated)

Wildest game of year ends with loss in 14th (updated)
Who knows how this wild 2019 season will end for the Nationals, whether they'll catch the Braves and win the National League East, whether they'll hold onto one of the league's two wild card berths or whether they'll collapse and miss the playoffs altogether. Here's what we can say unequivocally about the 2019 Nationals: They do not quit. No game is ever out of reach. No matter how demoralized they may be at one moment, they refuse to stay down until they've used up every last...

Rendon's clutch doubles enough to lift Nats to win (updated)

Rendon's clutch doubles enough to lift Nats to win (updated)
The Nationals totaled only three hits tonight. Turns out that was enough, because two of them were Anthony Rendon RBI doubles. The man who has made a name for himself with clutch two-baggers delivered the pair of clutch doubles his team needed tonight. The Nationals rode those RBI doubles, including the go-ahead hit in the bottom of the eighth, to a 2-1 victory over the Brewers on a night when they had to scrap and claw for everything. "I tell the guys: 'Hey, it only takes one more than the...

It's time to enjoy the 2019 Nationals, not complain about them

It's time to enjoy the 2019 Nationals, not complain about them
They've won seven of their last nine, but fans are fuming over the two games they lost in New York last weekend. They've seen Erick Fedde and Joe Ross go a combined 5-0 with an 0.90 ERA this month, but fans are convinced Max Scherzer will reinjure his back as soon as he returns to the mound in the coming days. They've seen the three relievers acquired at the July 31 trade deadline post a 1.46 ERA in 15 combined appearances, but fans are insisting Sean Doolittle's arm is about to fall...

As Doolittle deals with summer grind, Nats bringing back Holland

As Doolittle deals with summer grind, Nats bringing back Holland
Sean Doolittle admitted it. After pitching for the 52nd time in 118 games - a rate that leaves him on pace to establish a new career high with 71 appearances by season's end - and in five of the Nationals' last seven games, the club's closer admitted his gas tank is running low. "I mean, that's 5-of-7, in the middle of August, in the first season (in a long time) where I'm still going," Doolittle said with a chuckle. "I haven't put together a season like this in a while. I'm starting...

Fedde sharp again, bullpen hangs on for 7-6 win (updated)

Fedde sharp again, bullpen hangs on for 7-6 win (updated)
This was supposed to be the weak link of the Nationals organization: pitching depth. And when Max Scherzer went back on the injured list three weeks ago, there was ample reason to fear the worst out of the two guys who had now been thrust into the back end of the rotation: Erick Fedde and Joe Ross. Except those guys haven't been the problem, not in the least. The two right-handers have now each turned in back-to-back quality performances, all of them resulting in victories. Tonight it was...

Sánchez and the bullpen played big parts in Nats' win Sunday

Sánchez and the bullpen played big parts in Nats' win Sunday
Nationals right-hander Aníbal Sánchez was once again able to do his job, holding the Mets to three runs in five innings of work. The only big inning for New York came in the second when they scored three runs on five hits. Joe Panik got the Mets on the board with an RBI single and Jeff McNeil tied the game at 3-3 on a two-run double. Asdrúbal Cabrera came through with a late two-run double of his own t make it 5-3 and Victor Robles sealed the win with a two-run shot in the ninth inning...

The good and the bad from a wild weekend in New York

The good and the bad from a wild weekend in New York
After a wild weekend in New York, here's what we know about the Nationals ... * They continue to have an issue closing out winnable games late. * They continue to put themselves in position to close out winnable games late. Yes, those back-to-back losses to the Mets on Friday and Saturday nights were gut-punches, from Sean Doolittle's bottom-of-the-ninth meltdown in the opener to Fernando Rodney's eighth-inning travails the following night. Two games the Nationals absolutely should have won...

Mets shock Nats with four runs in ninth off a stunned Doolittle

Mets shock Nats with four runs in ninth off a stunned Doolittle
NEW YORK - The game was set up for closer Sean Doolittle to do what he has done 25 times already this season for the Washington Nationals. With a 6-3 lead over the red-hot New York Mets in the bottom of the ninth, all Doolittle had to do was record three outs and the Nats would come away with another important divisional win. But the Mets pummeled Doolittle's fastball to the tune of four consecutive hits, highlighted by Todd Frazier's three-run game-tying homer down the left field line that...

With deeper bullpen, Nats finally confident closing out games

With deeper bullpen, Nats finally confident closing out games
SAN FRANCISCO - As the bottom of the ninth played out Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park, the Giants getting an RBI double from Brandon Crawford and suddenly threatening to make things interesting, Davey Martinez might have been tempted to send Sean Doolittle or Fernando Rodney down to the bullpen to start warming up. Only a week or two ago, that's probably what would've happened. If a game was close late, Martinez would have felt compelled to at least warm up his closer or primary backup,...

Suzuki staying productive as playing time increases

Suzuki staying productive as playing time increases
SAN FRANCISCO - The Nationals knew they were getting an offensive-minded catcher when they signed Kurt Suzuki over the winter. So they aren't exactly surprised by the production they've gotten out of the 35-year-old veteran this season. But they're also making sure they appreciate it. "He's been awesome, really has," manager Davey Martinez said. "And not just his hitting. The way he's been calling games. His leadership in the clubhouse. Everything about him has been really, really good....

Nats use tried and true formula to beat Giants again

Nats use tried and true formula to beat Giants again
SAN FRANCISCO - The formula sounds simple enough. Get a quality start from the guy on the mound. Get some big hits to seize an early lead. Turn things over to the bullpen to close out a victory. For the better part of four months, the Nationals didn't have enough of the right ingredients to concoct that formula. Most notably, the bullpen pieces. Now that they do have a relief corps with more than one or two trusted arms, the Nats are perfectly capable of winning games like tonight's 5-3...

Fedde in complete control in 4-0 win over Giants

Fedde in complete control in 4-0 win over Giants
SAN FRANCISCO - The memory of a nine-run pounding at the hands of the Braves last week perhaps was fresher on everyone's minds, but Erick Fedde also knew how well he had pitched in his two starts prior to that disaster against one of baseball's toughest lineups. Fedde, you may recall, had limited the Orioles and Rockies to two runs in 10 innings. Sure, those aren't two of the most imposing lineups in the sport. But neither is the lineup Bruce Bochy fielded tonight at Oracle Park. So maybe it...

Despite injury, new bullpen thrives in Nats' 3-0 win

Despite injury, new bullpen thrives in Nats' 3-0 win
PHOENIX - Davey Martinez was handed a brand-new bullpen tonight, and with that came a whole new strategy for managing the second half of ballgames. After getting 5 1/3 scoreless innings from Joe Ross, Martinez was able to go straight to his relief corps, confident that group was deep enough to cover the rest of the game. And it absolutely was deep enough. Two newcomers - Roenis Elías and Hunter Strickland - handled the sixth and seventh innings with ease. Holdovers Fernando Rodney and Sean...

Doolittle blames pitch execution for late homer, Nats fall in extras

Doolittle blames pitch execution for late homer, Nats fall in extras
Nationals closer Sean Doolittle has allowed two solo homers in his last two appearances. The homer given up to the Braves pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson on Friday night didn't hurt as much because the Nats were up by four runs and won the game 6-3. But the margin for error was much different Wednesday afternoon. With the game tied at 4-4 in the top of the 10th inning, Doolittle (6-3) surrendered a no-doubt solo homer over the center field wall to Braves slugger Josh Donaldson. Donaldson's...

Martinez plays to bullpen's strength for game-clinching hold

Martinez plays to bullpen's strength for game-clinching hold
Prior to tomorrow's trade deadline, Nationals manager Davey Martinez's vision of how to hold a late lead is a seventh, eighth and ninth inning that falls to Wander Suero, Fernando Rodney and Sean Doolittle. To begin a very important series against the Atlanta Braves, Martinez had the strengths of his 'pen well rested. Rodney and Doolittle both had not pitched for four days. Doolittle had been off since last week's doubleheader Wednesday against the Rockies. So in a game in which the...

Rendon's slam lifts Nats a step closer to Braves (updated)

Rendon's slam lifts Nats a step closer to Braves (updated)
He stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, two outs and a ballgame between the division's top two clubs tied in the bottom of the sixth. The crowd, which had been fairly docile all night, only stood to urge the batter on once he got to a 2-0 count and the scoreboard began pleading with everyone to "Get On Your Feet!" Once they rose, they didn't sit down again until Anthony Rendon had crushed the ball 412 feet to left field, circled the bases, danced through a line of teammates in the...

Corbin, bullpen find a way to complete twinbill sweep over Rockies

Corbin, bullpen find a way to complete twinbill sweep over Rockies
Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin provided another sterling example of how good a pitcher he can be Wednesday night, battling Colorado starter Kyle Freeland for six innings and hanging on for a 2-0 win and doubleheader sweep over the Rockies. Despite having to throw 27 pitches in the first inning, Corbin got out of a jam to begin the game. Charlie Blackmon singled to leadoff the game, followed by a Trevor Story walk. But Corbin managed to get Nolan Arenado to ground into a 5-4-3 double play....

Nationals do enough right to win opener (updated)

Nationals do enough right to win opener (updated)
The stands were mostly empty, the prospect of a long day and night of baseball was looming and the Nationals and Rockies had to conjure up the energy to get through today's doubleheader opener on their own. That made for what at times was a sleepy afternoon of baseball on South Capitol Street. In the end, the Nationals managed to engage themselves just enough at the right moments to walk away with a 3-2 victory and give themselves an opportunity to sweep the doubleheader when Patrick Corbin...