Early solo homers help Corbin (Nats win 7-2)

Early solo homers help Corbin (Nats win 7-2)
The Nationals used the longball to take the lead early on against Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin. Adam Eaton crushed an upper deck solo homer to right field in the bottom of the first. His career-high 15th homer of the season came on a 3-2 pitch. In the second inning with two outs, Yan Gomes launched a line-drive solo homer to center field. His 11th homer of the season on a 1-1 offering made it 2-0 Nats. The Phillies notched singles by Bryce Harper and Andrew Knapp off left-hander Patrick...

Game 154 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 154 lineups: Nats at Marlins
MIAMI - Hello one last time from Marlins Park, where the Nationals will look to continue their utter dominance of the local ballclub. The Nats are 15-3 vs. the Marlins this season - they actually lost the first two games way back in April! - and carry an 11-game winning streak into today's series finale. I don't care how large the disparity in talent is between teams, that's really hard to do. The Nationals sure could use one more win this afternoon, though, because with the Brewers doing...

After disastrous eighth, a joyous 10th for Nats (updated)

After disastrous eighth, a joyous 10th for Nats (updated)
MIAMI - They led by four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Stephen Strasburg had dominated the Marlins for the umpteenth time. The Nationals just needed to finish off a last-place opponent and move one step closer to a berth in the wild card game. And then Fernando Rodney took the mound, charged with protecting a four-run lead. And the enigmatic reliever remained on the mound until that four-run lead was gone and panic began to consume living rooms throughout the DMV while hope suddenly emerged...

Suzuki hopes to get healthy enough to return (tied 4-4)

Suzuki hopes to get healthy enough to return (tied 4-4)
MIAMI - Though he says everything is going according to plan in his throwing program, Kurt Suzuki admits he won't be able to get his right elbow back to 100 percent health by season's end. Which means the veteran catcher has no choice but to try to get himself as close to playing shape as soon as possible to try to rejoin the Nationals lineup in time to contribute in this final playoff push and potentially beyond. "That's kind of the plan now," Suzuki said this afternoon prior to the...

Agonizing loss to Cards has familiar feel for Nats (updated)

Agonizing loss to Cards has familiar feel for Nats (updated)
ST. LOUIS - They broke out the Greatest Hits this afternoon at Busch Stadium, with all of your least favorite moments in the history of Nationals-Cardinals matchups rolled into 2 hours and 55 minutes of agony for anyone who has ever worn a curly W cap and ecstasy for anyone who has ever donned the birds-on-the-bat jersey. It's not that the Nationals lost 5-1, dropping the rubber game of a key September series that was right there for the taking. It's how they lost, in much the same manner...

No rest for veterans, plus a rotation tweak (Nats down 5-1)

No rest for veterans, plus a rotation tweak (Nats down 5-1)
ST. LOUIS - Day games following night games - especially day games with a 12:15 p.m. local time first pitch - are prime opportunities for veterans to get some rest and reserves to get some playing time. The Nationals, though, have reached crunch time of a season that appears likely to go right down to the wire. And so when it came time to fill out the lineup card for today's matinee with the Cardinals, Davey Martinez and Chip Hale decided it was appropriate to keep things exactly as they were...

Game 151 lineups: Nats at Cardinals

Game 151 lineups: Nats at Cardinals
ST. LOUIS - Funny how much a team's outlook can change in 12 hours. The Nationals had reason to be nervous when they carried a slim, 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh Tuesday night at Busch Stadium, the possibility of falling out of the No. 1 wild card slot very much real. But then they finished off the Cardinals 6-2 and saw the Cubs lose to the Reds. Now they report to the ballpark for today's matinee with Max Scherzer on the mound and a chance to take two of three from St. Louis. I...

Nats take early lead, ride 'pen to much-needed win (updated)

Nats take early lead, ride 'pen to much-needed win (updated)
ST. LOUIS - "Late and close" has not been the Nationals' forte in recent weeks. When they've won, they've won by a sizeable margin. When they've been in a tight battle late, they've tended to lose. Evidence of that? They entered tonight's game against the Cardinals having used a reliever in a ninth-inning save situation only once in a calendar month. The situation simply hadn't come up. Chip Hale has been prepared for it to happen. And given how little current closer Daniel Hudson has...

Nats shut out Braves, Martinez hospitalized (updated)

Nats shut out Braves, Martinez hospitalized (updated)
The Nationals needed to win today, plain and simple. It did not matter who they were playing. It did not matter who was on the mound for either team. It did not matter how they felt physically or emotionally as they navigate their way through a particularly grueling final portion of their schedule. It didn't even matter who was managing from the dugout. After dropping the first two games of this series and after dropping 8-of-12 overall to see their once-comfortable lead in the wild card race...

Adams has AC sprain, Suzuki to take swings in St. Louis (Nats win 7-0)

Adams has AC sprain, Suzuki to take swings in St. Louis (Nats win 7-0)
First baseman Matt Adams has missed two games after tweaking his left shoulder/triceps region Thursday night in Minnesota. But manager Davey Martinez's update Sunday revealed a more serious injury. "Matt Adams has an AC sprain," Martinez said. "So, he's going to be day-to-day. I talked to him yesterday. He's just a bit sore. He's getting some medication. So hopefully in the next few days we'll see where he's at." Adams has been a crucial power bat off the bench and filled in for long...

Game 148 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 148 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
After two losses to begin the series, the Nationals again find themselves facing a Sunday finale seeking a salvage against the Braves. Last weekend in Atlanta, the Nats came through with a win on Sunday after losing three in a row. This time around they look to former Braves starter Aníbal Sánchez (8-8, 4.04 ERA) to stop the sweep. Sánchez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last four starts. The Braves put up southpaw Max Fried (16-5, 4.02), who defeated the Nats 4-2...

With Suzuki out, Gomes fine with everyday catching duties

With Suzuki out, Gomes fine with everyday catching duties
Nationals catcher Yan Gomes started his seventh straight game Friday night in a 5-0 loss to the Braves. His teammate, Kurt Suzuki, has been out with an elbow injury for more than a week now. Manager Davey Martinez said Suzuki could start throwing a baseball by the end of the weekend. The skipper appears to be leaning toward giving Raudy Read the start against the Braves on Saturday afternoon. Martinez said he likes the matchup of Read against Mike Foltynewicz. Plus, Read has experience catching...

Soroka turns tables on Scherzer, Braves cruise to 5-0 win

Soroka turns tables on Scherzer, Braves cruise to 5-0 win
Last Sunday in Atlanta, Max Scherzer allowed the Braves only one run on two hits in six convincing innings of work. It was the only win for the Nationals in the four-game set against the Braves, serving as reassurance that when the Nats desperately need a win against a very good team, he would deliver. That will likely be the challenge the Nats face if they get to the National League wild card game Oct. 1. But in the second matchup with Atlanta in five days, the Braves liked what they saw from...

Updates on Suzuki, Gomes, Elías and Adams (Nats fall 5-0)

Updates on Suzuki, Gomes, Elías and Adams (Nats fall 5-0)
Nationals manager Davey Martinez had a spring in his step as he met reporters in the home dugout following the annual team picture before tonight's first game against the Braves with: "How's everybody doing!?" He had an upbeat attitude, as he usually does, for good reason. His club won two of three in Minnesota, their first series victory against a team with a winning record since sweeping the Cubs on Aug. 25. "It made it a lot better the fact that we won the game and we played the game,"...

Gomes starts six in a row, but Read likely to catch Saturday

Gomes starts six in a row, but Read likely to catch Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS - Yan Gomes starts his sixth consecutive game behind the plate tonight. That's not something the Nationals ever planned to do this season, not with Kurt Suzuki sharing time as part of a potent one-two catching punch. But with Suzuki now nursing a right elbow injury, the Nats have had little choice but to keep putting Gomes out there and hope for the best. It's been a hit-or-miss proposition. Literally. Gomes clubbed two homers during Sunday's win in Atlanta, but has otherwise...

Gomes prepped for heavy workload til Suzuki returns (Nats down 2-0)

Gomes prepped for heavy workload til Suzuki returns (Nats down 2-0)
MINNEAPOLIS - Though Kurt Suzuki doesn't appear to have suffered a serious elbow injury, the Nationals do appear to believe the veteran catcher is going to need some time to make it back into the lineup and have told Yan Gomes to be prepared to start the majority of games for the foreseeable future. Suzuki, who had to depart Saturday night's game with what he described as "some tinglings, zings" in his right elbow, had an MRI which showed no structural damage. He was given anti-inflammatory...

Game 143 lineups: Nats at Twins

Game 143 lineups: Nats at Twins
MINNEAPOLIS - For the first time since 2008, the Nationals are playing a game in Minnesota. And for the first time ever, they're playing a game at Target Field. This is the only currently active ballpark in the majors that has never hosted the Nats before, so they're about to be 30-for-30. (By the way, can you name the only two Nationals pitchers ever to win games in the state of Minnesota? Why, it's Jason Simontacchi and Levale Speigner, of course!) This is a big series for both clubs. The...

Scherzer and Gomes get Nationals back to normal

Scherzer and Gomes get Nationals back to normal
With catcher Kurt Suzuki on the shelf with a sore elbow, Yan Gomes was pressed into duty on short notice Sunday and delivered. Gomes put together the kind of game the Nationals expected from him when they acquired him from the Indians in November. The veteran from Brazil went out and guided Max Scherzer to a win. He also belted two homers in a game for the first time since September 2017 as the Nats finally defeated the Braves 9-4, salvaging the final game of a four-game series. "It's just...

Bad weekend for Nationals at least ends on positive notes

Bad weekend for Nationals at least ends on positive notes
Let's not try to sugarcoat this: The Nationals had a bad weekend in Atlanta. They lost three winnable games, fell at one point a full 10 games back in a division race that's all but over now and saw their once comfortable cushion in the wild card race shrink. They lost Kurt Suzuki and Roenis Elías to injuries. They couldn't do squat against the Braves rotation for three nights. All of that makes for a bad weekend. That doesn't mean it was a lost weekend. Sunday's events at SunTrust Park...

Nationals' power and Scherzer's intensity finally beat Braves

Nationals' power and Scherzer's intensity finally beat Braves
ATLANTA - The Nationals scored nine runs and collected 17 hits in the first three games of the series, all losses.. But on Sunday, the Nats tallied nine runs on 17 hits with four home runs, scoring early to set the tone, and finally overcame the Braves 9-4. The win ended the Nats' four-game losing streak and the Braves' nine-game winning streak. The Nats' deficit in the National League East has been trimmed to nine games. Adam Eaton, Yan Gomes and Juan Soto crushed home runs, one each in the...