Bourque and Read clear waivers, sent to Triple-A

Bourque and Read clear waivers, sent to Triple-A
The Nationals continue to clear space on their 40-man roster. The club announced this afternoon that right-hander James Bourque and catcher Raudy Read have cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Fresno. The 40-man roster is at 34 players. Bourque, 27, appeared in six games this season, finishing with a 1-0 record and a 6.75 ERA over four innings of relief. He appeared in one game in 2019, allowing four runs on three hits over two-thirds of an inning. Early on in the 2020 season,...

Scherzer hangs tough for six innings to finish strong, Nats win 4-3

Scherzer hangs tough for six innings to finish strong, Nats win 4-3
Josh Harrison broke a 3-3 deadlock with a drive to right field and the Nationals came back from an early deficit to upend the Mets 4-3 in the first seven-inning game of a Saturday doubleheader at Nats Park. In the bottom of the sixth, Harrison went after reliever Edwin Díaz's first pitch and laced it past Mets first baseman Pete Alonso into right field to score Brock Holt from third. Yan Gomes, making sure the ball fell before breaking for second, got forced out, but the Nationals had...

Despite tough loss, Fedde finishes with seven strong innings

Despite tough loss, Fedde finishes with seven strong innings
Erick Fedde did a lot of things right on Wednesday night, minus a couple of pitches to Bryce Harper. The right-hander ended up finishing the season strong, going seven innings in a hard-luck loss to the Phillies. Fedde allowed two homers to Harper, but overall just three runs on five hits. He walked one batter and struck out five. The Phillies salvaged the final game of the four-game set over the Nationals 12-3, scoring six runs in the ninth to pull away. Andrew McCutchen also doubled and came...

Gomes catching Scherzer, Kendrick trying to make it back

Gomes catching Scherzer, Kendrick trying to make it back
Some quick-hit news and notes before the Nationals take the field in Miami for the start of today's doubleheader against the Marlins ... * Yan Gomes is behind the plate for the opener, a bit of a surprise because Max Scherzer is on the mound. Scherzer typically pairs up with Kurt Suzuki; in fact, Suzuki caught all 10 of his previous starts this season. "Just wanted to change it up," manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "I talked to Max and Yan before...

Fedde dazzles, lineup takes down Sánchez in 5-0 win (updated)

Fedde dazzles, lineup takes down Sánchez in 5-0 win (updated)
If there's a primary goal for the Nationals during this final stretch of a disappointing season - beyond a miracle rally to reach the playoffs, of course - it's to leave 2020 with a positive impression of anyone who has a chance to hold a prominent role in 2021. Someone like Erick Fedde, who hasn't been able to make the most of his opportunity to stick in a depleted Nats rotation but might have one last chance to make his case in his final two starts of the year. And what Fedde showed this...

Game 44 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (updated, Eaton scratched)

Game 44 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (updated, Eaton scratched)
The Nationals lost another lead Friday night to the Braves, but this time persevered into extra innings and won the game 8-7 at Nats Park. Michael A. Taylor's bloop single to right field in the bottom of the 12th scored Adam Eaton with the walk-off run. Taylor's winning knock was his third career walk-off hit and first since a walk-off double on May 22, 2018, against the Padres. On Thursday night, the Nats led 5-0 after two innings before succumbing 7-6. The Nats are 4-4 against the Braves...

Game 32 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 32 lineups: Nats at Phillies
The Nationals continue their 11-game road trip in Philadelphia tonight as they open a four-game set against the Phillies. The Nats went 1-2 in Boston and 0-2 last week against the Phillies in D.C., and are now 6-6 on the road. Tonight's pitching matchup features right-hander Erick Fedde (1-2, 3.57 ERA) opposing the Phillies right-hander Spencer Howard (0-1, 6.17). Last week against the Phillies, Fedde took the loss in an 8-3 setback, giving up four runs on seven hits over five innings with one...

Tuesday morning news and notes

Tuesday morning news and notes
They're four games under .500, tied for fourth place in the five-team National League East, the season now 43.3 percent completed. The Nationals are in trouble, right? Well, not entirely. Yes, they're on the outside looking in right now, and they're going to have to turn things around in a more positive direction soon. But they're not as far out of the race as you might think upon first seeing that 11-15 record. "It doesn't seem like things are out of hand. At all," catcher Yan Gomes...

Spirited rally can't make up for Voth's continued struggles (updated)

Spirited rally can't make up for Voth's continued struggles (updated)
That the Nationals stayed in the fight tonight and didn't roll over after trailing the Marlins by seven runs early is testament to their gumption - even in the middle of a crowd-less, disappointing-to-date 2020 season. But at the end of an 11-8 loss that saw the home team's spirited rally fall short, the most significant development of the night was the manner in which that early seven-run deficit came about. If these were normal times and they had one of baseball's best rotations, the...

Game 25 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 25 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals look to even their series with the Marlins today with a 12:35 p.m. first pitch at Nats Park. Aníbal Sánchez gets the call, looking to build off his last start where he said he felt strong at the end of the outing, which is a good sign. Manager Davey Martinez and pitching coach Paul Menhart have worked with Sánchez to get him to throw less between starts so he is fresher on game day. Sánchez (0-3, 8.50) faces Marlins right-hander Humberto Mejía (0-1, 5.68 ERA)....

Corbin allows early runs, but "getting better and better"

Corbin allows early runs, but "getting better and better"
When the Marlins' Miguel Rojas smacked a three-run homer in the second inning Friday night, some had to worry that this might be a repeat of what happened to Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin in his previous start. On Aug. 15, Corbin allowed the Orioles to score two runs in each of the first two innings on their way to a 7-3 victory over the Nats in Baltimore. But Corbin returned to vintage form this time around, shaking off that early home run, and bewildering the Marlins into the seventh...

Nationals bats are quiet again in 3-2 loss to Marlins (updated)

Nationals bats are quiet again in 3-2 loss to Marlins (updated)
All night long, they waited for their lineup to strike. It felt like it was going to happen eventually, right? Someone would get a rally going against the Marlins bullpen and bring the Nationals back from the one-run deficit they had faced nearly the entire game, right? Well, no. It never happened. And so another eminently winnable ballgame was won not by the Nationals but by their opponents. Held to two early solo homers by Yan Gomes and Trea Turner, the Nats were silenced the rest of the...

Game 22 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 22 lineups: Nats at Braves
In spite of all their issues - and they have plenty - the Nationals can win a road series against the Braves with a victory tonight and move to within two games of first place in the National League East. Truth be told, they should already have won this series and were one out away from doing it. This doesn't mean everything's perfect in NatsTown. But it does serve as a reminder things aren't always as bad as they seem. There's still a significant challenge ahead tonight in the series...

Castro to have right wrist surgery on Friday

Castro to have right wrist surgery on Friday
Nationals second baseman Starlin Catro will have surgery on Friday to repair his broken right wrist. If everything goes well in rehab, Castro expects to be back around the beginning of October. "Castro will have surgery on Friday," manager Davey Martinez said on today's pregame Zoom call. "They are putting a pin in his wrist. I talked to him this morning. He sounded upbeat. He said by doing it this way, he can recover a lot quicker. He said, 'Just get to the playoffs and I'll be back...

Fedde, bats save the day after Strasburg leaves early (updated)

Fedde, bats save the day after Strasburg leaves early (updated)
BALTIMORE - Given the negative developments that already taken place over the preceding hours since they arrived at Camden Yards for 1 4/9 games of baseball, the Nationals would have been excused if they all threw up their hands in disgust at the sight of Stephen Strasburg walking off the mound with a trainer in the bottom of the first and decided to pack it in for the rest of the night. An early season of injuries, postponements and erratic play had now taken down one of their aces, who...

Strasburg consistent, if not overpowering, in win over O's (updated)

Strasburg consistent, if not overpowering, in win over O's (updated)
BALTIMORE - On a hot, muggy night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Stephen Strasburg didn't hit his usual mid-90s readings on his fastball, but he was consistent for five innings as the Nationals dropped the Orioles 4-2 in an exhibition game. Strasburg ended up throwing 81 pitches over five frames, 52 for strikes. Strasburg allowed one run on six hits with six strikeouts and no walks. His fastball was clocked around 92-93 mph, but his curveball and changeup were solid. The biggest factor was...

Nats ready to take next step with first exhibition game

Nats ready to take next step with first exhibition game
They've spent the last two weeks working first in small groups, then as a full (socially distanced) unit. They took grounders. They took batting practice. They threw off the bullpen mound. They simulated some game situations. And they played several intrasquad games. And now, at long last, the Nationals will take the field and play a baseball game against an opposing team for the first time in 127 days. It's not a real game, merely an exhibition. But this Saturday evening gathering with the...

Summer training news and notes

Summer training news and notes
Some news and notes for you on this Friday morning, the eve of the Nationals' first exhibition game against another club in four months ... * Though most of the attention - rightfully and deservedly - during Thursday night's intrasquad game was on Juan Soto and Howie Kendrick, there were other notable moments not involving the two big-name lineup regulars who made their summer training debuts after two weeks in mandatory quarantine. Patrick Corbin started for the home team and pitched four...

Catcher-umpire relationship faces new tests this season

Catcher-umpire relationship faces new tests this season
Baseball, more than most team sports, naturally creates social distance. There aren't many circumstances that bring people together in close quarters for more than a second or two during a specific play. With one major exception: The catcher and the plate umpire. For all the extensive changes and protocols Major League Baseball is putting in place to protect everyone on the field during a game, there isn't much that can be done about the need to have an umpire peering over the catcher's...

Torres felt "natural knack for catching" early on

Torres felt "natural knack for catching" early on
Last week, we had San Jacinto College North baseball coach Tom Arrington preview catcher Ray Torres IV, who has reportedly agreed to join the Nationals organization as an undrafted free agent. Torres got the call from the Nats after the draft and agreed to terms, forgoing a scholarship offer to LSU. He told me he was ready to go pro after high school last year, but opted instead to get better and hone his skills at San Jacinto this past season. The 20-year-old Torres is now back home in...