Early offense, late escape acts give Nats another win (updated)

Early offense, late escape acts give Nats another win (updated)
The Nationals burst out of the gates tonight to take a quick five-run lead on the Mets. Then they decided to find out if they could make those five runs hold up behind Patrick Corbin and four relievers, with a rain delay thrown into the middle of it all for good measure. The answer: They could. By the skin of their teeth. Tonight's 5-3 victory over New York didn't quite go according to script. Not that Davey Martinez could've predicted this particular script, which included an out-of-nowhere...

Corbin pitches well in simulated game; protocols annoy Thames

Corbin pitches well in simulated game; protocols annoy Thames
The Nationals extended Saturday's sim game into the fifth inning, one inning more than they played on Friday. Left-hander Patrick Corbin was the featured starter, allowing one run over three innings. Innings were stopped when he reached 13-14 pitches. "Pat threw the ball well. We wanted to keep him under 40 pitches, he threw 43, but he said he felt good," said Nationals manager Davey Martinez during a Zoom video call. "So, we will go from there. The biggest thing was get them three ups...

Nats to open against Yankees in prime time

Nats to open against Yankees in prime time
The Nationals will open defense of their 2019 World Series title on July 23 at Nats Park against the New York Yankees, according to broadcast sources. The likely first pitching matchup is tantalizing, with former Astros star Gerrit Cole taking on Nats ace Max Scherzer. This was supposed to be the World Series Game 5 matchup until Scherzer had to be scratched due to back and neck spasms. Cole was the top offseason free agent acquisition for the Yankees. He is a three-time All-Star whose 2.50 ERA...

Union creates fund for non-roster players in big league camps

Union creates fund for non-roster players in big league camps
The agreement struck last week between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association ensured all players on 40-man rosters would be paid a partial salary even if there's no 2020 season. But what about longtime big league players who aren't currently on 40-man rosters? That group was taken care of Friday when the union voted to establish an assistance fund for players with major league experience who were in spring training as non-roster invitees. The fund will pay anywhere from $5,000...

Nats invite 22 non-roster players to big league camp

Nats invite 22 non-roster players to big league camp
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals have invited 22 non-roster players to participate in big league camp, a group that includes a host of veterans with major league experience and a handful of prospects who aren't yet on the organization's 40-man roster. Among the veterans who signed minor league contracts and were extended big league invitations are: * Javy Guerra, who made 40 relief appearances for the Nationals last season with a 4.86 ERA and 1.248 WHIP and then pitched in a pair of...

Guerra returning to Nationals on minor league deal

Guerra returning to Nationals on minor league deal
SAN DIEGO - It's not nearly as big a deal as the others they've given out so far this winter, but the Nationals did make sure they're bringing back yet another member of their World Series roster who could have been headed elsewhere. The Nats agreed to terms with reliever Javy Guerra on a minor league contract for 2020 late Monday night, according to a source familiar with the signing. The deal would pay the veteran right-hander $1 million if he makes the opening day roster, with more money...

Guerra non-tendered, Nationals will bring back others

Guerra non-tendered, Nationals will bring back others
The Nationals did not tender contracts to relievers Javy Guerra and Koda Glover before tonight's league-mandated deadline, essentially releasing both right-handers, though the oft-injured Glover had already announced his retirement earlier this afternoon. The club did tender contracts to four other arbitration-eligible players: Trea Turner, Michael A. Taylor, Joe Ross and Roenis Elías. None of those players have agreed to terms on 2020 contracts yet, as Wilmer Difo and Hunter Strickland did...

Nationals face several decisions at deadline (Strickland signed)

Nationals face several decisions at deadline (Strickland signed)
It's non-tender day across Major League Baseball, a day when a handful of players from each club worry they might get dumped but in most cases survive to live another day. How's this all work? Well, players who are eligible for salary arbitration - those with more than three years but fewer than six years of big league service time - must be tendered a contract by 8 p.m. today. All that means is that teams must declare their intention to sign those players to 2020 contracts. They don't have...

Nats have several decisions to make before start of Series

Nats have several decisions to make before start of Series
This extended break between the National League Championship Series and the World Series offers the Nationals a chance to rest their overworked pitchers and a chance to figure out how to make sure their hitters stay in a rhythm without facing live pitching in actual games for six days. It also offers ample opportunity for the Nats to consider all their roster, lineup, bullpen and bench options for either potential opponent. Maybe too much opportunity. "Do our homework," general manager Mike...

Nats turn to offense to secure home field Tuesday with 10-7 win

Nats turn to offense to secure home field Tuesday with 10-7 win
The Nationals raced out to a big early lead, then held off the Indians the rest of the way for a 10-7 victory over the Indians at Nats Park. The win guarantees the Nats home field advantage for Tuesday's National League wild card game. After starting the season 19-31, the Nats rebounded to go 72-38 (.655), and are now 92-69 with one game remaining in the regular season. Gerardo Parra crushed his second grand slam of the season, Anthony Rendon delivered a two-run double in a nine-run second...

Kendrick, Elías to IL; Guerra, Stevenson rejoin roster (Nats down 7-5)

Kendrick, Elías to IL; Guerra, Stevenson rejoin roster (Nats down 7-5)
PHOENIX - For two days, the Nationals hoped Howie Kendrick and Roenis Elías had suffered mere leg cramps and not hamstring strains. On the third day, they conceded the ailments were severe enough to land both players on the injured list. Kendrick and Elías were formally placed on the 10-day IL before today's series finale against the Diamondbacks, and though club officials still believe neither injury is serious, both will miss at least another week, leaving the roster depleted. Javy...

Nationals' streaks end in lopsided loss to Braves

Nationals' streaks end in lopsided loss to Braves
ATLANTA - If the streak was going to end, this probably felt like the night it would happen, with the backup to the backup starter on the mound. If a member of the Nationals rotation was going to take a loss for the first time in 28 games, Joe Ross was a good candidate. And yet tonight's 7-1 loss to the Braves can't really be pinned on Ross, who did all the Nats could have asked of him under the circumstances. He gave them a chance to win. "He looked good," manager Davey Martinez said. "He...

After Fedde's quick hook, bullpen implodes in 9-2 loss

After Fedde's quick hook, bullpen implodes in 9-2 loss
BALTIMORE - Ask him before the game how he'd feel about six innings of one-run ball from Erick Fedde, and Davey Martinez would've scooped it up in a heartbeat and been content with it 'til the cows come home. But when that very proposition came true tonight, Martinez was faced with a decision he never could have foreseen. Fedde had only thrown 66 pitches in those six innings. His bullpen was rested and ready to go, trying to protect a one-run lead over the Orioles. Would he let his young...

Guerra throws two shutout innings to give rest of bullpen a break

Guerra throws two shutout innings to give rest of bullpen a break
BALTIMORE - Of course the walk-off homer that Matt Grace surrendered Sunday in Philly stings, but so far in four games coming off the All-Star break, the bullpen is rolling. Tuesday night it was Tanner Rainey and Javy Guerra that kept the Orioles at bay in an 8-1 win. Rainey pitched a scoreless seventh, and for the first time since June 15, Guerra pitched two scoreless innings. It wasn't that clean for Rainey. He walked two in his inning. But after recording a fielder's choice forceout at...

Guerra notches first win of season as bullpen shines in 7-4 win

Guerra notches first win of season as bullpen shines in 7-4 win
Highlighted by a 1-2-3 inning from a big league veteran, the Nationals bullpen helped save the day again in a 7-4 win over the Phillies that completed a three-game sweep. Starter Erick Fedde did not have the control he had hoped for with five walks in 3 2/3 innings. Matt Grace struggled a bit, allowing a run on a solo homer to Jean Segura, but did record four outs. In came Javy Guerra, who notched a shutout inning in the sixth to earn the victory. Tanner Rainey gave up a Jay Bruce solo homer,...

More on Turner's finger, Corbin's slider and the Nats bullpen

More on Turner's finger, Corbin's slider and the Nats bullpen
CINCINNATI - Trace the Nationals' season back to before shortstop Trea Turner broke his right index finger. Turner broke the finger when getting hit by a pitch in the first inning of the fourth game of the season on a pitch by Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin. Prior to that play, Turner was setting himself up for a very good season. He may still be able to get to that great season with more than 100 games to play, but that moment certainly placed an unfortunate detour on an incredibly positive...

Corbin's off day helps Reds roll up big first inning, drop Nats 9-3

Corbin's off day helps Reds roll up big first inning, drop Nats 9-3
CINCINNATI - It took one game for left-hander Patrick Corbin to go from his best start of the season to his worst. On May 25 at Nats Park, Corbin tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout in a 5-0 Nationals dispatch of the Marlins. It was his fifth win out of seven decisions. He struck out five and walked one. But Friday night at Great American Ball Park, the Reds were not going for Corbin's patented slider and rolled to eight runs in the first three innings to coast to a 9-3 win over the...

Guerra ready for whatever relief role is needed (game tied 5-5)

Guerra ready for whatever relief role is needed (game tied 5-5)
NEW YORK - Javy Guerra was hanging out in Toronto with his 2-year-old son Monday afternoon when he got a call from a Blue Jays official, informing the veteran reliever he had just been claimed off waivers by the Nationals. "Just hanging out," he said. "And before you know it, you find out that you have to get down here and be ready to play tomorrow." Guerra, now pitching for his sixth franchise in nine years, has learned how to deal with the uncertainty of this profession. "You just kind...

Hellickson lands on IL with shoulder strain (updated)

Hellickson lands on IL with shoulder strain (updated)
NEW YORK - Just as their lineup is returning to health, the Nationals rotation is losing pitchers to injury. Jeremy Hellickson became the latest Nats starter to land on the 10-day injured list this afternoon, sidelined with a strained right shoulder in a transaction that opens up a roster spot for newly acquired reliever Javy Guerra. Hellickson had not previously revealed any arm trouble to reporters, but the veteran right-hander said today he has been dealing with minor discomfort for several...

Guerra could join bullpen Tuesday (Nats trail 4-2)

Guerra could join bullpen Tuesday (Nats trail 4-2)
NEW YORK - Javy Guerra won't join the Nationals bullpen until Tuesday at the earliest. But once he does, the club hopes the versatile veteran will help stabilize the majors' worst relief corps. Guerra, claimed off outright waivers from the Blue Jays earlier today, wasn't able to make it to New York in time for the Nationals' series opener against the Mets. Manager Davey Martinez, who spoke to the right-hander over the phone, hopes to have him available for Tuesday's game. "If he gets here...