Nats balancing rest and momentum heading into break

Nats balancing rest and momentum heading into break
It might be easy to look at the recent body of work and be down on the Nationals entering the All-Star break: a four-game sweep at home at the hands of the Dodgers, a four-game series split with the Padres when winning three of four was right in their grasp, a loss in the first game against the Giants and a growing list of injuries. But looking at the greater body of work shows that the Nationals are carrying some real momentum into next week's pause: Over their last 30 games, they are 18-12,...

Game 88 lineups: Nats at Giants

Game 88 lineups: Nats at Giants
Jon Lester may still be finding his footing in his first season with the Nationals, but history suggests there's ample reason for the left-hander to turn in a steller start when he faces the Giants this afternoon. Sure, Lester (2-3, 5.34 ERA) has gone six innings only twice in 13 starts this season, and his last outing saw the veteran log just 3 1/3 innings against the Padres in San Diego. But Lester has won two of his last three decisions and his career numbers against the Giants are pretty...

Game 86 lineups: Nats at Padres

Game 86 lineups: Nats at Padres
We talked about the daunting two-week stretch the Nationals were going to face heading into the All-Star break, with 14 games in 14 days against five contenders. Well, 10 games in they've managed to go 5-5 despite a swath of injuries and a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers last weekend. And tonight they have a chance to win three of four on the road from the Padres. That's not bad at all. It's a premier pitching matchup for the series finale at Petco Park, with All-Star Yu Darvish...

Nats bats stay hot during blowout win in San Diego (updated)

Nats bats stay hot during blowout win in San Diego (updated)
There was the tone-setter, the three-run homer by Juan Soto in the top of the first that seemed to leave Petco Park in 1.3 seconds. There were the back-to-back, two-run singles by Josh Bell and Starlin Castro in the top of the second that kept the pressure on Padres starter Chris Paddack. And then there were the three additional runs the Nationals scored soon thereafter to extend their lead to a whopping 10 runs by the top of the fourth and ensure this would be a very good (albeit very long)...

Could Nats get both Bell and Zimmerman in lineup?

Could Nats get both Bell and Zimmerman in lineup?
For much of the season to date, Nationals manager Davey Martinez's plan at first base was fairly simple. Josh Bell almost always started against right-handers and Ryan Zimmerman almost always started against lefties. At this point, though, with Bell on a prolonged surge at the plate and Zimmerman now slumping after an electric April and May, Martinez's decision on playing time isn't quite as clear cut. Take Tuesday night's game in San Diego, for example. The Padres were starting Ryan...

Game 84 lineups: Nats at Padres (Fedde starting)

Game 84 lineups: Nats at Padres (Fedde starting)
Davey Martinez promised roster moves (plural) after Monday night's win, and the Nationals manager meant what he said. The Nats added two healthy pitchers to their staff today, activating both Erick Fedde and Kyle Finnegan off the 10-day injured list. And Fedde (surprise, surprise) will start tonight in San Diego. That was not expected, because as far as we know, Fedde has not faced any live hitters since going on the IL with an oblique strain two weeks ago. We'll see if that means he's...

Surging Bell powers Nats to late-night win in San Diego (updated)

Surging Bell powers Nats to late-night win in San Diego (updated)
Ask anyone who has watched him - shoot, ask Josh Bell himself - to evaluate his performance through the season's first half, and the answer almost certainly will be negative. And a quick glance at Bell's season totals - .247 batting average, 12 homers, 39 RBIs, .775 OPS - would give reason to believe that. Let's not forget, though, just how big a hole Bell dug for himself six weeks in. On the morning of May 13, the Nationals first baseman owned a horrific .133/.198/.289 slash line that...

Turner's third career cycle carries Nats to another win (updated)

Turner's third career cycle carries Nats to another win (updated)
The thermometer was loaded with mercury, the heat index was in triple digits, the ball was flying at Nationals Park, and as everyone else was dragging from exhaustion, there was Trea Turner racing around the bases in the bottom of the sixth, chasing history. Having already singled in the first, doubled in the third and homered in the fourth, here was Turner - on his 28th birthday - lining a ball over Manuel Margot's head in right field and immediately deciding it was time to turn on the...

Nationals ride homers, Scherzer to victory in Miami (updated)

Nationals ride homers, Scherzer to victory in Miami (updated)
There are any number of reasons you can point to for why the Nationals have won or lost a ballgame this season, but here's a simple one to consider: When they hit a home run, they usually win. When they don't, they usually don't. And when they clear the fence twice in the same inning, as they did today during a 5-1 win over the Marlins? Well, that's about as good a piece of evidence as you'll get to foretell a Nats victory. Trea Turner and Josh Bell provided the big blows in this one, each...

Parra continues to carve out niche with Nats

Parra continues to carve out niche with Nats
Asking Nationals manager Davey Martinez to pinpoint what he likes most about what Gerardo Parra brings to the club is like asking a parent in a large family which child he loves the most. There's really no answer to the question, but each different facet of Parra's game seems to make Martinez take notice. Though Parra hasn't played regularly since 2018, his last of three seasons with the Rockies, he's figured a way - ways, really - to make clubs make room for him. You need a versatile...

Martinez on Bell's return and Parra's start

Martinez on Bell's return and Parra's start
When the Nationals posted their lineup for this afternoon's game in Miami, two things jumped out: Josh Bell was back at first base after sitting out two games with a sore right side that required a precautionary MRI and Victor Robles was on the bench, with Gerardo Parra getting his first start in center field since 2019. Bell has been one of the Nationals' hottest hitters over the past six weeks, batting .298 with a .360 on-base percentage, a .544 slugging percentage and a .904 OPS since May...

Bell expected back in lineup tonight after clean MRI

Bell expected back in lineup tonight after clean MRI
At the end of the worst game they've played in weeks Friday night, the Nationals did get some good news: Josh Bell appears to be fine and should even be in today's lineup against the Marlins. Bell, who had to be scratched from Thursday's lineup after complaining of tightness in his right side, underwent an MRI on Friday afternoon to see if he had strained his oblique muscle. But that test showed no strain, according to manager Davey Martinez, and the slugger was back taking swings later in...

Game 74 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 74 lineups: Nats at Marlins
If the Nationals are going to get back to .500 and start another winning streak, they'll need to figure out an unknown quantity in right-hander Zach Thompson, who faces them for the first time this afternoon in Miami. Thompson's early returns since being summoned from Triple-A Jacksonville have been impressive. The 27-year-old, signed as a minor league free agent in November after six minor league seasons in the White Sox organization, is 1-2 with a 1.50 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in three starts....

As they await Bell's MRI, Nats prepping others at first base

As they await Bell's MRI, Nats prepping others at first base
As Davey Martinez sat down for his pregame Zoom session with reporters about 2 1/2 hours before first pitch in Miami, Josh Bell was in the process of getting an MRI on his right side. The results of that test will be on the Nationals manager's mind until he knows if his cleanup hitter can avoid a trip to the injured list. "He said he feels about the same (as Thursday)," Martinez said. "It's not bad, it's not horrible, but it's there. We'll see what happens when we get this MRI result...

On Bell's oblique, Soto's doubles and reaching .500 again

On Bell's oblique, Soto's doubles and reaching .500 again
More news and observations after Thursday night's 7-3 win over the Marlins, the Nationals' 10th win in 11 games ... * Josh Bell was a late scratch from the lineup after reporting soreness on his right side. The Nats don't seem to believe it's anything serious, but they want to make sure he didn't strain an oblique muscle before putting him back on the field. "I didn't want to take any chances," manager Davey Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "He's going to go...

Game 72 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Bell scratched)

Game 72 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Bell scratched)
The Nationals' two-game sweep in Philadelphia was both uplifting but also exhausting. Wednesday's 13-12 finale, in particular, used up every ounce of strength the Nats had, not to mention nearly every reliever on the staff. There's no rest for the weary, though, because after a flight south to Miami following the game, the Nationals are right back to work this evening in the opener of a four-game series with the Marlins. These two division foes have met only three times so far this season,...

Nats rally twice, pull out all stops to beat Phillies 13-12 (updated)

Nats rally twice, pull out all stops to beat Phillies 13-12 (updated)
In order to pull off their ninth win in 10 games, the Nationals needed another Kyle Schwarber three-run homer to highlight a five-run top of the fifth, a Josh Bell grand slam to cap a six-run top of the sixth, a two-run single by Starlin Castro in the top of the ninth to re-take a lead that had just been lost and then the first save conversion of Paolo Espino's career (with some help from a bleeding Jordy Mercer at second base). And it all worked out. Somehow. Some way. Adding another...

Nats won't let Phillies get under their skin, win again (updated)

Nats won't let Phillies get under their skin, win again (updated)
Let's get the most important point out of the way first: The Nationals beat the Phillies 3-2 tonight. They've now won eight of their last nine, moved into a three-way tie for second place in the National League East and continued a dramatic June surge that is making believers out of more skeptics with each passing day. Max Scherzer allowed one run in five innings in his first start back from a minor groin injury. The lineup scored three early runs off Zack Wheeler to take the lead. Austin...

Game 68 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 68 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
The Nationals need to do more at the plate in the nightcap of today's doubleheader against the Mets. They scored one run in Friday night's game and still somehow won. They scored one run in today's opener and unsurprisingly lost. They need a more productive showing in this one against Robert Gsellman, the first of several relievers who are expected to take the mound for New York. Manager Davey Martinez's lineup is close to the one he put out there earlier today. Yan Gomes will catch instead...

Espino delivers latest pitching gem as Nats sweep Bucs (updated)

Espino delivers latest pitching gem as Nats sweep Bucs (updated)
The notion of the Nationals thriving with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Daniel Hudson all on the injured list at the same time would've sounded fairly ludicrous to anyone who considered that nightmare scenario two weeks ago. How could this team, deficient in pitching depth and offensive might, not only survive but actually get better with those three arms unavailable? In this most unusual season, that's exactly what's happening. The Nats are slowly climbing their way back up the...