How do Nats find ways to score runs while Soto's out?

How do Nats find ways to score runs while Soto's out?
You can talk about the reasons the Nationals are currently 8-11 and point out that Juan Soto and Stephen Strasburg are currently on the injured list, that nobody in their rotation outside of Max Scherzer owns an ERA under 4.64 or that nine members of the opening day roster were in quarantine on opening day. And all of those are indeed among the reasons the Nats are 8-11 as they spend this off-day on the Florida Gulf Coast in advance of a two-game interleague series versus the Blue Jays at their...

Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets
Despite what they might try to insist, managers are a superstitious lot. When something works one day, they tend to not want to change it up the next day. So when the Nationals scored a season-high seven runs Saturday with a new-look lineup, you shouldn't be surprised to see Davey Martinez go right back to the same lineup for today's series finale in New York. Yes, that means Josh Harrison and Yadiel Hernandez are at the top of the batting order again. And it means Josh Bell, despite his...

With Soto out, Bell and Schwarber's slumps are magnified

With Soto out, Bell and Schwarber's slumps are magnified
Josh Bell has been late on fastballs since the slugger made his delayed season debut nearly two weeks ago. He's been trying to catch up ever since, and Friday night's game in New York did nothing to help that process along. Facing Jacob deGrom and his 100 mph fastball all night, Bell had no chance. He saw a total of 11 pitches in three at-bats, nine of which were fastballs, seven of which he swung at. He made contact twice, fouling off one pitch and lofting a lazy fly ball to center field on...

Nats emerge victorious at end of eventful evening (updated)

Nats emerge victorious at end of eventful evening (updated)
Davey Martinez and his players have been insisting for several days now that the mood inside the Nationals clubhouse remains upbeat, that nobody is feeling a sense of dread two weeks into a season that has seen all manner of calamity befall this team. From a roster-ravaging COVID-19 outbreak to an ineffective string of pitching performances to a lineup that has been hit-or-miss to yet another injury for one of the staff's most-important stalwarts, there has been plenty of valid reasons for...

Game 15 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals (updated)

Game 15 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals (updated)
Well, this is what it has come to: The Nationals tonight desperately need a quality start from Patrick Corbin, who has yet to come close to producing such a performance in 2021 (and often didn't do it in 2020, for that matter). In 13 starts since the 2019 postseason, Corbin has made it through six or more innings allowing three or fewer earned runs only six times. And four of those came in his first six starts last season. Recent history aside, the Nats simply can't afford another blowup from...

Ross blasted for 10 runs, adding to rotation woes (updated)

Ross blasted for 10 runs, adding to rotation woes (updated)
If the Nationals are going to survive with Stephen Strasburg on the injured list, Patrick Corbin a mess and Jon Lester still building his arm up at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg, they're going to have to rely on the remaining members of their rotation not only to pitch effectively but to at times exceed expectations. For two starts, that's exactly what they got from Joe Ross, who didn't so much as allow a single Dodgers or Cardinals runner to cross the plate while he was on...

On Bell's timing, Avilán's surgery and Nats' vaccine goal

On Bell's timing, Avilán's surgery and Nats' vaccine goal
Josh Bell, maybe more than just about any big-name hitter in the majors, depends on proper timing at the plate to be successful. The big slugger doesn't have the short, compact swing of an Anthony Rendon. His is a long swing with long arms that, when in sync, produces explosive results but otherwise can produce a lot of whiffs. When the Nationals first baseman departed West Palm Beach, Fla., on March 29, everything was in sync. He enjoyed a monster spring at the plate, hitting .383 (18-for-47)...

Game 14 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

Game 14 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals
Joe Ross has been probably the most positive development for the Nationals so far this young season. The right-hander, who won the fifth starter's job in spring training after opting out of the 2020 campaign, has been outstanding in each of his first two outings and has yet to allow a run in 11 innings. It's everything the Nats could've hoped for and more from the 27-year-old right-hander. Except now they actually need Ross to continue being this guy to help them survive while much of the...

The positives and the negatives after two weeks

The positives and the negatives after two weeks
The Nationals' 2021 season is only two weeks old, but boy does it feel like a lot has happened already or what? It's been an eventful 13 days since they took the field to face the Braves after seeing their first four scheduled games of the year postponed due to their COVID-19 outbreak. Prominent players have gone on the injured list, prominent players have come off it. There have been two walk-off wins and there have been two blowout losses. There have been lights-out pitching performances...

Game 12 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

Game 12 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks
Today's matchup pits two pitchers coming off their best performances of the young season, and both Erick Fedde of the Nationals and Luke Weaver of the Diamondbacks will be hoping to continue their success. At stake for the Nationals: A win today will give them consecutive victories for the first time this season. On the heels of another dominant effort by Max Scherzer on Friday night, the Nats need another strong outing by a starting pitcher. Fedde didn't get ouf of the second inning in his...

Game 11 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

Game 11 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks
The Nationals have slogged their way through a few clunkers in the last week. The good news: They've bounced back in each case to play well the following day and win. So perhaps that portends better things tonight when they face the Diamondbacks and try to erase all memory of Thursday night's fiasco. It starts, of course, with Max Scherzer, who is desperately needed tonight not only to pitch well but to pitch as deep into the game as possible after Patrick Corbin was knocked out two innings...

Another ragged start by Corbin leaves Nats in a lurch (updated)

Another ragged start by Corbin leaves Nats in a lurch (updated)
Once was perhaps cause for concern but potentially forgivable. Twice is cause for alarm and potentially disastrous for a Nationals club that is built to win behind a dominant rotation but has now seen two of its top three starters get rocked in the last week, one of them twice. Stephen Strasburg, for the moment, isn't the Nats' greatest concern. Patrick Corbin is after another cringe-inducing start tonight in which the left-hander was battered for 10 runs in only two innings during a 11-6...

Nats survived roller coaster to begin season, now can settle in

Nats survived roller coaster to begin season, now can settle in
The Nationals flew home from St. Louis on Wednesday night, owners of a 3-6 record. It's not a record anyone is going to brag about, nor should it be, but neither is it a record anyone should be afraid to acknowledge. Given all they've been through already during a roller coaster couple of weeks to begin the season, 3-6 hardly feels like a disaster. The Nats were missing nine major league players during their opening three-game series against the Braves. And perhaps the three most important...

Newly activated regulars deliver late to end skid (updated)

Newly activated regulars deliver late to end skid (updated)
It was appropriate - probably wise - to temper expectations when the Nationals emerged from visitors' dugout tonight in St. Louis and for the first time in 2021 had their entire lineup active. As much as everyone hoped Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Harrison would make an immediate impact, logic suggested it was too much to expect in their first game of the season after being stuck in COVID-19-related quarantine. And for a few innings, that was indeed the appropriate sentiment. The three...

All Nats personnel cleared, most were vaccinated today

All Nats personnel cleared, most were vaccinated today
Josh Bell tried to hit miniature Wiffle balls coming at him in all sorts of directions from a pitching machine. Kyle Schwarber used a virtual reality mask to take swings against simulated pitches only he could see. Both did whatever they could to follow their Nationals teammates through the season's first week while stuck at home in quarantine. "It wasn't ideal," Schwarber said. "But you still have to make the best of your time. And I still wanted to make sure I was all the way in tune - I...

Game 7 lineups: Nats at Cardinals

Game 7 lineups: Nats at Cardinals
For the first time in 2021, the Nationals will field their full starting lineup. Now it's up to that reinforced unit to actually produce and help end a five-game skid. Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Harrison all were activated from the COVID-19-related injury list today and all three are in manager Davey Martinez's lineup for the series opener against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Bell will hit cleanup and provide protection for the already-red-hot Juan Soto, with Schwarber behind him...

Bell, Schwarber and Harrison activated, Lucroy designated

Bell, Schwarber and Harrison activated, Lucroy designated
The Nationals activated Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Harrison from the COVID-19-related injured list and will have all three veterans available for tonight's series opener in St. Louis. Bell, Schwarber and Harrison were cleared to return today after completing their league- and city-mandated protocols. All had been quarantined since mid-to-late last week after either testing positive for COVID-19 or being deemed close contacts to someone else who did. Manager Davey Martinez hasn't...

Three players could be in St. Louis, but Lester needs more time

Three players could be in St. Louis, but Lester needs more time
The Nationals are hoping their four remaining quarantined players will be cleared by Monday, and there's a chance Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Harrison could be with the club for the start of their three-game series in St. Louis, though Jon Lester is going to need more time to build his arm back up before he pitches in a big league game. "Until we have clearance, I don't know anything yet," manager Davey Martinez said today at Dodger Stadium during his pregame Zoom session with...

Is Soto destined to be pitched around all season?

Is Soto destined to be pitched around all season?
Victor Robles' attempt to steal second base during the top of the eighth Friday afternoon in Los Angeles was ill-advised, as both the Nationals center fielder and his manager conceded following their 1-0 loss to the Dodgers. As Robles correctly noted, in getting caught trying to swipe second with runners on the corners and nobody out, he failed to recognize who was coming to bat behind him: Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman. Especially Soto, who was in the on-deck circle at the time as...

Four players activated, Corbin could start Saturday

Four players activated, Corbin could start Saturday
The Nationals will have four of their previously ineligible players in uniform and available for today's series opener at Dodger Stadium, and they could have their No. 3 starter back on the mound for Saturday night's game. Alex Avila, Patrick Corbin, Yan Gomes, Brad Hand and Jordy Mercer all cleared their COVID-19 protocols and flew on a charter from Washington to Los Angeles this morning, manager Davey Martinez revealed during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. All but Corbin have been...