Game 138 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 138 lineups: Nats at Braves
While he's been one of the bright spots in an otherwise lost season, there's no way around the fact that as righty Paolo Espino's innings totals have gone up, his effectiveness has gone down. Espino (4-4, 4.08 ERA) starts tonight as the Nationals open a three-game series at Atlanta, and is hoping to deliver both some length and some efficiency. In six starts since the trade deadline, Espino is 1-2 wih a 6.57 ERA and an opponent slash line of .297/.336/.564. He's eclipsed five innings only...

Newcomer Rogers beats Mets, halts skid at seven (updated)

Newcomer Rogers beats Mets, halts skid at seven (updated)
An unknown quantity produced some much-needed quality for the Nationals on Saturday night. Lefty Josh Rogers - whose contract was selected from Triple-A Rochester to start the nightcap of a doubleheader because he was on turn and filled a need - threw 5 2/3 innings of four-hit, three-run ball as the Nationals beat the Mets 4-3 to snap a seven-game losing streak. Employing a herky-jerky old-school windup with an occasional hint of hesitation, Rogers gave the Nationals the length they needed to...

Martinez not worried about Ruiz's slow start at bat

Martinez not worried about Ruiz's slow start at bat
A week into Keibert Ruiz's Nationals tenure, the promising young catcher is assuming the bulk of the workload behind the plate but still trying to find his way offensively. A 1-for-5 afternoon in the Nats' 11-9 loss to the Mets left Ruiz's slash line at .148/.148/.259. Manager Davey Martinez is paying close attention to the rookie, who was anointed the organization's top prospect after coming from the Dodgers with pitcher Josiah Gray in the deal that sent pitcher Max Scherzer and shortstop...

Nats rally from 9-0 hole, fall 11-9 to Mets in extras (updated)

Nats rally from 9-0 hole, fall 11-9 to Mets in extras (updated)
Erick Fedde is still searching for consistency and the Nationals continue to seek an elusive victory. Francisco Lindor led off the ninth inning with a moonshot two-run homer off Kyle Finnegan and the Mets, who blew a 9-0 lead and allowed the Nats to tie the game on Andrew Stevenson's two-run homer in the seventh, outlasted the Nats 11-9 in nine innings in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Lindor connected on a 97 mph Finnegan sinker, completing a four-RBI day with a...

Rogers joins Nationals, will start nightcap vs. Mets

Rogers joins Nationals, will start nightcap vs. Mets
The Nationals have selected the contract of left-hander Josh Rogers from Triple-A Rochester, and he will be the 29th man for today's doubleheader against the Mets and will start the nightcap. "He'll start the second game," manager Davey Martinez said during his morning Zoom briefing with reporters. "Four-pitch mix and he throws strikes. ... Wanna give him a shot and see what he can do." Rogers, 27, was 7-3 with a 3.70 ERA in 14 games, including 13 starts, for Rochester this season. He...

Game 134 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 134 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
If the Nationals are going to halt their six-game skid, they're going to need a decent start from right-hander Erick Fedde (6-9, 5.08 ERA), who goes in the seven-inning opener of a doubleheader this afternoon. Though he's coming off a loss to the Mets on Sunday at Citi FIeld, Fedde has won two of his last three outings after a stretch that saw him drop four consecutive decisions. In his 9-4 loss to the Mets in his last start, Fedde allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits over 5 1/3...

Nats rally in ninth, but fall 6-2 in 10 innings (updated)

Nats rally in ninth, but fall 6-2 in 10 innings (updated)
A last-of-the-ninth rally nearly made up for eight innings of Nationals offensive struggles, but an out-of-contention club playing only for pride (and to stay in fourth place in the National League East) opened a five-game holiday weekend series with another loss. The Mets tallied four times in the 10th inning off Austin Voth for a 6-2 victory that extended Washington's losing streak to six games. "The guys are competing," manager Davey Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with the...

Kieboom making most of latest opportunity to impress Nats

Kieboom making most of latest opportunity to impress Nats
As the Nationals use the waning weeks of a lost season to gauge what they have moving forward, it won't be unusual to see some new faces in the lineup or some known quantities in different spots in the batting order. That's part of a retooling, and manager Davey Martinez wants to use real-time opportunities to see what he's got to work with for next season and beyond. But while some skippers in a rebuild will throw caution to the wind and seem to worry less about wins and losses, Martinez is...

Finnegan returns from paternity leave, McGowin hits injured list

Finnegan returns from paternity leave, McGowin hits injured list
The Nationals bullpen got a boost and took a hit today, with news that right-hander Kyle Finnegan had returned from paternity leave. To make room for Finnegan on the 28-man roster, the Nats placed righty Kyle McGowin on the 10-day injured list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, a tough break for a guy who has performed well while riding the shuttle this season between Triple-A Rochester and the majors. Manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with...

Game 133 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 133 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Sean Nolin (0-2, 6.57 ERA) will take the hill tonight to face the Mets.Since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Aug. 11, the lefty has made three starts, two of them against the Mets, against whom he's gone 0-1 with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.680 WHIP, allowing six runs on 14 hits with no walks, three strikeouts and three homers yielded in 8 1/3 innings. The way things are going, the Nationals would be thrilled to get some length out of Nolin, whose...

Made-over Nats eager for arrival of yet another acquisition

Made-over Nats eager for arrival of yet another acquisition
When Keibert Ruiz joins the Nationals later today, he'll need to work the clubhouse like a D.C. politician, introducing himself to teammates who have only heard second-hand of his exploits and connecting with pitchers of all experience levels eager to forge a relationship with their new batterymate. There's not a stack of "Hello, My Name Is" cards at the clubhouse entrance, but there could be. Ruiz will become the sixth new player added to the roster from outside the organization over the...

Nationals end road trip with a thud in 9-4 defeat (updated)

Nationals end road trip with a thud in 9-4 defeat (updated)
The Nationals ended a nine-game road trip with a thud Sunday afternoon, managing just one hit against a rookie pitcher and falling 9-4 to the New York Mets to finish their 11-day trek with a 3-6 record. Nationals starter Erick Fedde pitched in trouble for much of the afternoon, but much of the traffic was of his own making. He hit two batters, yielded a home run and balked home a run. Josh Bell homered twice and Juan Soto also went deep for the Nationals, Bell taking the team lead in the...

Nationals announce Ruiz will be promoted to majors on Monday

Nationals announce Ruiz will be promoted to majors on Monday
The Nationals aren't waiting to get a look at promising young catcher Keibert Ruiz, who will be promoted from Triple-A Rochester for Monday night's opener of a three-game home series against the Phillies, the club announced this morning. "He's playing really well down there," manager Davey Martinez said in his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "We want to get him here, get him settled, let him get some at-bats down at Rochester. (General manager Mike Rizzo) and I, we sat around and we...

Game 129: Nats at Mets

Game 129: Nats at Mets
Erick Fedde (6-8, 4.91 ERA) has already set a career high in victories, innings pitched and strikeouts this season. Now he'll try to get a little closer to .500 and cement himself as a rotation piece for the Nationals next season. The right-hander has gone 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in his last three starts, winning his past two decisions after going 10 straight decisions without a victory. Fedde is still seeking his first career triumph over the Mets, after going 0-2 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.357 WHIP...

Marlins reel in Corbin in 7-5 Nationals loss (updated)

Marlins reel in Corbin in 7-5 Nationals loss (updated)
After each of his 24 previous starts this season, Patrick Corbin has plopped himself down in front of a laptop in the Nationals Zoom room and patiently tried to explain what did - or more likely didn't - work in each outing. But time is running out for the veteran southpaw to figure out how to return to form, and no one would blame Corbin if he was at a loss for words after another disheartening start. Trying to follow up his best start of the season - when he allowed a run on three hits over...

Is September promotion in the cards for Ruiz?

Is September promotion in the cards for Ruiz?
Keibert Ruiz is making the Nationals take notice, but even a sizzling start at Triple-A Rochester since arriving in a trade deadline deal with the Dodgers might not be enough to earn the 23-year-old catcher a look-see in D.C. in September. Ruiz is slashing .314/.360/.614 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 18 games since joining the Red Wings, including back-to-back two-homer games on Aug. 24 and 25. Both MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America rank him as the organization's top prospect. But with...

Martinez on Robles' return and weekend rotation plans

Martinez on Robles' return and weekend rotation plans
Victor Robles returned to the Nationals lineup for tonight's finale of a three-game series in Miami against the Marlins, playing center field and batting leadoff. It's the first start since Aug. 20 for Robles, who ceded center field to newcomer Lane Thomas in the interim. Robles had battled an illness recently and Thomas' 8-for-19 stretch over the past five games made it difficult for him to crack the lineup. "He's moving around pretty good," manager Davey Martinez said in his pregame...

Game 126 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 126 lineups: Nats at Marlins
After suffering through a stretch of six straight outings in which he yielded at least four runs in each start, left-hander Patrick Corbin (7-12, 5.82 ERA) turned in a gem on Aug. 20 at Milwaukee, holding the playoff-bound Brewers to a run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings to pick up his first victory since July 7. Now Corbin just has to do it again. An aggressive young Marlins team will be the latest test for the southpaw's improved fastball velocity, which allows him to set up his slider. In...

Men in blue brighten days of young patients at Johns Hopkins Childrens Center

Men in blue brighten days of young patients at Johns Hopkins Childrens Center
Before calling balls and strikes at tonight's game between the Angels and Orioles at Camden Yards, home plate umpire Fieldin "Cubby" Culbreth made sure a baseball season tradition wouldn't be swept away because of COVID-19 precautions at the Johns Hopkins Childrens Center in Baltimore. Culbreth and Ryan Blakney, another of the men in blue assigned to tonight's game, participated in a special question-and-answer session over Zoom with young patients undergoing treatment at the hospital....

Men in blue brighten days of young patients at Johns Hopkins Childrens Center

Men in blue brighten days of young patients at Johns Hopkins Childrens Center
Before calling balls and strikes at tonight's game between the Angels and Orioles at Camden Yards, home plate umpire Fielden "Cubby" Culbreth made sure a baseball season tradition wouldn't be swept away because of COVID-19 precautions at the Johns Hopkins Childrens Center in Baltimore. Culbreth and Ryan Blakney, another of the men in blue assigned to tonight's game, participated in a special question-and-answer session over Zoom with young patients undergoing treatment at the hospital....