All the ballplayers whose careers ended in D.C.

All the ballplayers whose careers ended in D.C.
A total of 370 players have appeared in at least one game for the Nationals since 2005. Some of them were longtime stalwarts who are forever associated fondly with this franchise. Some were only here for a year or two as part of successful careers with multiple clubs. And some of them played for a while in Washington and then never played in the big leagues again. Actually, more than some of them fit that last description. Would you believe at least 127 of the 370 players in Nationals history...

Notable ex-Nationals left off 2021 Hall of Fame ballot

Notable ex-Nationals left off 2021 Hall of Fame ballot
The 2021 Hall of Fame ballot officially was announced Monday, and though there are 25 notable names on the list the most notable thing about this year's ballot might just be what's not on there: a slam-dunk Hall of Famer. None of the 14 new additions to the ballot are guaranteed to reach the 75 percent vote threshold necessary for induction. And even among the 11 returning players who have the best case for induction, there's nobody you can say with absolute certainty will be elected. Curt...

What those minor league contracts really mean

What those minor league contracts really mean
More than a few eyes were raised in recent weeks when the Nationals signed a succession of guys who play center field to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training. To be honest, the Nats usually wait a little deeper into the offseason before this news trickles out, and they routinely make a formal announcement only after all of their signings of this kind are in the fold. To recap, the Nats have inked Reed Johnson, Chris Heisey and Logan Schafer - three veteran...

Max Scherzer makes history with second no-hitter of season

Max Scherzer makes history with second no-hitter of season
FLUSHING, N.Y. - Nationals ace Max Scherzer has not allowed a baserunner through the first five innings. The right-hander has struck out eight Mets and only gone to two three-ball counts. This is the fourth time Scherzer has taken a perfect game into the sixth inning this season. It's also the second time he has taken a no-hitter into the sixth against the Mets. Scherzer has thrown just 55 pitches. The Nationals took the lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Wilson Ramos scoring Michael...

Scherzer set to face Reds in makeup game (with lineups)

Scherzer set to face Reds in makeup game (with lineups)
When right-hander Max Scherzer takes the mound for today's makeup game against the Reds at Nationals Park - as the Nats try to put yesterday's dugout altercation and its aftermath behind them - he'll have an unfamiliar cast behind him. With the Nats eliminated from postseason contention, a lot of bench guys are getting some playing time. Today's Nationals lineup is missing guys like right fielder Bryce Harper, left fielder Jayson Werth, shortstop Ian Desmond and third baseman Yunel...

Nats reinstate Dan Uggla, call up Pedro Severino and recall Sammy Solis

Nats reinstate Dan Uggla, call up Pedro Severino and recall Sammy Solis
ST. LOUIS - The Nationals have reinstated second baseman Dan Uggla, selected the contract of catcher Pedro Severino from Double-A Harrisburg and recalled left-hander Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse. To make room for Severino on the 40-man roster, right-hander David Carpenter was put on the 60-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Uggla returns to the Nats after missing 22 games with back spasms. He played in seven rehab assignment games with Harrisburg, hitting .217 (5-for-23)...

Denard Span suffers setback

Denard Span suffers setback
Denard Span traveled to New York one week ago to test out his ailing back with workouts at Citi Field. After taking his first swings in over three weeks, Span told reporters it was time to "put the rubber to the road and see where I'm at and test it out ... just rev it up." But Span wasn't able to make his scheduled live batting practice session at Nationals Park on Friday afternoon. "He's had a setback," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "It just hasn't been progressing the way he...

Nationals reinstate Stephen Strasburg, place Dan Uggla on disabled list

Nationals reinstate Stephen Strasburg, place Dan Uggla on disabled list
The Nationals welcome Stephen Strasburg back to the mound tonight. The right-hander was reinstated after landing on the 15-day disabled list back on July 5. Strasburg strained his left oblique the day before in the fourth inning of a start against the Giants. The Nationals look for Strasburg to regain the form he showed before the setback. The 27-year-old was 2-0 with a 1.15 ERA while striking out 18 and walking four across 15 1/3 innings in his prior three starts leading up to his DL stint. To...

Heavy work for Nats bullpen leaves concern

Heavy work for Nats bullpen leaves concern
FLUSHING, N.Y. - After displaying improved control and command over the past month, Gio Gonzalez labored through his abbreviated start last night. Gonzalez walked four and let his pitch count balloon up to 105 pitches, forcing Nationals manager Matt Williams to yank the left-hander with two men on and two outs in the fifth. "I just put my team in a tough situation," Gonzalez said. "I gotta go deeper in the game. I kept falling behind on every hitter. No excuses. I should've done a better...

Matt Williams on Bryce Harper: "He needs to stay in the baseball game"

Matt Williams on Bryce Harper: "He needs to stay in the baseball game"
FLUSHING, N.Y. - In a tie game with postseason implications in a playoff-type atmosphere, Bryce Harper, arguably the MVP of the National League, got himself ejected after striking out in the 11th inning. "He needs to stay in the baseball game," manager Matt Williams repeated three times, after the Nationals lost 2-1 on Wilmer Flores' walk-off homer in the 12th. Home plate umpire Jerry Meals was inconsistent throughout the game. Meals punched out Jayson Werth on a low and outside fastball to...

Yunel Escobar out; Bryce Harper looks for first homer in Pittsburgh (with lineups)

Yunel Escobar out; Bryce Harper looks for first homer in Pittsburgh (with lineups)
PITTSBURGH - The Pirates will look to seek revenge on the Nationals, who swept the Bucs on June 19-21 in Washington. The Nats outscored the Pirates 19-3 in the series, which included Max Scherzer's first career no-hitter. Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano, who was on the wrong side of Scherzer's gem at Nationals Park, takes the mound tonight. Liriano hasn't pitched since before the All-Star break with his last start coming back on July 12. The 10-year-veteran has posted a 1.98 ERA in his...

Yunel Escobar's X-rays on left hand/wrist negative, but he'll need more tests

Yunel Escobar's X-rays on left hand/wrist negative, but he'll need more tests
Following the Nationals' 4-3 win over the Mets, manager Matt Williams confirmed that third baseman Yunel Escobar has an injured left hand and wrist. He has been dealing with an injury to that area from earlier in the season. Escobar went down to the ground after taking a healthy swing in his first at-bat in the second inning on a pitch from Mets' right-hander Noah Syndergaard. He laid on top of home plate for almost a minute, and after recovering, stepped back into the box with a 1-2 count....

Nats rally late to take series with 4-3 win (Yunel Escobar injured)

Nats rally late to take series with 4-3 win (Yunel Escobar injured)
Yunel Escobar left the game in the middle of his first at-bat to start the second inning. Escobar dropped to his knees, clutching his left hand or wrist after attempting to check his swing on a 96 mph heater from Mets starter Noah Syndergaard. It was unclear if the ball actually hit Escobar, though the Nationals' Twitter account reported that Syndergaard's pitch struck Escobar's hand. Nationals manager Matt Williams and head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz tended to Escobar immediately. After...

Scherzer delivers All-Star performance again in Nats' 3-2 win

Scherzer delivers All-Star performance again in Nats' 3-2 win
BALTIMORE - Max Scherzer bypassed an opportunity to start for the National League in Tuesday's All-Star Game, opting instead to take the mound for this afternoon's series finale against the Orioles. The much belabored decision turned out to be bad news for Baltimore as Scherzer yielded only two solo homers to fellow All-Star Adam Jones and the Nationals went on to take the series with a 3-2 win. Jones' second home run cut the Nats' lead to one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth,...

Dan Uggla leading in supporting role

Dan Uggla leading in supporting role
Dan Uggla has just one home run this year, but it's arguably the biggest homer blasted for the Nationals all season. Staring at a puzzling 7-13 start and mired in a six-game losing streak, the Nats found themselves trailing by eight runs in Atlanta on April 28. But resilience took over, and so did some heavy bats as the Nationals chipped away at the Braves' seemingly insurmountable lead before Uggla finished off the historic comeback with a game-winning three-run homer in the ninth for the...

Marty Niland: Nationals bench has stepped up

Marty Niland: Nationals bench has stepped up
Many Nationals fans might have predicted at the start of the season that by the end of June, the team would have settled into first place in the National League East and reeled off a season-high eight straight wins. Even their most ardent supporters, however, might not have predicted that they'd have done it largely without the players projected to be their top offensive weapons. Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman have been on the disabled list and were not a part of the Nats' recent run of...

Strasburg, Desmond are experiencing resurgences

Strasburg, Desmond are experiencing resurgences
The Nationals' season-high eight-game winning streak came to an end with Sunday night's 8-5 loss to the Phillies in the series finale. Despite the setback, the Nationals head to Atlanta experiencing the potential resurgence of two key players: right-hander Stephen Strasburg and shortstop Ian Desmond. Strasburg pitched brilliantly in yesterday's 3-2 win over Philadelphia in the first game of the doubleheader. The 26-year-old gave up just two runs on only four hits while striking out a...

Max Scherzer powers Nationals to 5-2 win

Max Scherzer powers Nationals to 5-2 win
PHILADELPHIA - Back spasms forced Denard Span out of tonight's game, with Michael A. Taylor taking over center field and the leadoff spot in the order. Taylor smacked the first pitch from Phillies starter Aaron Harang over center fielder Odubel Herrera's head for a double. Two batters later, Harang ran an 89 mph fastball in hard on Yunel Escobar's left hand, sending him to the ground. Nationals manager Matt Williams and head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz immediately came out of the dugout to...

Espinosa, Roark charge up Nats in 7-5 win

Espinosa, Roark charge up Nats in 7-5 win
When the season started, Tanner Roark was on the outside looking in on the Nationals starting rotation. After Anthony Rendon finally returned yesterday, Danny Espinosa was presumably the odd man out in the Nats lineup. Tonight, both Roark and Espinosa starred for the Nats in a 7-5 victory over the Cubs that snapped a three-game slide. The Nationals offense entered tonight sleepwalking through the last 10 days, but Espinosa woke them up in the second inning. After a leadoff single from Wilson...

Phillies rough up Strasburg, Nats lose 8-1

Phillies rough up Strasburg, Nats lose 8-1
Stephen Strasburg ran into difficulty in the third when he surrendered a one-out walk to Phillies left fielder Ben Revere. Shortstop Cesar Hernandez followed by slapping a double down the left field line that left the Phillies with runners at second and third. A groundout from second baseman Chase Utley scored Revere unchallenged. Then, first baseman Ryan Howard ripped an RBI double into the right field corner. Strasburg looked to be in position to finally get out of the inning as he had the...