Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach on MASN

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach on MASN
And so we have arrived at the final day of spring training. Six weeks just flew by, right? The Nationals have one last exhibition to play today against the Astros, one final battle for Palm Beach, if you will. At this stage of the process, it's a whole lot of regulars playing, and both teams have prominent starters on the mound: Stephen Strasburg and Jake Odorizzi. Strasburg has looked perfectly fine all spring, showing no ill effects of his carpal tunnel syndrome nor the ruptured calf tendon...

Mechanics, not ruptured calf tendon, on Strasburg's mind

Mechanics, not ruptured calf tendon, on Strasburg's mind
Stephen Strasburg was on the mound in a Grapefruit League game, 10 days since he departed his last such appearance with what, believe it or not, was a ruptured tendon in his left calf. And he threw 83 pitches while showing no obvious lingering effects of an injury that isn't nearly as serious as it sounds. Those are positive developments for the right-hander and the Nationals, who have no reason to worry at this point he won't be ready when the season begins next week. "He feels good,"...

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
It's been 10 days since Stephen Strasburg strained his left calf while throwing a pitch against the Astros, and though he hasn't pitched again in an official game, by all accounts, the right-hander hasn't been hindered at all. He threw in a simulated game Friday just to make sure he was fine. And now tonight he's back on the mound to face the Astros again and move one step closer to game-ready for the regular season. Strasburg is set to throw 80 pitches tonight, according to manager Davey...

Strasburg strong in return, Robles departs with tight back

Strasburg strong in return, Robles departs with tight back
Stephen Strasburg's return from a strained left calf didn't come in an official game, but that's about the only detail of today's outing that was less than ideal. Pitching in a simulated game against teammates prior to the Nationals' Grapefruit League contest versus the Astros, Strasburg went five innings and threw 74 pitches, according to information provided by the club. Both numbers represented a step up from what manager Davey Martinez said he was expecting going into the simulated...

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
As they attempt to get every member of their projected rotation the work they need on the day they need it to stay on schedule, the Nationals left themselves with a hole for tonight's exhibition game against the Astros. It's Stephen Strasburg's day to pitch, but the veteran right-hander instead is throwing a simulated game this afternoon so club officials can keep him in a more controlled environment as he tests out his strained left calf. And with Jon Lester having started against the Mets...

All systems normal for Strasburg in return from wrist surgery

All systems normal for Strasburg in return from wrist surgery
The two times Stephen Strasburg took the mound in 2020, Davey Martinez couldn't help but watch nervously, knowing his co-ace was dealing with some kind of ailment in his right hand. And as he watched Strasburg the first few times he threw off a mound this spring in West Palm Beach, Fla., the fourth-year manager again had to at least think about his pitcher's surgically repaired wrist and hope there weren't any lingering issues. But by the time Strasburg strode to the mound inside The...

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
The last time Stephen Strasburg pitched in a game, he didn't make it out of the first inning. Three batters into his Aug. 14 against the Orioles at Camden Yards, the right-hander departed with an all-too-familiar slump of his shoulders, another injury having prevented him from pitching. Seven months later, Strasburg is back on the mound tonight. The carpal tunnel neuritis that plagued his wrist and caused his hand to go numb last summer has been fixed. By all accounts, he's healthy and good...

Lester has surgery, Armenteros shut down with sore arm

Lester has surgery, Armenteros shut down with sore arm
Jon Lester underwent thyroid removal surgery today in New York and was recovering this afternoon, according to Nationals manager Davey Martinez. Martinez said the club was still waiting to hear from doctors for more details about Lester's procedure, which was scheduled two days ago after the veteran left-hander and cancer survivor reported feeling tired, prompting medical tests that concluded his thyroid gland should be removed. "The only thing that came out of it was that's he's...

Voth sees improvement in one-inning debut

Voth sees improvement in one-inning debut
There wasn't much for Austin Voth to hang his hat on in 2020, and he'd be the first to admit it. The right-hander endured through a pretty miserable summer, which at one point included an 0-5 record and an 8.26 ERA. But sometimes all it takes is one positive moment to lift a downtrodden athlete's spirit. Like that one gorgeous drive a hack golfer hits off the 18th tee at the end of an otherwise awful round, one solid outing for a pitcher at season's end can do wonders for his confidence. So...

Zimmerman homers, feels good in first game in a year

Zimmerman homers, feels good in first game in a year
Three hundred fifty-six days had passed since Ryan Zimmerman last took the field for an organized game of baseball. The world was a lot different back on March 10, 2020, when the Nationals faced the Marlins in Jupiter, Fla. Though the coronavirus was in the news, nobody imagined it would have the power to shut down the entire country two days later. So much has happened since then, and so much has changed. Yet when he trotted out to first base just after 1 p.m. today in West Palm Beach for the...

Soto's spring debut delayed by foul ball off the foot

Soto's spring debut delayed by foul ball off the foot
Juan Soto was all set to make his 2021 spring debut today in the Nationals' home opener in West Palm Beach, Fla. Then an errant foul ball foiled those plans and delayed the slugger's debut for at least a couple of days. Soto fouled a ball off his right foot during a live batting practice session Sunday, manager Davey Martinez said. Though the Nationals aren't considering this a serious injury, they didn't want to risk putting their young star on the field today, a full month before the...

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
The Nationals play their first home game of the spring this afternoon, and there's good news and bad news. The good news: Ryan Zimmerman is in the lineup for the first time in nearly a year. The bad news: Juan Soto, who was supposed to be in the lineup, is not. Soto fouled a ball off his right foot during a live batting practice session Sunday, according to Davey Martinez. The manager said they're just being cautious, and Soto should be good to go in a day or two. But as always with these...

Nats claim righty Armenteros, adding starter with options

Nats claim righty Armenteros, adding starter with options
Seeking more rotation depth, especially those with minor league options, the Nationals have claimed right-hander Rogelio Armenteros off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Armenteros, 26, has only five games of major league experience (with the Astros in 2019) but has been a starter with potential throughout his professional career. He missed the 2020 season while recovering from surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow. The Diamondbacks had only claimed Armenteros two weeks ago after Houston...

Incident in Houston highlights questions around protocols and punishments

Incident in Houston highlights questions around protocols and punishments
As baseball tries to settle down and reschedule games lost to the Marlins' coronavirus outbreak, the shortened season has been hit with a debate over the Astros' sign-stealing shenanigans from the 2017 season: Major League Baseball suspended Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly for eight games - 13 percent of the season - for throwing at the Astros' Alex Bregman and taunting Carlos Correa Tuesday night in a 5-2 victory in Houston. Was it a fair punishment? The Astros beat the Dodgers in the...

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 7

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 7
(Note: You can watch Game 7 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m.) There's a strange anticipation to Game 7 of the World Series that doesn't exist any other day of the year. It's the ultimate game, and so there's excitement for the prospect of that. But it's also guaranteed to be the final game of the year, so there's a tinge of sadness that comes with that realization. No matter what happens, no matter who wins, there will not be another ballgame to come after this. The Nationals...

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 6

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 6
(Note: You can watch Game 6 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m. Eastern time.) Man, oh, man, did a lot of stuff happen in this game. I mean, this one game alone included Alex Bregman carrying his bat to first base after homering, then Juan Soto responding by doing the exact same thing. It had Stephen Strasburg tipping his pitches in the top of the first, then making a correction and pitching so well he actually took the mound for the bottom of the ninth. It had Adam Eaton hitting a...

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 5

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 5
As fans began entering Nationals Park for Game 5 of the World Series, a few thoughts probably were foremost on everyone's minds ... * The home team had to win one of these games eventually, right? * The fact that Max Scherzer was starting for the Nationals should help make that happen, right? No. And no. Not even close. The home team would not win on this night, nor on any forthcoming night (though nobody could have realized that at the time). And more troublesome, Scherzer would not start...

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 4

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 4
If Game 3 of the World Series was the most frustrating four hours of the Nationals' entire postseason run, what was Game 4? Awfully frustrating in its own right, that's what it was. There weren't as many squandered opportunities at the plate as there were the previous night, but there were more than a few. And though the final score (an 8-1 Astros victory) was lopsided, the game was very much there for the taking in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh, perhaps the key stretch of...

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 3

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 3
Has there ever been more excitement and anticipation for a Nationals game than there was on the evening of Oct. 25, 2019, when the World Series came to D.C. for the first time since 1933? This was an event some weren't entirely sure would ever take place. Then throw in the not-insignificant fact the Nats went into Game 3 up two games to none on the supposedly superior Astros, and you had the perfect convergence of joy, intensity, nostalgia and celebration on South Capitol Street. The whole...

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 2

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 2
Honest opinion: What was your reasonable, best-case scenario for the Nationals in the first two games of the World Series? Maybe you had a pie-in-the-sky dream of snatching both games from the Astros and returning to D.C. flying high, but realistically you just wanted to see them win one of two on the road. Especially when those two games were started by Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander. Right? Well, after beating Cole in Game 1, the Nats returned to Minute Maid Park the next night for Game 2...