Scherzer starts, finishes strong in blowout at Fenway (updated)

Scherzer starts, finishes strong in blowout at Fenway (updated)
For a guy who firmly believes a start is defined by the last 10 to 15 pitches he throws, Max Scherzer was not satisfied with his two previous outings this summer. In each case, an otherwise strong start ended on a sour note, with the Nationals ace surrendering four late runs to fritter away what seemed like a comfortable lead. So when he walked off the mound at fabled Fenway Park tonight, having just put a definitive stamp on a classic Scherzer pitching performance, the three-time Cy Young...

Eaton moved down in order, pairing Turner and Soto at top

Eaton moved down in order, pairing Turner and Soto at top
Injuries, opt-outs and inconsistent performances have forced Davey Martinez to reconsider his batting order almost every day this season. Tonight, circumstances prompted the Nationals manager to make one of his biggest lineup changes to date. Adam Eaton, who has batted second in each of the 25 games he's played so far this year, was bumped down to the sixth spot for tonight's series opener against the Red Sox. That move, which allows Juan Soto to move up to the No. 2 position, was made in...

Game 29 lineups: Nats at Red Sox

Game 29 lineups: Nats at Red Sox
They are playing baseball tonight in Boston, where the Nationals make their first trip to Fenway Park since 2015 and only their fourth visit in club history. Each of the three previous series there has been lopsided: The not-so-good 2006 Nats were swept, the very good 2012 team swept the Red Sox in something of a coming-out party and the disappointing 2015 team played poorly while losing two-of-three in a mid-April series. Tonight is a special occasion across the majors, which is celebrating a...

Martinez sticking with Voth, wants him to trust fastball more

Martinez sticking with Voth, wants him to trust fastball more
Davey Martinez hadn't yet met with Austin Voth when he held his daily pregame Zoom session with reporters this afternoon. But the Nationals manager was more than willing to share in advance what he planned to say to his struggling right-hander. "I can tell you now: I'm not going to give up on him," Martinez said. Despite a consistent pattern of ineffectiveness in his first five starts of the season - typically coming the second time he has to face an opposing lineup - it appears Voth will...

2021 schedule announced, Nats to host Mets in opener

2021 schedule announced, Nats to host Mets in opener
They aren't 100 percent sure they'll be able to start and complete the 2020 season yet, but Major League Baseball is already moving forward with plans for the 2021 season, releasing next year's schedule two weeks before this unprecedented campaign is set to begin. The Nationals are scheduled to host the Mets on opening day, which falls on April 1. Their opening homestand features three games apiece with division rivals New York and Atlanta. The Nats then hit the road and will serve as the...

Adams leads offensive charge at Fenway South (Nats lose 13-5)

Adams leads offensive charge at Fenway South (Nats lose 13-5)
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Max Scherzer wasn't the only veteran who made the long trip across Alligator Alley for today's game against the Red Sox. Matt Adams is here as well. And like Scherzer, he's making the most of it. Batting cleanup and starting at first base, Adams launched a second-inning home run that cleared the stands down the right field line and departed jetBlue Park altogether. He added an RBI double down the right field line in the top of the third, helping the Nationals open up a 5-0...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox in Fort Myers

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox in Fort Myers
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Hello from jetBlue Park, aka "Fenway South." And we've got a matchup today worthy of the real Fenway Park, with Max Scherzer going up against the Red Sox. It's unconventional for a star pitcher like Scherzer to make such a long road trip (2 1/2 hours each way), but like Patrick Corbin earlier this week in Lake Buena Vista, Scherzer wanted to do it and stay on his regular pitching schedule. So he'll likely go three innings and about 50 pitches, going up against several...

Nationals' luxury tax bill is nearly $2.4 million

Nationals' luxury tax bill is nearly $2.4 million
The Nationals' luxury tax bill this season is slightly less than $2.4 million, a not-insignificant amount to pay for exceeding Major League Baseball's pseudo-salary cap, but probably not a steep enough penalty to deter the club from making an offer to Bryce Harper that would catapult it over the threshold again in 2019. The Nationals' final payroll for luxury tax purposes was roughly $205 million, according to a report over the weekend by the Associated Press, $8 million above MLB's 2018...

Nationals' 2019 spring training schedule released

Nationals' 2019 spring training schedule released
There are 4 1/2 weeks to go in the 2018 regular season, not to mention a month's worth of postseason games for those franchises fortunate enough to advance, but Major League Baseball has already unveiled the entire 2019 schedule, including spring training now. MLB released the Grapefruit League and Cactus League schedules this afternoon, far earlier than has been typical in previous years. It's perhaps appropriate, then, that the spring schedule will start and conclude early as well. With...

Players gather, demand more from each other after latest loss

Players gather, demand more from each other after latest loss
It took their 17th loss in 22 games (the club's worst stretch since 2009), their eighth shutout in 30 games (more times than they were shut out in all of 2017) and a sub-.500 record in July (the first time that's been the case since 2015) for someone inside the Nationals clubhouse to decide it was time to gather everyone together and let the emotions flow. That someone, as you might expect, was Max Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young Award winner and staff ace wasn't the only one who spoke out...

Nats lose Fedde early, lose another game late

Nats lose Fedde early, lose another game late
No matter what happened the previous night, or any other night during this agonizing stretch of baseball, the Nationals reported for work early this morning trying to feel optimistic for a change. They had Matt Adams back on the active roster only 19 days after he fractured his index finger trying to bunt. They had a full house for an 11:05 a.m. game on Independence Day in the nation's capital. And then, one inning in, optimism was quashed at the sight of another player (starter Erick Fedde)...

Fedde departs with injury in second inning (Nats down 2-0)

Fedde departs with injury in second inning (Nats down 2-0)
Whatever good vibes the Nationals hoped to get from their annual Independence Day morning game quickly dissipated in the top of the second inning when Erick Fedde walked off the mound with an apparent injury and left this reeling pitching staff in a major bind as it tries to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox. Fedde threw only 25 total pitches, four of them to Rafael Devers to lead off the top of the second. His fastball velocity, which topped out at 95 mph in the first inning, dropped...

Adams activated, Collins designated for assignment

Adams activated, Collins designated for assignment
When he learned he had fractured his left index finger June 15 in Toronto, Matt Adams assumed he'd be forced to miss a considerable amount of time, certainly more than a month. Only 19 days later, though, Adams is back on the Nationals' active roster, available off the bench for today's series finale against the Red Sox and set to rejoin the lineup this weekend against the Marlins. "From everything that was being told to me, I think it's a little sooner than we expected," the left-handed...

Game 85 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox

Game 85 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox
The Nationals have lost 14 of their last 18 games. They're seven games out of first place, 4 1/2 games out of second place. They're a .500 club right now that can't seem to do anything right. But you know what? It's Independence Day in the District of Columbia, and there's a ballgame being played today in town. It could be worse, a lot worse. It would be better, of course, if the Nationals could pull off a win today against the Red Sox and avoid a series sweep (not to mention a sub-.500...

Nats drop another one-run game, lose 4-3 to Red Sox (updated)

Nats drop another one-run game, lose 4-3 to Red Sox (updated)
The Nationals keep doing just enough to lose ballgames. When they need to drive in the tying runner in scoring position, they strand him. When they need to keep a deficit at one run, they give a run back. When they need to make sure all 27 outs they make are at the plate, they make one on the bases. Is it any wonder they keep losing one-run games? Add tonight's 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Red Sox to the mix. It's the Nationals' fifth straight loss by one run, their 16th of the season...

Martinez preaching "less-is-more" approach (Nats lose 4-3)

Martinez preaching "less-is-more" approach (Nats lose 4-3)
When things aren't going well, Davey Martinez is a big believer in the "less-is-more" approach. He's a big believer in it, in part, because he saw it work firsthand last year in Chicago. The Cubs, you may have forgotten, entered the 2017 All-Star break two games under .500 and 5 1/2 games back in the National League Central. At some point that summer, manager Joe Maddon (with input from Martinez, his bench coach) decided to cancel batting practice and have his struggling players just show...

Game 83 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox

Game 83 lineups: Nats vs. Red Sox
It is scorching hot here in Washington, but the local ballclub is anything but hot. The Nationals just went 1-5 on a road trip through Tampa Bay and Philadelphia and have lost 12 of their last 16. They currently sit two games over .500, six games behind the Braves, three games behind the Phillies. And now they get three games against the Red Sox, owners of the second-best winning percentage in baseball. After all eight active relievers were used during Sunday's 13-inning loss at Citizens Bank...

After string of one-run losses, Nats face tough test in Red Sox

After string of one-run losses, Nats face tough test in Red Sox
It's not that the Nationals are losing a lot of ballgames. It's how they're losing them. Though there have been a few blowouts along the way - most notably last Monday's 11-0 drubbing at Tampa Bay - most of the Nats' losses of late have been by the slimmest of margins. In fact, each of their last four losses has come by one run, each in low-scoring affairs that easily could have been won had they simply been able to produce one more well-timed hit. The final scores of the Nationals' four...

In playoff pressure-cooker, AL East manager job security takes a hit

In playoff pressure-cooker, AL East manager job security takes a hit
It was about this time last year, when Orioles manager Buck Showalter was the subject of heavy criticism for not using closer Zach Britton in the club's AL wild card game loss at Toronto. But almost no one suggested Showalter's job was on the line and it wasn't. He is signed through 2018. But two other AL East managers are the subject of rumors now and their job security seems less firm than it was even a week ago. Not long after the New York Yankees lost Game 2 of the American League...

Nationals open 2018 in Cincinnati, host Yankees and Red Sox

Nationals open 2018 in Cincinnati, host Yankees and Red Sox
The Nationals will open the 2018 season earlier than usual, on a different day of the week than usual and in a venue they've never opened at before. Major League Baseball announced next year's schedule this afternoon, and it features the Nationals opening March 29 in Cincinnati. That opener, on a Thursday, comes as MLB moves opening day up four days across the league, a wrinkle in the new collective bargaining agreement with players to provide for more off-days over the course of the season,...