Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers
An August to forget comes to a close tonight when the Nationals host the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series (weather permitting). And it will close with another big-name veteran no longer part of the roster after Ryan Madson was traded to the Dodgers for a minor league right-hander. Madson had made only one appearance since returning from his back injury, so the Nats bullpen has become used to functioning without him. But it's nonetheless striking to know neither he nor Kelvin...

Report: Albers heading to Brewers on two-year deal

Report: Albers heading to Brewers on two-year deal
Matt Albers has reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with the Brewers, parlaying his career season in the Nationals bullpen into a $5 million deal in Milwaukee. Albers' deal, reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, is still pending a physical. Once that final step is completed, the veteran right-hander will become the first prominent free agent who played for the Nationals last season to sign elsewhere for 2018. Though the Nats had some interest in attempting to re-sign Albers, he was...

While Harper recovers, Nationals struggling to score runs

While Harper recovers, Nationals struggling to score runs
MILWAUKEE - Even when they lost a host of key regulars to injury over the season's first 4 1/2 months, the Nationals managed to make up for it, thanks to consistent production from the heart of their lineup and the performances of several replacements. And so, on Aug. 12 this team ranked second in the majors with 5.44 runs per game, second with a .275 batting average and third with a .340 on-base percentage. But in the 22 games they've played since, the Nationals have seen their offensive...

Nationals fall 7-2 to Brewers, lose season series

Nationals fall 7-2 to Brewers, lose season series
MILWAUKEE - The prospect of a game against a starter restricted to three innings and then a parade of relievers should have been enticing for the Nationals. Instead it led to even more frustration for a lineup that seems to have lost its way. Left-hander Brent Suter and four Brewers relievers combined to toss a three-hitter and hand the Nationals a 7-2 loss at Miller Park to cap a rough weekend for Washington. The Nationals lost three of four in this series and thus lost the season series to...

Tight back keeps Wieters out of lineup again (Nats lose 7-2)

Tight back keeps Wieters out of lineup again (Nats lose 7-2)
MILWAUKEE - Matt Wieters is out of the Nationals lineup for the third straight day, though the veteran catcher said it's not because of the foul ball he took off his right knee Thursday night but rather a tight back that has been bothering him for a little while. "The knee's fine," Wieters said. "Just bruises. No problem coming into play. I've been having a little bit of a tight back to go with it, so it's kind of more just trying to get it completely freed up and loosened up before we...

Game 136 lineups: Nats at Brewers

Game 136 lineups: Nats at Brewers
MILWAUKEE - On the heels of a come-from-behind win Saturday night, the Nationals now try to salvage a four-game split with the Brewers this afternoon, and in the process win the rubber game of the season series between the two clubs. (It currently stands at 3-3.) In order to pull that off, the Nats will need another strong outing from Edwin Jackson, who took one of his three losses to the Brewers in July in D.C., giving up seven runs (three earned) in five innings. That remains one of only two...

Despite harrowing moment, Doolittle notches 14th save

Despite harrowing moment, Doolittle notches 14th save
MILWAUKEE - Sean Doolittle threw the pitch - a thigh-high, 97 mph fastball - and saw Manny Piña make good contact. But he didn't spin around to watch the play. Instead, the Nationals closer's eyes remained fixated on the Brewers batter, even after contact, trying to gauge whether he had just recorded the game's final out ... or a served up a walk-off homer. "In the dome, a lot of times everything sounds loud, so it's tough to really get a read on how good he got it," Doolittle said....

Scherzer guts out five innings with bruised calf

Scherzer guts out five innings with bruised calf
MILWAUKEE - Max Scherzer knew he couldn't run. His labored attempt to get out of the batter's box after tapping a groundball in the top of the fifth confirmed that. But Scherzer also knew he could pitch without suffering any ill effects from the comebacker that struck him in the left calf way back in the bottom of the first tonight at Miller Park. Perhaps nobody on the Nationals roster is as honest and forthcoming with the staff about his physical state than the ace right-hander, so Dusty...

Scherzer pulled early with leg injury, Nats rally to win 3-2

Scherzer pulled early with leg injury, Nats rally to win 3-2
MILWAUKEE - Max Scherzer seemed to get through the neck issue that briefly landed him on the disabled list. But when a comebacker struck him in the lower left leg during the bottom of the first inning tonight at Miller Park, the Nationals ace suddenly found himself compensating for a new physical ailment. And the result wasn't all that pretty to watch. Showing obvious effects of from the ball off his leg, Scherzer lasted only five innings against the Brewers, pulled despite allowing only one...

Wieters sits for second straight game with sore knee (Nats win 3-2)

Wieters sits for second straight game with sore knee (Nats win 3-2)
MILWAUKEE - Matt Wieters is out of the Nationals lineup for the second straight night, still dealing with a sore left knee that was injured late in Thursday's game at Miller Park. Wieters took a foul ball off that knee during the Nats' 6-2 loss to the Brewers in their series opener, and though he finished the game he has been held out of the lineup each of the last two nights. Manager Dusty Baker doesn't expect his veteran catcher to miss any more time. "He's doing OK," Baker said. "He...

Game 135 lineups: Nats at Brewers

Game 135 lineups: Nats at Brewers
MILWAUKEE - Not that their life depends on it or anything, but the Nationals certainly would like to win tonight's game at Miller Park. They've already dropped the first two games of this series to the Brewers. Now they send Max Scherzer to the mound against rookie Brandon Woodruff, so you have to this is a good a matchup as any to get back on track. Scherzer looked like his old self Monday night, showing no ill effects from the neck injury that forced him to the disabled list. He already...

Roark "back to form" and resembling his 2016 self

Roark "back to form" and resembling his 2016 self
MILWAUKEE - Yes, they still need to win games over the season's final month so they can wrap up their fourth division title in six years. But at this point, given their comfortable standing, the Nationals can afford to look not just at each individual game, but at the larger picture, especially for those players who are trying to best position themselves to be in peak form come October. In that regard, few members of the roster are positioning themselves better right than Tanner...

Nationals waste Roark's gem, lose 1-0 to Brewers (updated)

Nationals waste Roark's gem, lose 1-0 to Brewers (updated)
MILWAUKEE - Tanner Roark did just about everything he could, aside from one bad pitch in the bottom of the first. Who knew that one bad pitch would prove the entire difference in the game for the Nationals? Unable to solve Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson or a pair of relievers, who combined to record 17 strikeouts, the Nationals wasted perhaps Roark's best outing of the season and were left to stew over a 1-0 loss at Miller Park. "Very rarely does it happen," said Roark, who had taken the loss...

Plenty of opportunities, but zero runs early (Nats lose 1-0)

Plenty of opportunities, but zero runs early (Nats lose 1-0)
MILWAUKEE - The Nationals are giving themselves plenty of opportunities to get on the board against Jimmy Nelson. They just aren't making anything out of those opportunities so far. Despite six baserunners in three innings - four of them reaching at least second base - the Nationals have posted nothing but zeroes against the Brewers, making for a frustrating start to tonight's game. Nelson has baffled them, in particular with a curveball that he is rarely throwing in the strike zone but is...

Game 134 lineups: Nats at Brewers (Madson, Romero activated)

Game 134 lineups: Nats at Brewers (Madson, Romero activated)
MILWAUKEE - It's September at last, and not a moment too soon for a Nationals club that has been playing the waiting game for quite some time now, another division title all but wrapped up, a host of injured players slowly but surely returning to the active roster. There's still one more long month to go, but for the first time the finish line is now within reach. September also means expanded rosters, and the Nationals have added five players today: relievers Ryan Madson, Enny Romero (both...

Turner shows off bat and legs with dynamic game in Milwaukee

Turner shows off bat and legs with dynamic game in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - The Nationals' 6-3 loss to the Brewers on Thursday night really featured only one significant, positive development. But it was a big one. Trea Turner, in his third game back from the disabled list, put together a very Trea Turner kind of game. He went 3-for-4. He beat out a bunt single. He stretched another single into a double, then stole third base. He tripled off the right field wall. And he scored a pair of runs, almost entirely without the assistance of anyone else. "Oh...

Nationals drop series opener to Brewers (updated)

Nationals drop series opener to Brewers (updated)
MILWAUKEE - An uncharacteristically erratic start by Gio Gonzalez was too much for the Nationals to overcome tonight in a series-opening 6-3 loss to the Brewers. With Gonzalez surrendering five runs during six labored innings, the Nationals faced an uphill climb, one made even tougher with Milwaukee starter Zach Davies once again on his game. Davies, who shut out the Nats last month in D.C., went seven strong this time to lead his team to victory at home. "Boy, he's been tough on us,"...

Baker may not stick with Werth as No. 2 hitter (Nats lose 6-3)

Baker may not stick with Werth as No. 2 hitter (Nats lose 6-3)
MILWAUKEE - The lineup Dusty Baker scribbled out for tonight's series opener against the Brewers was as close as he's going to get to his best-case lineup for the postseason. The only regular missing: Bryce Harper, who may or may not be back to 100 percent in time for October. Notable, then, was Baker's choice for No. 2 hitter: Jayson Werth. With Trea Turner back atop the lineup as well, the Nationals have their 1-2 combo together again. Baker may not, however, stick with that pairing down...

Game 133 lineups: Nats at Brewers

Game 133 lineups: Nats at Brewers
MILWAUKEE - Hello from Miller Park, where the roof is open and there's a hint of autumn weather in the air as August comes to an end. The Nationals open a four-game weekend series with the Brewers, who are trying to hang on in the National League Central race while also trying to track down the Rockies for the final wild card berth as an alternative. Gio Gonzalez gets the ball from Dusty Baker for tonight's opener. The lefty pitched well against Milwaukee last month in D.C., allowing two runs...

Stevenson's first career hit comes in unconventional fashion

Stevenson's first career hit comes in unconventional fashion
Any child who has ever picked up a bat has dreamed of recording his or her first big league hit. And anybody fortunate enough to become a professional ballplayer starts dreaming of that moment in more realistic terms, wondering when, how and against whom it will occur. Andrew Stevenson is no different than any other young ballplayer. He had envisioned what his first major league hit would look like. And this ... was not it. "No," he said. "It was off a position player. But it still goes down...