Young and old lead Nationals to third straight win (updated)

Young and old lead Nationals to third straight win (updated)
The Nationals' rebuild will be a success if they can get more than a few of the young players who now make up the majority of their roster to develop into legitimate contributors. It'll be an even bigger and faster success if they can also get their few remaining veterans to return to the form they displayed while winning the World Series two years ago. So consider tonight's 4-1 victory over the Brewers a best-case-scenario kind of night. They not only got contributions from a host of...

Nolin will get Sunday's start as Ross' rotation replacement

Nolin will get Sunday's start as Ross' rotation replacement
The Nationals didn't need to utilize a fifth starter until next weekend, but they've decided to go ahead and plug Sean Nolin into their rotation now. Nolin, the 31-year-old left-hander who has been available out of the bullpen for the last week since making one spot start against the Mets, will start Sunday's series finale against the Brewers, manager Davey Martinez said. Nolin takes over the rotation spot that opened up with Joe Ross had to be shut down for the rest of the season with a...

Game 121 lineups: Nats at Brewers

Game 121 lineups: Nats at Brewers
Fresh off a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays, the Nationals now embark on a nine-game road trip that kicks off with a tough challenge: a weekend series in Milwaukee. The Brewers have won eight of 10 and now hold a commanding 8 1/2-game lead in the National League Central. They're doing it with elite pitching, especially from an imposing threesome atop their rotation (Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta) that should give them a chance to beat anybody come October. (Sound...

Nats trade Lobstein to Brewers for cash considerations

Nats trade Lobstein to Brewers for cash considerations
Just because it's the All-Star break that doesn't mean teams can't make roster moves and trades this week, although Major League Baseball probably prefers no major moves are made to take attention away from its midsummer showcase of the sport's best players. Commissioner Rob Manfred doesn't have to worry about that because this move won't be headline news as the All-Star Game gets underway later tonight: The Nationals have traded left-hander Kyle Lobstein (who was designated for...

Same old script for Nats in shutout loss (updated)

Same old script for Nats in shutout loss (updated)
With a five-star pitching matchup between two of the National League's best, it wasn't unfair to walk into Nationals Park today and wonder if the first team to score was assured victory in the series finale. Who knew it would actually play out just like that, with the winning run scoring in the top of the first? Maybe it all was too predictable in the end, this 3-0 victory by the Brewers. The Nationals aren't losing games in unusual fashion right now. They're losing them in practically the...

Game 49 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

Game 49 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers
A nine-game homestand that began with a sweep of the Orioles concludes today for the Nationals, who need to beat the Brewers just to avoid getting swept and finishing this stretch with a losing record. Yes, the narratives change quickly around here. The good news: Max Scherzer is on the mound, and he's the best thing the Nats have going for them right now. So far this month, he's 3-1 with a 1.62 ERA, 0.780 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. Against a Brewers lineup that ranks last in...

Frustrated Soto trying to snap out of his rare slump

Frustrated Soto trying to snap out of his rare slump
It has become something of a familiar sight in recent weeks: Juan Soto hitting a hard ground ball somewhere on the infield and then showing visible frustration with the result after another potential breakout at-bat ending in an out. And it happened again Saturday afternoon in the opener of the Nationals' doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Brewers. With a chance to deliver in a big spot - two on, one out - Soto smashed a 100.6 mph ground ball right to second baseman Kolten Wong, who...

Nats melt down late to cap doubleheader sweep (updated)

Nats melt down late to cap doubleheader sweep (updated)
At the end of a miserable day and night - weather-wise and baseball-wise - there really aren't any silver linings for the Nationals to hang their caps on. Swept by the Brewers over the course of 14 innings of poorly executed baseball, they look very much like the last-place team they are this Memorial Day weekend. Yes, there are four months of baseball still to go. And if any franchise has proven how much can change in four months, this is it. But what reasons for optimism are the Nationals...

Game 48 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

Game 48 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers
Who's ready for seven more innings of baseball in the rain? The Nationals and Brewers are going to give it a try, hoping the conditions at least allow for play as they did during this afternoon's contest. As always, stay tuned and don't be surprised if there are delays or even a postponement. Stymied by Freddy Peralta in the opener, the Nationals will see if they can get something going against a left-hander: Brett Anderson, who has had an up-and-down start to his season. Because the Brewers...

Offense silent again in seven-inning loss to Brewers (updated)

Offense silent again in seven-inning loss to Brewers (updated)
The weather was abysmal, but there was a doubleheader to be played rain or shine, so the Nationals and Brewers went ahead and got the first seven of today's 14 scheduled innings in despite the awful playing conditions. And it produced a result that looked awfully familiar for the Nats. After Patrick Corbin dug them into an early four-run hole, the Nationals lineup could not come close to producing enough offense to get back in this one. They trudged off the field having lost 4-1, with three...

Weather throws wrench into Robles and Fedde's rehab plans

Weather throws wrench into Robles and Fedde's rehab plans
Victor Robles is eligible to come off the injured list Sunday, but with little opportunity to test his sprained right ankle on a wet field all weekend, the Nationals may need to wait a bit longer to activate their starting center fielder. Robles was supposed to run the bases Friday, but the postponement of the series opener versus the Brewers shelved those plans. And with more on-and-off rain today as the two teams attempt to play a doubleheader, the Nationals won't take a chance with the...

Game 47 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

Game 47 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers
Do you remember the last time the Nationals faced the Brewers? Yep, it was the 2019 National League wild card game. Quite a bit has happened since that memorable night, huh? Today, the Brewers make their first trip back to D.C. in 20 months. It's not completely a must-win situation like it was for the Nats that night, but they'd certainly like to get back on track after dropping two of three to the Reds earlier in the week. After Friday night's game was rained out, they'll attempt to play...

Nats stuck playing another day of seven-inning games

Nats stuck playing another day of seven-inning games
In their attempt to minimize the amount of time players and staffers spent around each other at the ballpark during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Major League Baseball for the first time reduced all doubleheader games to seven innings. It was unconventional, and many fans weren't big fans of it, but most agreed it was acceptable under the circumstances of that unprecedented season. When MLB decided to retain the seven-inning doubleheader games again this season, though, there was more...

Series opener postponed, Nats reach vaccination threshold

Series opener postponed, Nats reach vaccination threshold
The Nationals are getting the night off. And then another shortened doubleheader Saturday. If the weather permits. Tonight's series opener against the Brewers was officially postponed, with sustained rain forecast for the entire evening and into Saturday. The two clubs, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, made the call about 3 1/2 hours before scheduled first pitch, opting not to wait it out and risk another lengthy delay like the Nats and Reds experienced Wednesday night before the...

Emotional Zimmermann retires, recalls memories of time in D.C.

Emotional Zimmermann retires, recalls memories of time in D.C.
Jordan Zimmermann, as publicly stoic and unemotional a ballplayer as you'll ever meet, was already feeling his eyes begin to well up as he discussed his decision to retire Tuesday on a Zoom session with reporters who cover each of the three teams he pitched for during his career. "I just felt like after 15 years of playing ball, my mind was still in it, but my body wasn't," the right-hander said. And when, about 12 minutes into the call, Zimmermann was asked by a writer from Detroit about...

Tales from the clubhouse: Stanton's balk-off

Tales from the clubhouse: Stanton's balk-off
This extended break is offering us a chance to write some stories we wouldn't normally write and to take a few trips down memory lane. So here's a trip back in time for you that includes an epic behind-the-scenes story from the postgame clubhouse. Maybe this will be the first of several such stories that can be shared with you until we have real baseball again. The date is July 15, 2005. The Nationals are in Milwaukee, facing the Brewers in front of a packed Friday night house at Miller Park....

Joining Nationals' enviable roster was "no-brainer" for Thames

Joining Nationals' enviable roster was "no-brainer" for Thames
There's a recurring theme growing among those who have joined the Nationals this winter. All have played on winning teams before, so obviously they were drawn to sign with the team that just won the World Series. But it goes a step beyond that. The Nationals didn't just win last season. They had fun doing it, and they did it as a unified group. And for these newest members of the roster, that extra dynamic - sometimes rare in professional sports - really sealed the deal. "This team, you...

Nats find new lefty first baseman in free agent Thames

Nats find new lefty first baseman in free agent Thames
The Nationals have found themselves this year's left-handed first baseman. Eric Thames, who averaged 24 homers and an .848 OPS the last three seasons for the Brewers, has agreed to terms on a contract with the Nats that guarantees $4 million, a source familiar with the with deal confirmed. Thames, who must pass a physical before the deal is official, will earn a $3 million salary this year, with a $1 million buyout of a mutual option for 2021 likely to be enacted after the season. Thus the...

How Martinez's in-game decisions helped make win possible

How Martinez's in-game decisions helped make win possible
There was a point during Tuesday night's wild card game, around the third inning or so, when it looked like Davey Martinez's postseason managerial debut was going to be remembered for the wrong reason. With Max Scherzer digging the Nationals into a 3-0 hole after serving up a pair of quick homers and the Brewers all set up to use their pitching staff exactly as they planned, Martinez's decision not only to start Scherzer in this game but to then let him bat for himself and continue pitching...

Soto's clutch hit finally lifts Nats in do-or-die game (updated)

Soto's clutch hit finally lifts Nats in do-or-die game (updated)
One of these years, the Nationals had to catch a break in a winner-take-all game on South Capitol Street, right? They had suffered too much heartache, too many crazy moments that all went against them with their season on the line in October. Just once, it had to go the other way, right? It did. Finally. And because of it, they will get to keep playing in 2019. Down two runs to the Brewers with two outs in the bottom of the eighth of tonight's National League wild card game, the Nationals...