Game 113 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 113 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
And we're back for the nightcap of today's doubleheader. The Nationals did what they needed to in the opener, riding five strong innings from Jefry Rodriguez and a pair of four-run rallies to an 8-3 victory that moved them to within five games of the Phillies and 3 1/2 games of the Braves. There's still an opportunity to either gain or lose ground the rest of the evening, with Philadelphia playing late at Arizona. The Nats have to like the fact they've got Max Scherzer on the mound tonight,...

Nats open daunting four-game series with Braves today

Nats open daunting four-game series with Braves today
They're all big games and big series for the Nationals at this point, with fewer than one-third of the season remaining on the schedule. But four games in three days against the Braves? Yeah, this is an especially big series. The Nationals get 16 more cracks in total against the two teams that have resided above them in the National League East for much of the summer: seven with Atlanta, nine with Philadelphia. If they're going to make up this deficit and return to the postseason for the...

Nats-Reds game postponed, day-night doubleheader Saturday

Nats-Reds game postponed, day-night doubleheader Saturday
With one round of rain having already swept through shortly before scheduled first pitch and another round expected later this evening, the Nationals' game against the Reds has been postponed. The game will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, with the makeup game now at 1:05 p.m. and a separate ticket required for the originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. game. Gio Gonzalez and Anthony DeSclafani, tonight's scheduled starting pitchers, will take the mound for the 1:05 p.m....

Nats battle through two rain delays to beat Braves 6-2 (updated)

Nats battle through two rain delays to beat Braves 6-2 (updated)
Whether it came via a Max Scherzer gem, an offensive explosion, a grind-it-out nailbiter or even a rain-shortened affair, the Nationals knew only one thing when they took the field today: They needed to win this game against the Braves, one way or another. They got their wish, but it didn't come easily to a team that sure could've used a relaxing day at the park. Instead, a combination of clutch hits, a gutsy performance from a less-than-perfect Scherzer, some outstanding defense, two rain...

Game 98 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 98 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The sun is out on South Capitol Street. At least, it is at the moment I'm typing this. It's probably not going to stay that way through the afternoon, with more rain forecast to sweep through the region on the heels of Saturday's deluge. The Nationals aren't calling the series finale against the Braves off just yet, and my hunch is they'll be more willing to wait around a bit today to try to get this one in, given the fact they already have to squeeze one makeup game into Atlanta's next...

Nats-Braves rained out, no makeup scheduled yet

Nats-Braves rained out, no makeup scheduled yet
The Nationals are going to have to wait a while longer to try to get over Friday night's loss to the Braves and everything else that accompanied it. Tonight's game at Nationals Park was postponed a full five hours before scheduled first pitch, with heavy rain dousing the area all morning and expected to continue straight through the evening. No makeup plans were immediately announced, but a Sunday doubleheader doesn't appear to be a viable option because the forecast remains lousy and the...

On the first base platoon and the short bullpen

On the first base platoon and the short bullpen
More on Friday night's 8-5 loss to the Braves that was not related to the Stephen Strasburg-Max Scherzer dugout dustup ... * Davey Martinez's most delicate lineup decisions as the second half of the season opens is at first base, with Ryan Zimmerman back off the disabled list but Matt Adams remaining one of the team's most productive hitters. Martinez didn't hesitate to start Adams on Friday night, opting to go with the hot-hitting lefty slugger against Braves right-hander Anibal Sanchez....

Emotions in the dugout, peacekeeping in the manager's office

Emotions in the dugout, peacekeeping in the manager's office
The Nationals' 8-5 loss to the Braves had ended only minutes earlier when Davey Martinez summoned Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer to his office and closed the door. It would be roughly 15 minutes before that door reopened, and though no one was revealing the precise details of what was said during that meeting, it was clear the session was necessary after what transpired in the dugout during the top of the fifth. Strasburg, who had just been removed by Martinez after allowing six runs in 4...

Nats drop opener to Braves, Strasburg has words with Scherzer

Nats drop opener to Braves, Strasburg has words with Scherzer
They said and did all the right things before the game. They went through a spirited afternoon workout that included a focus on defense and baserunning. They all wore customized shirseys with their regular numbers on the back but the world "NATIONALS" replacing their last names. They spoke of the need to play as one and to treat every remaining series on the schedule as critical. Then the Nationals took the field and opened the second half of their season with an 8-5 loss to the Braves that...

Game 97 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Strasburg, Zimmerman active)

Game 97 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Strasburg, Zimmerman active)
And away we go again. The second half of the season commences tonight, with the Nationals hosting the Braves for a big three-game series. Then again, every series is going to be big the rest of the way, with the Nats needing to make up a 5 1/2-game deficit and catch both the Braves and Phillies in the National League East. As expected, the Nationals will open the second half with two key figures returning from the disabled list: Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman. Strasburg makes the start...

Nats have squandered chance to make up ground this week

Nats have squandered chance to make up ground this week
NEW YORK - When Nationals players held their closed-door meeting following a July 4 loss to the Red Sox, they found themselves one game under .500. They were in third place in the National League East, seven games behind the first-place Braves, 5 1/2 games behind the second-place Phillies. All agreed it was time to get serious, time to start making up some ground. As luck would have it, the schedule was about to get more favorable, as well. After a difficult stretch that included games with the...

Nats suffering from depleted lineup of free swingers

Nats suffering from depleted lineup of free swingers
ATLANTA - It's easy to look at Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Braves and place blame at the arms of Shawn Kelley and Tanner Roark, who surrendered the two late home runs that turned a one-run lead into a two-run defeat. Not that those two right-handers don't deserve some criticism for their failure to keep the ball in the park at the most critical points of the game, but all of this would be moot if the Nationals did something seemingly simple during the game: score another run. Let's be honest...

Worst-case scenario plays out for Nats bullpen in loss to Braves

Worst-case scenario plays out for Nats bullpen in loss to Braves
ATLANTA - Davey Martinez and his staff prepare for every conceivable scenario before they take their positions in the dugout for any given ballgame. And so they had concocted a plan this morning for what truly amounted to a worst-case scenario in today's series finale against the Braves: an early departure by Jeremy Hellickson. That plan was going to include Jefry Rodriguez, summoned from Double-A Harrisburg this morning, providing maybe two or three innings of relief only three days after an...

Overtaxed pitching staff suffers 4-2 walk-off loss to Braves

Overtaxed pitching staff suffers 4-2 walk-off loss to Braves
ATLANTA - After going 14 innings on Saturday, after watching Jeremy Hellickson depart with an apparent hamstring injury in the first inning today and then after watching the Braves rally to tie the game late, the Nationals reached a point late this afternoon where the need for their series finale to end was about to become more important than the need to win. That point didn't quite arrive, but it came close. The Nationals were forced to send Tanner Roark to the mound for the bottom of the...

Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)

Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)
ATLANTA - After watching their bullpen throw seven perfect innings during Saturday's 14-inning win, the last thing the Nationals needed was to have to turn to their relief corps early today. Which is exactly what happened after starter Jeremy Hellickson departed only two batters into the bottom of the first with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Hellickson hurt himself trying to make a leaping catch of Mark Reynolds' high toss on Ozzie Albies' grounder to first. The ball caromed off...

Murphy not ready for season debut yet

Murphy not ready for season debut yet
ATLANTA - The Nationals don't know yet when Daniel Murphy will make his season debut, but they seem to have conceded it won't come at the start of this week's homestand. Murphy, who has spent the last week playing six rehab games for Double-A Harrisburg, is scheduled to be back in Washington on Tuesday to be evaluated by doctors and meet with club officials. Despite some initial hope he might be ready to be activated by then, manager Davey Martinez suggested today that won't happen. "I...

Game 58 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 58 lineups: Nats at Braves
ATLANTA - It's another scorching hot and humid day here at SunTrust Park, where the Nationals and Braves wrap up their four-game series, the Nats trying to salvage a split after yesterday's dramatic 14-inning victory. To do so, they're probably going to need some effective work from their bullpen again today, though that group was taxed yesterday and has a new face in it today. Tim Collins, who did not appear in the game, has been placed on the paternity leave list and has left town to be...

On the dominant pitching that made Saturday's win possible

On the dominant pitching that made Saturday's win possible
ATLANTA - A lot happened during Saturday's 5-3 14-inning victory for the Nationals. Obviously, Max Scherzer's pinch-hit single and scamper around the bases to score the go-ahead run drew much of the attention and rightfully so. But this game also would not have been won by the Nationals if not for a brilliant pitching performance against a Braves lineup that has been among the most productive in the majors this season. Gio Gonzalez authored another quality start, allowing three runs in seven...

Scherzer ignites 14th-inning rally to propel Nats over Braves

Scherzer ignites 14th-inning rally to propel Nats over Braves
ATLANTA - All afternoon and into the evening they were searching for somebody, anybody, to deliver the hit that would break their moribund lineup out of its slumber. Who knew the answer wasn't any of the Nationals' position players, but rather their ace? Max Scherzer - yes, Max Scherzer - delivered the one-out single that got a 14th-inning rally jumpstarted, then raced all the way around the bases to score on Wilmer Difo's triple to the gap in right-center, the run that ultimately propelled...

Gonzalez cruising, Adams departs early (Nats win 5-3 in 14)

Gonzalez cruising, Adams departs early (Nats win 5-3 in 14)
ATLANTA - Gio Gonzalez is authoring another gem. Juan Soto and Michael A. Taylor have supplied some early offense, but the Nationals will have to play the rest of today's game without cleanup hitter Matt Adams. Adams departed in the middle of the fourth inning with an apparent injury. He fouled a ball off his foot in the top of the frame before flying out to left field. The Nationals do not provide in-game injury updates, so Adams' abrupt exit will be something of a mystery for a few more...