Why the Nats' surge might be legit and why it might not

Why the Nats' surge might be legit and why it might not
Kyle Schwarber first said it one week earlier, unprompted, at the end of a Zoom session with reporters in which he was trying to temper recent suggestions the 2021 Nationals were going nowhere fast. "Remember, this is a good team," the outfielder said as he stood up from his chair. "You guys stay with us now, all right? Stay with us." One week later, at the end of the most productive week of his playing career, Schwarber didn't feel the need to try to convince doubters of the Nationals'...

Parra, Schwarber, fans bring the thrill back to Nats (updated)

Parra, Schwarber, fans bring the thrill back to Nats (updated)
For official purposes, the first ballgame played at Nationals Park following the 2019 World Series took place on July 23, 2020, when the defending champions lost to the Yankees in an empty ballpark during the height of a pandemic. And for official purposes, the first ballgame played at Nationals Park in front of fans since the 2019 World Series took place on April 7, 2021, when a socially distanced crowd of 4,801 made as much noise as possible to celebrate a walk-off win over the Braves. But...

Game 69 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Parra called up)

Game 69 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Parra called up)
If, one week ago, you were told the Nationals today would have a chance to take three of four from the Mets and seven of eight overall, how ecstatic would you have been? Presumably, very ecstatic. Given all that has happened with this team, you couldn't really ask for a better scenario entering today's series finale at Nationals Park. In order to take full advantage of this opportunity, the Nationals need Patrick Corbin to pick up where he left off Tuesday night, when he held the Pirates to...

Old pals Lester and Schwarber team up in 6-2 win (updated)

Old pals Lester and Schwarber team up in 6-2 win (updated)
They are inextricably linked, primarily from their time together on the North Side of Chicago, but now without question for their time together on South Capitol Street. There's a long way to go before Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester make the kind of memories for the Nationals they made for six seasons together with the Cubs. But they're sure trying their best to help each other out right now, never moreso than they did tonight during a 6-2 victory over the Mets. Starting the second game of a...

Game 68 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 68 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
The Nationals need to do more at the plate in the nightcap of today's doubleheader against the Mets. They scored one run in Friday night's game and still somehow won. They scored one run in today's opener and unsurprisingly lost. They need a more productive showing in this one against Robert Gsellman, the first of several relievers who are expected to take the mound for New York. Manager Davey Martinez's lineup is close to the one he put out there earlier today. Yan Gomes will catch instead...

Nats can't dig out of Ross' early hole, win streak ends (updated)

Nats can't dig out of Ross' early hole, win streak ends (updated)
The Nationals hoped Joe Ross would take the mound at 1:05 p.m. today and set a good tone for the 14 innings of baseball that were guaranteed to follow. Ross' performance in the opener of a day-night doubleheader against the Mets would go a long toward determining the course of the rest of this long Saturday at the park. So it was undeniably discouraging when Ross dug his team into a two-run hole only two batters into this one. And in the process set a negative tone for what was still to...

Could Parra be in Nationals' plans again soon?

Could Parra be in Nationals' plans again soon?
Two years ago today, a slumping Gerardo Parra stepped to the plate for his first at-bat of a doubleheader against the Phillies, and for the first time did so with "Baby Shark" blaring over the Nationals Park sound system. Most in the crowd laughed at the odd choice for a walk-up song, but little did they realize what kind of impact it would have on Parra individually and on the Nats as a whole. Just as they did on June 19, 2019, the Nationals are playing a doubleheader today, this time...

Game 67 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 67 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
Friday's night's walk-off 1-0 victory over the Mets was a big boost for the Nationals, no doubt about it. But it won't mean much if they can't come out of today's doubleheader on South Capitol Street without at least one more win. And if they can take the seven-inning opener this afternoon? Well, then it might be fair to start talking about legitimate positive momentum for this club. This five-game winning streak - really, the entire homestand, during which they're now 6-2 - has been...

Reinstated and ready to pitch, Voth can make light of broken nose

Reinstated and ready to pitch, Voth can make light of broken nose
It might not always show, but Austin Voth is a down-to-Earth guy. It's especially hard to notice when the majority of his meetings with the media over the past year and a half have been over Zoom conference calls. It's always hard to get a read on someone's personality through a computer screen. Not to mention, how often do we get to interact with a fringe starting pitcher turned long-relief arm out of the bullpen, nonetheless in person? Usually, not that often. But that situation presented...

Fedde extends scoreless innings streak as Gomes walks off Mets (updated)

Fedde extends scoreless innings streak as Gomes walks off Mets (updated)
It hasn't been easy going for Erick Fedde over the last month. Almost a month ago, he was placed on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive for the coronavirus in Chicago. That was just three days after he turned in one of the best performances of his career in Arizona. A little over three weeks after landing on the IL, he was reinstated after quarantining in Chicago and building his arm strength back up. That roller coaster stretch would be enough to throw any pitcher out of...

Castro easing back in from restricted list, plus injury updates

Castro easing back in from restricted list, plus injury updates
The Nationals started the weekend by making a flurry of roster moves ahead of their four-game series against the Mets on Friday. Manager Davey Martinez clarified the statuses of some players while providing other updates on some injured high-profile starting pitchers before tonight's opener. First, the roster moves: * Starlin Castro was returned from the restricted list* Austin Voth was reinstated from the 10-day injured list* Andrew Stevenson was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June...

Game 66 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Castro returns)

Game 66 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Castro returns)
It's hard to make too much of a weekend series against a division rival in the middle of June. But considering the circumstances surrounding this four-game series against the Mets over the next three days, you have to put some level of importance on it if you're the Nationals. Coming off a sweep of the Pirates, riding a four-game winning streak and having won six of their last eight games, the Nationals should feel confident facing the division-leading Mets this weekend. They also have a...

Weekend series with Mets is measuring stick for Nats

Weekend series with Mets is measuring stick for Nats
As they've completed a four-game winning streak, emerging victorious in six of their last eight games, the Nationals are facing something of an existential question: Is this legitimate evidence of a long-awaited and sustainable turnaround to a season that began horribly, or is this nothing more than a nice week against weak competition that will soon be exposed as insignificant? We may have a good sense of the answer to that question by the end of this weekend, after the Nats face the Mets...

Slumping at the plate, Schwarber is still performing in the field

Slumping at the plate, Schwarber is still performing in the field
Kyle Schwarber has not lived up to the standard expected of him through his first two weeks on the Nationals' active roster, and he'd be the first to admit that. The 28-year-old outfielder is batting an ice-cold .192 (10-for-52) with one homer, three RBIs, 18 strikeouts and only two walks in 13 games since coming off the COVID-19 injured list. There have been some hard-hit balls recently, including a 409-foot shot to the base of the wall in center field Sunday in New York that was snagged by...

How do Nats find ways to score runs while Soto's out?

How do Nats find ways to score runs while Soto's out?
You can talk about the reasons the Nationals are currently 8-11 and point out that Juan Soto and Stephen Strasburg are currently on the injured list, that nobody in their rotation outside of Max Scherzer owns an ERA under 4.64 or that nine members of the opening day roster were in quarantine on opening day. And all of those are indeed among the reasons the Nats are 8-11 as they spend this off-day on the Florida Gulf Coast in advance of a two-game interleague series versus the Blue Jays at their...

Corbin's struggles, Nats' mistakes lead to another loss (updated)

Corbin's struggles, Nats' mistakes lead to another loss (updated)
The final tally - Mets 4, Nationals 0 - suggested a one-sided game. It suggested yet another rough start for Patrick Corbin and yet another lifeless afternoon at the plate for a Nats lineup that has been shut out five times in 19 games to begin the season. In reality, this had a chance to be a far more competitive ballgame, perhaps even a victory for the visitors. It proved not to be because the Nationals did just about everything in their power to spoil the countless opportunities they had to...

Nats hope healthy Zimmerman doesn't go cold after week off

Nats hope healthy Zimmerman doesn't go cold after week off
It's not uncommon for Ryan Zimmerman to go an entire week without appearing in a major league game. This is a player, after all, who has dealt with every manner of injury throughout his 16-year career, and has required time off both in the short and long term to get his body right. But never before has Zimmerman missed an entire week while on the Nationals' active roster and, by all accounts, healthy enough to play. Until this week. It's been seven days since the face of the franchise showed...

Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets
Despite what they might try to insist, managers are a superstitious lot. When something works one day, they tend to not want to change it up the next day. So when the Nationals scored a season-high seven runs Saturday with a new-look lineup, you shouldn't be surprised to see Davey Martinez go right back to the same lineup for today's series finale in New York. Yes, that means Josh Harrison and Yadiel Hernandez are at the top of the batting order again. And it means Josh Bell, despite his...

Hernandez makes most of rare start, makes case for more

Hernandez makes most of rare start, makes case for more
Yadiel Hernandez has two stints on the Nationals roster already this season, once because of the club's end-of-spring COVID-19 outbreak and once because of Juan Soto's shoulder strain. He entered Saturday having taken 11 plate appearances in eight games, starting only one of them. So what did the 33-year-old rookie outfielder think when he learned he not only was in Saturday's lineup against the Mets, but would be batting second? "In reality, I wasn't expecting it," he said during a Zoom...

Early offense, Ross' return to form produce blowout win (updated)

Early offense, Ross' return to form produce blowout win (updated)
Davey Martinez sat in a portion of the visitors' clubhouse at Citi Field designated for Zoom press conferences around 1:30 p.m. today and expressed a profound desire for his Nationals to do something in particular in their upcoming game against the Mets. "I think we need to start scoring earlier in the game," the Nats manager said. "We've been scoring runs late. We need to start scoring runs early to take a little bit of pressure off our starting pitching, and see where that takes...