Herrera reinstated, Milone to DL (Nats win 10-4)

Herrera reinstated, Milone to DL (Nats win 10-4)
The Nationals have reinstated right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera and placed left-hander Tommy Milone on the 10-day disabled list with left shoulder soreness. Herrera was out since Aug. 8 with right rotator cuff impingement. He had allowed at least one run in three of his five appearances with the Nats before going on the disabled list. He was off to a great start with the Royals before the trade, posting a 1-1 record with 14 saves and a 1.05 ERA. But with the Nats, he is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA...

Milone provides length to bullpen rotation, Rodriguez gets shot at No. 5 role

Milone provides length to bullpen rotation, Rodriguez gets shot at No. 5 role
Nationals manager Davey Martinez explained the reasoning behind tonight's adjustment in the starting rotation as the club called up right-hander Jefry Rodriguez and gave him the start against the Miami Marlins. Martinez said club officials have liked what they have seen the last two starts from Rodriguez, one with the Nats on Aug. 7 and an 11-strikeout performance for Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 12. Left-hander Tommy Milone, tonight's original starter, now moves to the bullpen and helps the...

Game 124 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 124 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals tonight are seeking their third straight win, and they'll be doing so with a different pitcher on the mound then they originally planned. Tommy Milone no longer is starting this game; instead it'll be Jefry Rodriguez getting the promotion from Triple-A Syracuse. We haven't heard any official reasoning for this, but the hunch is simply that they liked the Rodriguez matchup against the Marlins better than Milone (who will still be available out of the bullpen). We're awaiting...

Milone to bullpen tonight, Rodriguez to start against Marlins

Milone to bullpen tonight, Rodriguez to start against Marlins
The Nationals announced late morning that right-hander Jefry Rodriguez will start tonight against the Miami Marlins instead of left-hander Tommy Milone. This will be Rodriguez's fifth start and seventh appearance this season with the Nats. He is 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA. His last start was August 7 against the Braves. Rodriguez went five innings, allowing one run one three hits with one walk and three strikeouts earning his first major league win. It does not appear that anything is wrong with...

Nationals find new way to lose late, fall to Cards 7-6 (updated)

Nationals find new way to lose late, fall to Cards 7-6 (updated)
ST. LOUIS - The 2018 Nationals don't lose baseball games. They lose Greek tragedies. There's no such thing as a simple ballgame for this team right now. The wins, few and far between as they seem, are still excruciating affairs. The losses? Well, they fall into a category all their own, suitable only to be written about by men named Thespis or Euripides. And so even when there were glimmers of hope tonight at Busch Stadium, in the form of seventh- and ninth-inning rallies by the visiting...

Harper's surge continues with 29th homer (Nats lead 4-2)

Harper's surge continues with 29th homer (Nats lead 4-2)
ST. LOUIS - For a guy who not long ago was laboring through the worst season of his career, Bryce Harper can still launch a baseball with the best of them. And he sure is starting to look like his peak self again. Harper hit his 29th homer of the season tonight, a solo blast that came on the 10th pitch of a fourth-inning at-bat against Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas. This being game No. 119 for the Nationals, Harper is on pace for a 40-homer season despite all his struggles earlier this...

Game 119 lineups: Nats at Cardinals

Game 119 lineups: Nats at Cardinals
ST. LOUIS - It's a new day, in a new town and there's a new ballgame for the Nationals to play tonight. Whether last night's events have any carryover effect in their series opener at Busch Stadium remains to be seen. Your guess is as good as anyone's when it comes to this. The Nats will need Tommy Milone to give them a chance, though. The lefty very much did that in his first two starts in place of Stephen Strasburg, against the Marlins and Mets. He very much did not do it in his last...

Emotions run hot during Nationals' 8-3 loss (updated)

Emotions run hot during Nationals' 8-3 loss (updated)
The Nationals showed some much-needed emotion tonight during a critical game against the Braves. Unfortunately, it only came after they trailed by a hefty margin and after their youngest star was ejected for the first time in his life. After Tommy Milone dug his teammates into a six-run hole, and the Nats tried to claw their way back while also watching 19-year-old slugger Juan Soto and hitting coach Kevin Long get ejected during a wild bottom of the sixth. In the end, the fiery emotions...

Game 114 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Herrera to DL)

Game 114 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Herrera to DL)
As if the sting of Tuesday night's 3-1 loss to the Braves in the second half of their day-night doubleheader wasn't enough, today the Nationals learned they've now lost Kelvin Herrera to a shoulder injury. Herrera, who had an MRI this morning, has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder impingement. We'll get more details - and, hopefully, an estimated timeline for his return - shortly, but in the meantime the Nationals bullpen has yet another new face: Koda Glover....

Milone nets first triumph since April 2017 in Nats' win over Mets

Milone nets first triumph since April 2017 in Nats' win over Mets
Left-hander Tommy Milone looked the part Wednesday of a starting pitcher that could help the Nationals as they attempt to climb back to the top of the National League East. In only his second start this season, Milone allowed just one run over seven innings as the Nats subdued the Mets 5-3 for his first win since April 14, 2017 while with the Brewers. "It's been kind of a rollercoaster ride, really," Milone said. "I spent the last couple years trying to get back to my old self and midway...

Milone again leads the way as Nats sweep Mets (updated)

Milone again leads the way as Nats sweep Mets (updated)
They aren't going to score 25 runs every night, the Nationals very much know this. Given the inconsistent nature of their offensive performance this season, they know their best path to a late-season surge is going to come from their pitching staff, first and foremost a rotation that has surprisingly underachieved all summer. Who would have imagined, though, that salvation would come in the form of Tommy Milone? Yes, Tommy Milone. The long-ago Nationals prospect who was among the players sent...

Milone and offense start quick against Mets (Nats win 5-3)

Milone and offense start quick against Mets (Nats win 5-3)
The Nationals continued their early offense by going after Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard. Bryce Harper lined a run-scoring single into the shift in right field in the first inning to plate Trea Turner, who had reached on a fielder's choice and stolen second. Turner doubled in the third and swiped third before Anthony Rendon slugged a two-run homer, his 16th of the season. Turner has two stolen bases for the second time in the series. Nationals left-hander Tommy Milone retired the first...

Cordero didn't sleep after getting first call to majors

Cordero didn't sleep after getting first call to majors
The Nationals welcomed right-hander Jimmy Cordero to the club after right-hander Shawn Kelley was designated for assignment. Cordero, 26, has done well with Triple-A Syracuse. He is 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA, compiling six saves in 38 games. "He's been lights out," said Nationals manager Davey Martinez. "He's throwing 97 mph to 99 mph. He's got a really good slider. The biggest thing for us after seeing him in spring training is that he's throwing strikes both with his fastball and his...

Liz Barr: Nationals rotation getting back on track

Liz Barr: Nationals rotation getting back on track
The trade deadline has come and gone, and the Nationals are still finding out who they are. The road has been a little bit rocky, but of late, the starting pitching seems to have found its footing, and over the last week, the pitchers have been dynamite and have been doing their best to lead the Nationals to success. It all started with Tanner Roark turning it around and having one of the best games of his life. After working with the now-traded Brandon Kintzler on his pitches, Roark faced the...

Game 107 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Cordero up, Kelley DFA)

Game 107 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Cordero up, Kelley DFA)
The Nationals rolled to an impressive offensive display for the second consecutive series with a 25-4 win over the Mets last night at Nationals Park. Last weekend in Miami, the Nats dropped the Marlins 10-3 and 9-1 to begin their four-game series. But on Saturday and Sunday, the club managed just one run in 19 innings in losing two in a row. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman smacked a two-run homer and a run-scoring single in the rou last nightt, but fully understands his team must find a way to...

Strasburg receives shot in neck, could resume throwing Sunday

Strasburg receives shot in neck, could resume throwing Sunday
MIAMI - The Nationals have received what they believe to be good news about Stephen Strasburg, though it's still an open question when the right-hander will be ready to pitch again. Strasburg, in Los Angeles on Thursday to have his ailing neck examined by a neurologist, was given a shot and is set to rejoin the Nationals in Miami on Saturday. He'll need to wait 72 hours for the shot to take full effect, but provided he feels well at that point he'll be cleared to resume throwing. "That's...

On Milone's start, Zimmerman's stroke and Difo's blunder

On Milone's start, Zimmerman's stroke and Difo's blunder
MIAMI - More from Thursday night's 10-3 victory over the Marlins ... * This wasn't the first time the Nationals needed to summon a starter from Triple-A Syracuse to fill in for a regular member of the big league rotation. They previously had called upon Erick Fedde, Jefry Rodriguez and Austin Voth for situations such as the one they faced Thursday, when Stephen Strasburg landed back on the disabled list. It took until now, though, for the Nats to call upon Tommy Milone, and that was the...

Depleted Nats rally from early deficit to rout Marlins (updated)

Depleted Nats rally from early deficit to rout Marlins (updated)
MIAMI - Their No. 2 starter back on the disabled list with a mysterious neck injury, two of their top hitters out of the lineup and their emergency starter in a three-run hole early, the Nationals had given even their most ardent supporters no legitimate reason to be optimistic after one inning of baseball tonight at Marlins Park. If this weekend series really is going to determine the front office's approach to Tuesday's trade deadline, and by extension determine whether a late-season run is...

Strasburg getting examined by neurologist in L.A.

Strasburg getting examined by neurologist in L.A.
MIAMI - Stephen Strasburg, despite a poor pitching line, didn't report any physical issues following his start Friday night against the Braves, his first outing following a six-week stint on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Strasburg also didn't report any problems after he threw off the bullpen mound in Milwaukee on Monday. But when the right-hander returned to the clubhouse Wednesday morning after playing catch at Miller Park, he informed manager Davey Martinez something was wrong...

Game 102 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 102 lineups: Nats at Marlins
MIAMI - So the tone of this weekend's series at Marlins Park has changed just a bit, even in the last 24 hours, huh? The immediate issue: Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching tonight as planned. He's back on the disabled list with a neck injury, only one start after he returned from his shoulder injury. So in his place is Tommy Milone, promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to make an emergency start tonight. Milone, you'll remember made his major league debut for the Nationals way back in 2011 (and...