Avila gets start in hometown, chance to help Gray

Avila gets start in hometown, chance to help Gray
Alex Avila's three starts behind the plate this month all came with Patrick Corbin on the mound, a calculated move by Nationals manager Davey Martinez in hopes the veteran catcher could get the left-hander out of a long funk. Tonight, Avila will be behind the plate again, this time tasked with helping rookie Josiah Gray turn things around after a ragged stretch. "I'm just curious to see how it all plays out," Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters, adding: "The...

Game 152 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 152 lineups: Nats at Marlins
It's been a while since the Nationals last won a series. How long? How about Aug. 17-18, when they swept the Blue Jays in a two-game series in D.C. They haven't won a three-game series since July 30-Aug. 1 against the Cubs. That's a long time. Tonight, though, the Nats have a chance to end that streak if they can beat the Marlins in their series finale and follow up Tuesday night's 7-1 victory with another. It's also an opportunity for Josiah Gray to turn his season back around. The rookie...

Nationals' problem stopping running game has resurfaced

Nationals' problem stopping running game has resurfaced
There was a time, before July 30, when the Nationals were among the toughest teams in baseball to run on. With Yan Gomes and Alex Avila behind the plate, the Nats excelled at controlling the running game, fixing what had been a major problem area for the team the previous two seasons. Alas, Gomes is now catching in Oakland. Avila only recently returned to the active roster after a long stint on the injured list. And the club's new, young catchers haven't enjoyed anywhere close to the success...

Rogers dazzles during a 7 2/3-inning gem in Miami (updated)

Rogers dazzles during a 7 2/3-inning gem in Miami (updated)
For only the sixth time this season, a Nationals starter took the mound for the eighth inning, the first such instance in more than three months. The guys who had previously done it? Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Joe Ross. The guy who did it tonight in Miami? Josh Rogers. Yes, that Josh Rogers. The 27-year-old dumped from the Orioles' Triple-A roster earlier this summer. The one who signed a minor league deal with the Nats and got a chance to return to the majors earlier this month to start...

Kieboom sitting tonight after jamming left thumb

Kieboom sitting tonight after jamming left thumb
Carter Kieboom is not in the Nationals lineup tonight after jamming his left thumb sliding into second base in the ninth inning of Monday night's loss in Miami. "Yesterday he got beat up a little bit, hurt his thumb a little bit," manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "So we're just going to give him a day. And if we need him later on, we could use him." Kieboom had a pair of tough slides during the game. He barreled into Marlins pitcher Zach Thompson...

Game 151 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 151 lineups: Nats at Marlins
It's Rematch No. 2 tonight in Miami, and this time the dueling starters have the same name. Yes, for the second time in a week, it's Josh Rogers versus Trevor Rogers, and who doesn't get excited for that? The first showdown between these two left-handers occurred last Wednesday in D.C., with the Nationals' Rogers tossing five scoreless innings and the Marlins' Rogers allowing only one run over four innings. Things completely fell apart after that, though, especially on the Nats' side of...

Why do the Nats keep getting burned by Rule 5.09a(11)?

Why do the Nats keep getting burned by Rule 5.09a(11)?
You would think by now the Nationals wouldn't find themselves in the middle of yet another argument over the interpretation of Rule 5.09a(11). Not after it was used against Trea Turner twice, including most famously in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series. Yet there was Josh Bell, pleading his case after being struck in the back by a throw just as he reached first base in the top of the 10th Monday night in Miami, and there was Davey Martinez, giving an umpire an earful in the Nats dugout before...

Late mistakes cost Nationals in 10-inning loss (updated)

Late mistakes cost Nationals in 10-inning loss (updated)
There is little sense at this point judging a Nationals-Marlins game on the performance of the two clubs after five or six innings. As much as they've faced each other in the last month, everyone should understand by now every game is going to be decided late, either by the bullpens or by some other manner of back-and-forth chaos. So it was again tonight in Miami, where the two teams at the bottom of the National League East standings engaged in another high-scoring affair that went right down...

Bell's work in outfield creates more playing time for Zimmerman

Bell's work in outfield creates more playing time for Zimmerman
Josh Bell starts in left field for the Nationals tonight, and while this is not a new development, it is notable that manager Davey Martinez felt comfortable enough in his slugging first baseman's ability to handle himself out there that he was willing to do this for a game inside spacious loanDepot Park. The Marlins' home stadium features one of the largest outfields in baseball, so this is perhaps not as easy an assignment for Bell as it was the three previous times he started in left field...

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Marlins
If you feel like you've seen the Nationals and Marlins play each other enough already this season, well, join the club. Alas, there are three games remaining on the head-to-head schedule between these two division foes and those will be taking place over the next three nights. When they wrap things up Wednesday night, the Nats will have faced the Marlins 19 times for the season, but nine times over the previous month. That's a lot. And the result of this series in Miami could go a long way...

Bullpen gives up eight to ruin Rogers' strong start (updated)

Bullpen gives up eight to ruin Rogers' strong start (updated)
The baseball that was displayed for 3 hours and 53 minutes this afternoon at Nationals Park was not of a caliber many in the announced crowd of 16,309 could have found satisfactory. The Nationals and Marlins took turns trying to out-underperform each other, from the Nats' inability to produce with runners in scoring position to the Marlins' inability to play clean defense to both bullpens' inability to protect leads. (Or, in Miami's case, throw strikes with the bases loaded.) It all made...

Martinez, coaches honor Clemente with No. 21 jerseys

Martinez, coaches honor Clemente with No. 21 jerseys
Davey Martinez won't be able to walk up the dugout steps and stand on the field for today's national anthem. After a follow-up procedure on his left ankle Tuesday, the Nationals manager remains in a cast and will again need to watch today's game from a perch in the dugout (preferably in the shade on this hot and muggy afternoon). Those who can see Martinez, though, surely will notice the special jersey he's wearing, with the number 21 on the back in honor of Roberto Clemente. For the second...

Game 146 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 146 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The nexus of the universe stands at the corner of South Capitol Street and Potomac Avenue SE this afternoon, where both the Nationals and Marlins will be sending left-handed pitchers to the mound named Rogers. OK, so this is hardly cosmos-bending stuff, but it is a funny little quirk about the matchup for today's series finale at Nationals Park. Josh Rogers gets the start for the Nats, his third since his promotion from Triple-A Rochester. And he's been pretty good in each of his previous two...

Bell holding his own in outfield, Soto chasing another batting title

Bell holding his own in outfield, Soto chasing another batting title
Ryan Zimmerman produced the most memorable hit of Tuesday night's 8-2 win over the Marlins when he launched a fastball from Jesús Luzardo 442 feet to right-center field, into the second deck at Nationals Park. But Zimmerman's presence in the lineup was made possible in part by Josh Bell's ability to remain in the lineup himself while moving out to left field for the night. It was the fourth game Bell has started in the outfield this season, and he may be back there today when the...

Zimmerman's blast sets tone in Nats' lopsided win (updated)

Zimmerman's blast sets tone in Nats' lopsided win (updated)
Nobody in a Nationals uniform gets a bigger ovation when he steps to the plate these days than Ryan Zimmerman. He's far from the team's best player at this point, but with only three home series remaining on the 2021 schedule, everyone in attendance is well aware there are only so many more guaranteed Zimmerman plate appearances to witness. The original face of the franchise has not yet offered any clues about his intentions beyond this season, though he suggested tonight he probably won't...

Game 145 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 145 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals avoided the ignominy of being no-hit for the first time Monday night, but let's be honest: Even if it happened, it would've come against a worthy foe in Sandy Alcantara, an All-Star who was in peak form in the series opener. Tonight, they face a highly touted, but far less accomplished opponent in Jesús Luzardo. Yes, the same Luzardo the Nationals drafted and then traded to the Athletics in the Sean Doolittle/Ryan Madson deal. The same Luzardo who was traded to Miami this...

Will Rainey and Robles return to play in D.C. this season?

Will Rainey and Robles return to play in D.C. this season?
As the Nationals' season reaches its final stages, with only 18 games left on the schedule at this point, time is running out for any more players to be promoted from the minor leagues and get more than a token opportunity to make one final statement heading into 2022. Truth be told, the Nats have seen just about everyone they need to see by now, especially in the wake of their dramatic sell-off at the July 30 trade deadline. The current 28-man roster - the new limit for September - includes...

Nats avoid no-hitter, but can't touch Alcantara in loss (updated)

Nats avoid no-hitter, but can't touch Alcantara in loss (updated)
The Nationals played the 2,632nd regular season game in their history this evening, which means they've now existed as long as Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games streak lasted from 1982-98. That's nearly 17 seasons of the third incarnation of Major League Baseball in D.C. And though there have been no shortage of dizzying highs and terrifying lows along the way, the Nationals have always been able to stake claim to this irrefutable fact: In all that time, they've never been no-hit. There...

Mercer returns from IL, Sanchez designated for assignment

Mercer returns from IL, Sanchez designated for assignment
The Nationals got another veteran back on their roster for the season's final weeks, activating infielder Jordy Mercer after a lengthy stint on the 10-day injured list before tonight's series opener against the Marlins. Mercer, who hadn't played since straining his left calf muscle July 20 against Miami, returns to the active roster after a brief rehab appearance with Double-A Harrisburg last week. The 35-year-old played in three games for the Senators, going 3-for-9 with two walks and three...

Game 144 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 144 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Would you believe we're down to the final three weeks of the season? Yep, tonight the Nationals begin a six-game homestand with the Marlins and Rockies. After that, they're on a three-city road trip to Miami, Cincinnati and Colorado. And then they come home for the final series against the Red Sox. And that's it. Time flies when you're having fun. Or something like that. The Nats will be hoping to actually win this series from the Marlins, a task that proved too difficult the last time they...