Bullpen takes another hit with Rainey landing on IL

Bullpen takes another hit with Rainey landing on IL
A Nationals bullpen that already was being stretched thin with the losses of several key late-inning relievers to injury has lost another key late-inning reliever: Tanner Rainey, who today was placed on the 10-day injured list with a stress reaction in his lower right leg. It's a serious blow to a relief corps that has been trying to proceed without the services of Daniel Hudson, Kyle Finnegan and Will Harris and now enters a daunting closing stretch to the first half of the season against...

Two years later, Miller grateful for second chance with Nats

Two years later, Miller grateful for second chance with Nats
The last time he had pitched at Nationals Park, Justin Miller was roughed up by the Cubs. It was May 17, 2019, and after serving up a two-run homer to Kris Bryant, Miller wound up on the injured list with a rotator cuff strain. The Nats, after that loss, were 18-26 and about to reach rock bottom. Things have changed just a bit since then, both for the Nationals and for Miller, who after his injury-plagued 2019 became a bit of a baseball nomad in the year-plus since. While the Nats were rallying...

Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Scherzer to IL)

Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Scherzer to IL)
First, the news of the day, not totally unexpected: The Nationals have placed Max Scherzer on the 10-day injured list with groin inflammation. The move is retroactive to Saturday, so that means he'll be eligible to return one week from today against the Phillies. Again, no shocker here, and Scherzer certainly seems to expect he'll be good to go by then. With a chance to add another pitcher, the Nats purchased right-hander Justin Miller's contract from Triple-A Rochester, bringing back the...

Adams available to pinch-hit, Nationals DFA Miller (Nats win 6-3)

Adams available to pinch-hit, Nationals DFA Miller (Nats win 6-3)
Nationals manager Davey Martinez had some cautiously optimistic news on the status of Matt Adams. The first baseman had to leave the game after getting hit by a pitch on the outside near the lateral longitudinal arch of his right foot. "He had a CT scan today - came back negative," Martinez said. "He's good. It's a contusion. He's getting treated right now. Hoping that he's available to pinch-hit today for the game." With Max Scherzer being placed on the injured list, Martinez confirmed...

Renewed confidence in four-seam gets Blazek back to bigs

Renewed confidence in four-seam gets Blazek back to bigs
The Nationals made a somewhat surprising move to shore up their bullpen with addition of veteran right-hander Michael Blazek on Monday. Right-hander Justin Miller was moved to the 60-day injured list and right-hander Kyle McGowin was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg. The 30-year-old Blazek has not pitched in the majors since 2017, having spent most of his career with the Brewers. His best season was 2015, when he went 5-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 47 games for Milwaukee. Nationals manager Davey...

Miller, Barraclough on rehab assignments (Nats win 5-2)

Miller, Barraclough on rehab assignments (Nats win 5-2)
Right-hander Justin Miller was back in the Nats clubhouse fresh off multiple pitching sessions in West Palm Beach. Miller has been recovering from a right rotator cuff strain that has had him sidelined since May 18. He has missed 42 games. "I threw live BP (with) the hitters just tracking underneath the tunnels. The next day I had a day off, and the next day I threw a sim game, so live BP, basically. Then after that I had two days off and I threw the first (Gulf Coast League) game. Then I had...

Martinez on Scherzer, Zimmerman, Voth and more (Nats win 6-0)

Martinez on Scherzer, Zimmerman, Voth and more (Nats win 6-0)
Nationals manager Davey Martinez made sure to check that Max Scherzer was good to go after a busy week with his wife Erica giving birth to a baby girl Kacey Hart on Thursday. Usually, a new baby in the family is the only big deal for a week in the life of any proud Dad. It's all in the normal work and life for Scherzer, who makes his 19th start of the season today against Kansas City. He has gone 6-0 in the last month with a 1.00 ERA, being named National League Pitcher of the Month. He...

Injury updates and more praise for Rosenthal (Nats win 7-3)

Injury updates and more praise for Rosenthal (Nats win 7-3)
Nationals manager Davey Martinez said first baseman Matt Adams was good to go Thursday, but the Nats opted to give him some more rest. The veteran slugger is not in the starting lineup tonight mainly because the Diamondbacks are pitching the left-hander Robbie Ray. Howie Kendrick is playing first base tonight. "Yeah, he felt good," Martinez said of Adams. "At that point, just kind of wanted to give him a day. But he swung the bat well, so definitely available." First baseman Ryan Zimmerman...

One more outing for Rosenthal before decision (Nats down 5-4)

One more outing for Rosenthal before decision (Nats down 5-4)
SAN DIEGO - It looks like the Nationals will send Trevor Rosenthal to the mound one more time for Harrisburg before making a final decision whether to bring the erratic reliever back to the majors or cut ties with him. Rosenthal pitched back-to-back games at Double-A on Tuesday and Wednesday, the first time he's done that since beginning a rehab assignment four weeks ago. Manager Davey Martinez said the right-hander will take a couple days off, then is scheduled to pitch again this...

Hellickson shut down with sore shoulder (Nats up 14-4)

Hellickson shut down with sore shoulder (Nats up 14-4)
ATLANTA - The Nationals have shut down Jeremy Hellickson from throwing after the right-hander was continuing to experience shoulder soreness while on the injured list. Hellickson, who went on the IL on May 21 with a strained right shoulder, was already throwing long toss that afternoon and believed he could keep himself sharp during what he hoped would be a brief stint off the active roster. But the right-hander wasn't responding to the throwing sessions as well as he wanted, so the club...

Miller to IL, Rainey recalled; Robles available to pinch-hit

Miller to IL, Rainey recalled; Robles available to pinch-hit
The Nationals have recalled right-hander Tanner Rainey from Triple-A Fresno and placed right-hander Justin Miller on the 10-day injured list with a right rotator cuff strain. Rainey arrived from Fresno approximately 2 1/2 hours before the Nationals are to take on the Chicago Cubs in game two of their three-game weekend set. The 26-year-old has not allowed an earned run in his last seven appearances out of the Grizzlies bullpen. "He's been pitching well. He's going to help us in the...

More from Barraclough on what's wrong with beleaguered bullpen

More from Barraclough on what's wrong with beleaguered bullpen
The Nationals bullpen has failed this season at times, but the way they gave up the game Friday night was pretty spectacular. When it counted most, the 'pen allowed a whopping nine runs on nine hits. Push back to the seventh inning, and the total rises to 11 runs on 12 hits. It was a miserable night after Max Scherzer had fought back from a slow start of his own to keep his team in the game. When he left, the Nats were down only 3-2. They lost 14-6. Justin Miller, Joe Ross, Kyle Barraclough,...

Nats notes: Decision time on Rendon, bullpen suddenly hot

Nats notes: Decision time on Rendon, bullpen suddenly hot
Just about every day over the last week-plus, Davey Martinez has been asked if Anthony Rendon will be available to pinch-hit that night, and the Nationals manager has almost always answered in a hopeful manner. Martinez, though, sounded less hopeful when asked about the possibility Monday afternoon as the Nationals prepared to face the Cardinals with their star third baseman still out of the lineup with a bruised left elbow. "He's going to take swings later on in the day, and we'll see,"...

Rosenthal to injured list, Miller returns

Rosenthal to injured list, Miller returns
Prior the opening game of their series with the Padres, the Nationals placed right-hander Trevor Rosenthal on the 10-day injured list with a viral infection and reinstated right-hander Justin Miller from the IL. Rosenthal has had an extremely poor start to the season, throwing with good velocity but almost completely unable to find the strike zone on a consistent basis. He has allowed five runs in his last three innings over three appearances with five walks and two hit batters. His season ERA...

Pregame injury updates from Colorado (Nats down 6-3)

Pregame injury updates from Colorado (Nats down 6-3)
DENVER - Some injury updates for you before the Nationals and Rockies wrap up their three-game series ... * Anthony Rendon is out of the lineup for the fourth straight game with a bruised left elbow, but the Nationals remain optimistic about their third baseman and believe he's on the verge of returning to action. Rendon, who hasn't played since he was struck by a pitch Saturday night in Miami, has taken swings in the batting tunnel each of the last two days. He had seen enough improvement...

Williams is next man up in ever-changing bullpen

Williams is next man up in ever-changing bullpen
Austen Williams figured something was up when he was summoned out of Fresno's bullpen in the third inning of Friday night's game at Las Vegas. He knew he wasn't being called in to pitch that early in a game. Sure enough, Williams' hunch was correct. He was being called up to Washington, and now he had to race the clock (and the sun) to get to D.C. in time for today's 4:05 p.m. game against the Pirates. Williams' itinerary: A red-eye flight from Las Vegas to Chicago, then a connecting...

Game 13 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates

Game 13 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates
The sun is out, and it's going to be a warm afternoon here on South Capitol Street as the Nationals and Pirates return to action after last night's rainy (and frustrating, for the Nats) affair. They'll try to get back on track with Aníbal Sánchez on the mound, though, as we all know, the performance of the starter matters less than the performance of whichever relievers are summoned from the bullpen to replace said starter. On that front, the Nationals have a new face in the bullpen...

Bullpen's latest collapse ends with Miller headed to IL

Bullpen's latest collapse ends with Miller headed to IL
They can't trust their planned setup man in any situation of consequence. The other experienced right-hander they added this winter can't prevent an inherited runner from scoring. The lefty they signed late in spring training doesn't look fully ready for this workload. And now one of the few members of the Nationals bullpen to perform early on and merit a chance in high-leverage spots is injured after three straight disastrous outings. Suffice it to say, the Nationals relief corps - already...

Corbin's gem, Rendon's blasts wasted by another bullpen loss

Corbin's gem, Rendon's blasts wasted by another bullpen loss
Only two weeks in, the Nationals' lineup has established an encouraging trend for late-game heroics, often making up for the club's bullpen woes. Alas, they can't always count on their bats to do the job their relief corps cannot. Especially when they've already done it once on a given night. It happened tonight during a 6-3, 10-inning loss to the Pirates that was as discouraging as any to date this season. The Nationals wasted a brilliant performance by Patrick Corbin. They wasted Anthony...

New names, same result from bullpen in disastrous eighth

New names, same result from bullpen in disastrous eighth
NEW YORK - The sight of Wilmer Difo rounding the bases, slapping his hands together in excitement, the crowd of 35,156 at Citi Field booing after the Nationals' backup shortstop gave his team a two-run lead with an upper-deck home run in the top of the eighth, should have brought joy to anyone rooting for the visitors in this afternoon's contest with the Mets. And yet nobody would fault anybody for reacting to Difo's surprise blast with feelings of nausea. Why? Because it merely meant the...