Williams on Rendon day off, Zimmerman return date and Soriano status

Williams on Rendon day off, Zimmerman return date and Soriano status
Nationals manager Matt Williams had an update on third baseman/outfielder Ryan Zimmerman as he recovers from a severe hamstring injury. Zimmerman has been on the disabled list since July 23 with a right hamstring strain. "I know that he's strengthening, I know he's been on the AlterG (anti-gravity treadmill). Certainly no baseball activity as of yet," Williams confirmed. "It's a question of him feeling good and then taking a little extra time, because the natural tendency is 'oh, I feel...

Hairston, Werth, Fister and Soriano after Nationals 6-5 win

Hairston, Werth, Fister and Soriano after Nationals 6-5 win
Pinch-hitter Scott Hairston came up in the eleventh and delivered the game-winning, walk-off winner. He drove a pitch to deep left field that scored Jayson Werth from third base on a sac fly, lifting the Nationals to an 11-inning thrilling 6-5 win over the Pirates. Hairston knew it was so late in the game that a lefty-righty matchup wasn't the only way he could pinch-hit. "I figured the pitching spot was up third," Hairston told reporters. "I don't think we had anybody else on the bench....

Williams' discusses Nats' second straight walk-off win

Williams' discusses Nats' second straight walk-off win
Earlier this week, Drew Storen noted that to win a pennant, you need to not only win the games where things go smoothly, you need to win the ugly games, too. This one would certainly qualify in the latter category. But it sure was fun to watch nonetheless. The Nationals made two errors in the sixth inning, allowing two Pirates runs to score. Rafael Soriano blew a save in the top of the ninth, surrendering three runs to turn a 4-2 lead into a 5-4 Pittsburgh advantage. The ugly aspects could be...

Nationals and Pittsburgh in back-and-forth affair (Nats win 6-5 in 11 on Hairston sac fly)

Nationals and Pittsburgh in back-and-forth affair (Nats win 6-5 in 11 on Hairston sac fly)
The Nationals are going for their second straight three-game series sweep Sunday against the Pirates, after taking three in New York against the Mets earlier this week. If the Nationals win the game, it would be their first season series win over the Bucs. The Nationals lost the first three games against the Pirates this season in late May and have bounced back to win three in a row. Doug Fister did not allow a baserunner until the third after walking Ike Davis. Davis went to second on a wild...

On Soriano's shaky last few days

On Soriano's shaky last few days
There was a stretch earlier this season where Rafael Soriano wasn't just notching saves and recording scoreless innings. He was nearly untouchable. From June 15 through July 12, Soriano made 12 appearances. He didn't allow a single run in that span, surrendered just four hits and two walks and struck out 13. Opposing hitters had just a .103 batting average against Soriano in that 12-game run, with a .249 OPS. Even earlier this month, from August 1-9, Soriano had a mini dominant stretch,...

Williams on Roark, LaRoche and more after Nats' 5-4 win

Williams on Roark, LaRoche and more after Nats' 5-4 win
A 5-0 Nationals lead after three was trimmed to 5-3 in the fourth when the Pirates got to Tanner Roark. They then got to Rafael Soriano in the ninth, and nearly completed a big road comeback. Instead, Soriano walked the tightrope yet again and notched the save, his 29th of the season, giving the Nats a 5-4 win and their fourth straight victory. Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper each drove in two for the Nats, and Denard Span had three hits and two stolen bases. Soriano allowed three hits and a run...

Matt Williams on the 4-3 win over the Marlins

Matt Williams on the 4-3 win over the Marlins
Nationals manager Matt Williams had these thoughts on Drew Storen working out of a jam in the ninth inning to record his first save of the season in a 4-3 win at Miami: "Certainly, the (Giancarlo) Stanton homer, and then the ball kind of inside the line at first. But Drew made a pitch when he had to make a pitch. That is all that matters for us." Why didn't Williams use closer Rafael Soriano in that situation? "Well, we decided to give him a couple of days," Williams explained. "Not just...

Ready to put last night in the rear view mirror

Ready to put last night in the rear view mirror
MIAMI - Luckily for the Nationals, they haven't had too many nights like last night. There haven't been many grit-your-teeth, clench-your-fist type of losses to this point in the season, games that the Nats had in their grasp but let slip away late. Yes, last night was Rafael Soriano's fourth blown save of the season, but one of those four games ended up turning into a win anyway. And outside of a few blown saves, very few of the Nats' defeats this season have felt like punches to the...

Learning from a tough loss in July can pay deeper dividends in September

Learning from a tough loss in July can pay deeper dividends in September
Losing is never easy. Blowing a 6-0 lead is up there as most upsetting. But falling 7-6 at Miami Monday is actually a good thing for a team that has seen a lot go well in the month of July. It seemed like Rafael Soriano was due. Recently, a few of his best pitches have been up in the zone. He actually lives on the edge in that regard, getting guys to chase at some of those tantalizing offers. Leading 6-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, he had not allowed a run in 11 straight innings...

Quotes from the clubhouse after Nats' tough 7-6 walk-off loss

Quotes from the clubhouse after Nats' tough 7-6 walk-off loss
MIAMI - Their 6-0 lead turned into a four-run advantage after the Marlins got two in the seventh. The four-run edge was cut to three when Miami plated one more on an RBI groundout in the eighth. Still, a three-run lead with Rafael Soriano on the mound seemed secure, given that Soriano had been 25 of 28 in save chances entering today and had notched his 200th career save yesterday. Then the Marlins exploded for four runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Jeff Baker's single to left off Jerry...

Williams on second base rotation, Zimmerman, Soriano and more

Williams on second base rotation, Zimmerman, Soriano and more
Since losing third baseman/outfielder Ryan Zimmerman last Tuesday to a hamstring injury, Nationals manager Matt Williams has started Danny Espinosa, Zach Walters and Kevin Frandsen at second base. Espinosa has started three of the five games despite sporting a .214 average this season. He will also start tonight's series opener in Miami after picking up one hit in Sunday's win over the Reds. "I just like the way Danny played yesterday," Williams told reporters in Miami. "He hit three...

Good outweighs bad as Nats claim series win over Reds (updated)

Good outweighs bad as Nats claim series win over Reds (updated)
If someone had told you that the Nationals were going to go to Cincinnati, fail to hit a home run over three games and run into outs like 2007 Nook Logan (still my favorite Charlie Slowes call of all time), would you have expected two wins in a three-game series? Luckily, seven shutout innings by right-hander Doug Fister on Sunday bailed out the baserunning mistakes of Anthony Rendon (trying to move up on Jayson Werth's grounder in the first after walking and swiping second) and Denard Span...

Bullpen's success due to solid contributions from one to seven

Bullpen's success due to solid contributions from one to seven
It is amazing to think about how productive the bullpen has been this season for the Nationals. Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano have been very efficient in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames. Soriano is 2-0 with a 1.15 ERA with 23 saves this season. Storen is 2-1 with a 1.09 ERA in 33 innings. Clippard is 6-2 with a 1.93 ERA in 42 innings. What is truly amazing is the trio's recent ability to close out games. Soriano did have one hiccup, but these numbers are nothing short...

More All-Star chatter, including a couple of Nats snubs

More All-Star chatter, including a couple of Nats snubs
Every major league team gets at least one player in the All-Star Game, a rule that Major League Baseball put in place to ensure that every organization and fanbase is represented and has a chance to cheer on one of its players during the Midsummer Classic. The Nationals, who currently are nine games over .500, have won 11 of their last 15 and are just a half-game out of the lead in the National League East, had just one player announced as a member of the NL All-Star team yesterday. Jordan...

Why Williams put Harper back at No. 6 in order, Soriano's continued effectiveness

Why Williams put Harper back at No. 6 in order, Soriano's continued effectiveness
The Nationals looked to shake things up a bit against (former) Chicago Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel Friday by batting Bryce Harper near the top of the order at No. 2. It didn't work out that day. Harper went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The Nationals lost the opener 7-2. But really that might have more been because of what Hammel was doing and how well he was pitching. (So good in fact he was shipped to the Oakland A's in a megadeal after the game.) But either way, manager Matt Williams...

Appreciating the first half put up by Rafael Soriano

Appreciating the first half put up by Rafael Soriano
When people talk about who should end up as the Nationals' All-Star selection this season, you hear the names of Adam LaRoche and Anthony Rendon tossed around a good bit. Heck, despite a batting average that sits in the .230s and a sub-.300 on-base percentage, Ian Desmond has even been mentioned as a possible pick for the National League All-Star squad because his power numbers to this point in the season - 15 homers and 51 RBIs - are up there among the best for shortstops in the...

Desmond, Fister and Clippard break down Nats' 4-3 win over Rockies

Desmond, Fister and Clippard break down Nats' 4-3 win over Rockies
Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond felt he had hit the ball well enough, but stood at third waiting for the umpires to agree. If it was a homer, it would be the go-ahead run to complete the comeback for the Nationals over the Rockies 4-3. "The way it bounced back hard like that I kind of assumed that it was over," Desmond said. "And the way that (Drew) Stubbs didn't go after it made it a little bit easier. At that point, I am going to get the triple. I thought it was gone, but I wasn't a...

In defense of Rafael Soriano

In defense of Rafael Soriano
SAN DIEGO - Rafael Soriano seems to be a lightning rod for criticism among Nationals fans. Now I'm not here to tell fans how to feel about players. If you want to have certain feelings about a certain player, you're definitely entitled. It's a free country. And a free blog. But I am going to use this post to defend Soriano. Going into last night's outing, which ended in a blown save, the veteran right-hander had converted 12 of his 13 save opportunities on the season. He had a 0.78 ERA...

Williams discusses Nats' 4-3 11-inning loss

Williams discusses Nats' 4-3 11-inning loss
SAN DIEGO - The Nationals were one out from locking up their third straight series win and picking up their fifth straight victory overall. Then Yonder Alonso connected on a 1-0 fastball from Rafael Soriano - a pitch that was supposed to be down and away but stayed over the heart of the plate - and tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. Two innings later, Cameron Maybin blooped a single into right field off Craig Stammen, scoring Chase Headley with the game-winning run and sending the Padres...

Williams on Werth's dramatic catch, Soriano's ninth inning, Nats' 5-2 win

Williams on Werth's dramatic catch, Soriano's ninth inning, Nats' 5-2 win
What was looking like a quiet 5-2 victory suddenly turned a bit more interesting in the bottom of the ninth, when Rafael Soriano issued two two-out walks and Daniel Murphy sent a fly ball high to right field. Jayson Werth leaped at the wall, made a catch that may or may not have saved the game from being tied, and then dropped a "Mean Girls" reference at me immediately after the dramatic win was complete. Quite a finish. Your browser does not support iframes. The Nationals escaped with the...