Rizzo confident Strasburg will return for 2021 at full health

Rizzo confident Strasburg will return for 2021 at full health
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is disappointed that Stephen Strasburg is out for the season, but feels that taking care of his hand injury now with surgery will allow the right-hander to be back to 100 percent in time for the 2021 season. "We feel that it's unfortunate that Stras is not going to be around pitching for us for the remainder of the season, but the positive part of this thing is that we feel that the injury is not going to be anything long term for him," Rizzo said Sunday...

Struggling Voth still searching for answers

Struggling Voth still searching for answers
Austin Voth earned a spot in the Nationals' opening day rotation based on the major step forward he took in 2019, when increased velocity, improved command and renewed confidence came together to make the rookie right-hander look like a part of the organization's long-term plan. Four starts into his 2020 campaign, Voth finds himself searching to gain all of that back. And soon. "Definitely the last couple starts just haven't felt confident on the mound," he said during his Zoom session...

Seven relievers post five zeros in Nationals' win (updated)

Seven relievers post five zeros in Nationals' win (updated)
Davey Martinez can wish for more innings from his rotation. Until it actually happens, he has no choice but to ask for a lot from his bullpen. That unit couldn't finish the job Monday night during a gut-punch loss in Atlanta. Tonight, seven different relievers joined forces to pitch five scoreless innings and complete the job. And when Daniel Hudson, pitching for the third straight day and only 24 hours removed from an ugly blown save, closed it out in the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals...

Game 21 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 21 lineups: Nats at Braves
The Nationals did a lot of things right Monday night. And because of it, they were in position to win their series opener against the Braves at Truist Park. Of course, they didn't win because of Daniel Hudson's disastrous bottom of the ninth, so that only adds to the pressure to emerge victorious in tonight's middle game of the series. The Nats will hope to continue hitting the longball the way they did Monday when they smacked four homers. But they also need to take advantage of their other...

Romero on big league debut: "I was 100 percent nervous"

Romero on big league debut: "I was 100 percent nervous"
Rookie Seth Romero made his major league debut Thursday against the Mets, coming in for starter Austin Voth to begin the fifth inning, in a game the Nats lost 8-2. It turned out to be an up-and-down outing for the 24-year-old, who had not pitched in a game in almost two years. But a big league promotion is a huge deal for a kid who missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. With the Nats down 3-1, the Nats' 2017 first-rounder took on the Mets' speedy outfielder Billy...

Voth's short start sets up Romero's rough debut in loss (updated)

Voth's short start sets up Romero's rough debut in loss (updated)
Draw up a recipe for pitching trouble, and this is what you'd come up with: After last night's starter went 2 2/3 innings, and with 1 4/9 games on tomorrow's schedule, the Nationals knew they needed quality and length from Austin Voth in today's series finale at Citi Field. Voth often provides quality, but the length part still eludes the young right-hander. Which meant by bottom of the fifth this afternoon, Davey Martinez had little choice but to put a left-hander whose last competitive...

Game 16 lineups: Nats at Mets (Doolittle to IL, Romero promoted)

Game 16 lineups: Nats at Mets (Doolittle to IL, Romero promoted)
For all the issues they've got right now - and there are issues - the Nationals have a chance today to win a series against a division rival. A four-game series, at that. After taking the first two games at Citi Field, then dropping Wednesday night's not-so-pretty contest, the Nats go back at it against the Mets this afternoon for the finale. The forecast in New York (just like here in D.C.) isn't great, but they'll give it a go and hope for the best. The Nationals really need quality...

Harris returns, Romero to active roster, Doolittle to IL

Harris returns, Romero to active roster, Doolittle to IL
Nationals manager Davey Martinez delivered news this morning from a rainy Citi Field, where the Nats hope to wrap up their four-game set with the Mets before they board the train for Baltimore tonight. The club announced that left-hander Sam Freeman has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left flexor mass strain. He had a 0.00 ERA in five innings so far this season. The team activated right-hander Will Harris from the injured list following his recovery from a right groin...

Voth takes important step in five-inning start

Voth takes important step in five-inning start
Had things played out the way the Nationals wanted them to Saturday night, we'd be talking this morning about Austin Voth's impressive start. Of course, by the end of a disastrous, 5-3 loss to the Orioles, Voth's outing was an afterthought, bumped by Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson's eighth-inning meltdown. In the bigger picture, though, Voth's performance was significant. The second-year starter continues to show he has the stuff to be effective at this level. He just needs to show he...

Faith in bullpen goes haywire during gut-punch loss (updated)

Faith in bullpen goes haywire during gut-punch loss (updated)
Asked Friday if Sean Doolittle's struggles might force him to shift the veteran late-inning reliever into a lower-leverage role, Davey Martinez was adamant in showing faith in the left-hander who has been an integral member of the Nationals bullpen for three years now. "In order for us to pull this off," Martinez said, "we need Sean Doolittle." Barely 24 hours later, the Nationals manager admitted he may have no choice but to start devising a plan for success in 2020 that doesn't include...

Game 11 lineups: Nats vs. Orioles

Game 11 lineups: Nats vs. Orioles
Nothing went right for the Nationals Friday night during an 11-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Orioles. They can only hope for a better result tonight in the second game of the weekend series. Most of Davey Martinez's lineup remains the same, with two exceptions: Eric Thames is back at first base, because the Nats are facing a right-hander (Thomas Eshelman), and Asdrúbal Cabrera is back at third base instead of Carter Kieboom. That lineup had better have the right approach against...

Nats announce makeup games vs. Marlins, starters vs. Orioles

Nats announce makeup games vs. Marlins, starters vs. Orioles
They've had a bunch of days off in the last week, but the Nationals are going to make up for it with a bunch of doubleheaders later in the season. Major League Baseball announced a slew of schedule changes Thursday to account for all the games lost due to coronavirus outbreaks among the Marlins and Cardinals. And in order for the Nats to make up their postponed weekend against Miami, they're going to have to play three doubleheaders in two cities before season's end. The Nationals and...

Nationals slog through another loss to Blue Jays (updated)

Nationals slog through another loss to Blue Jays (updated)
There's no delicate way to put this: The Nationals are a listless bunch on the baseball field right now. It's perfectly understandable, given the circumstances. They're trying to play through a pandemic. Their top slugger remains stuck in quarantine even though he's passed two official coronavirus tests and several more unofficial ones. Their World Series MVP is sidelined with a nerve injury in his hand. Their face of the franchise is sitting at home watching on TV after opting out of this...

Eaton's RBI single answers Guerrero's early homer (Nats fall 5-1)

Eaton's RBI single answers Guerrero's early homer (Nats fall 5-1)
The Blue Jays got ahead of right-hander Austin Voth and the Nationals in the second inning on a home run from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Left fielder Emilio Bonifácio and center fielder Victor Robles went after Guerrero's long fly ball to left-center field. The two collided at the wall and the ball went over the fence for a home run. Robles appeared to have the ball in his glove for a moment right before the two collided. Bonifácio went down on his back but got up with the help of Robles. The...

Game 5 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays

Game 5 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays
This has become a recurring theme every day during this unprecedented season: The Nationals spend the morning and afternoon dealing with major news events, then have to actually take the field to play a ballgame in the evening. So far, that has resulted in a 1-3 record. They'll try to flip that back in a more positive direction tonight in the second of four games with the Blue Jays. Austin Voth will try to do what Aníbal Sánchez couldn't do last night: keep Toronto's hitters in the...

Cabrera likely to start, Voth impresses, Toronto is out

Cabrera likely to start, Voth impresses, Toronto is out
Given an opportunity to write out what may very well be his opening night lineup for Saturday's exhibition opener, Nationals manager Davey Martinez included one mildly unexpected name: Asdrúbal Cabrera. Two weeks after suggesting rookie Carter Kieboom would be his everyday third baseman for this shortened season, Martinez offered a clue that probably won't be 100 percent true. Cabrera, not Kieboom, got the nod against the Phillies and appears the likely choice to start Thursday against the...

Nats make their own intensity during quiet intrasquad game

Nats make their own intensity during quiet intrasquad game
They wore jerseys with names and numbers on them for the first time in four months, one team in red tops and gray pants, the other in all white. They played music between innings from a large speaker near the dugout. They sent two big league starters to the mound for this five-inning intrasquad matchup, but didn't have enough available position players to fill both lineups after one had to be scratched due to a "contact lens issue." So they were forced to use a minor league coach as the...

More than one factor to consider in No. 5 starter choice

More than one factor to consider in No. 5 starter choice
The Nationals' chances for success in a 60-game season would seem to be bolstered by their top-of-the-line rotation. It's the backbone upon which they built a championship last year and how they've always intended to make a run at another title this year, no matter the length of the schedule. And in Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Aníbal Sánchez, they've got as good a starting quartet as there is in the majors. They, of course, won't be making it through this...

Martinez impressed with how well the big four stuck to shutdown plan

Martinez impressed with how well the big four stuck to shutdown plan
Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer looked ready to go with his 48 pitches in his first summer training sim game at Nats Park. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg has his sim game today. Right-hander Aníbal Sánchez threw more than 60 pitches on Thursday. Left-hander Patrick Corbin is expected to throw tomorrow. The Nationals want to make sure their big four are good to go for the 2020 season, and manager Davey Martinez said the guys came to summer training ready. He knows the starting...

Martinez going with a five-man rotation to begin shortened season

Martinez going with a five-man rotation to begin shortened season
The Nationals enter day two of summer training at Nats Park with the schedule spread out over 11 hours so the players and coaches are never in big groups. General manager Mike Rizzo said his pitchers hit the ground running on Friday and returned looking like they had taken advantage of the three-and-a-half-month pause due to the coronavirus shutdown, especially Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. "The important thing is we came into spring training 2.0 in good shape," Rizzo...