Lobaton heads to Mets on minor league deal

Lobaton heads to Mets on minor league deal
Jose Lobaton has found a new home, but the Nationals' longtime backup catcher will be staying in the National League East. Lobaton has signed a minor league contract with the Mets, who will offer him an invitation to big league camp next spring and a chance to make their opening day roster. The 33-year-old spent the last four seasons as the Nationals' No. 2 catcher, backing up Wilson Ramos and later Matt Wieters. Known more for his work behind the plate than at the plate, Lobaton struggled in...

Nats think reduced workload will be beneficial for Wieters

Nats think reduced workload will be beneficial for Wieters
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Catcher Matt Wieters will be back behind the plate for the Nationals next season, having exercised his $10.5 million player option. But the guaranteed contract doesn't mean he'll carry the same workload. The numbers the veteran backstop amassed during his first season in D.C. were abysmal. He caught in 118 games as the Nats grew increasingly dissatisfied with backup Jose Lobaton's lack of offense and unusually poor defense, and had little positive to show for it....

Zimmerman takes some solace in club's recent winning ways

Zimmerman takes some solace in club's recent winning ways
The Nats players were pretty emotional after the loss to the Cubs knocked them out of the playoffs, as one could imagine. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the longest-tenured National, reflected on what felt like an abrupt end to a winning campaign. The Cubs came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Nats 9-8 in Game 5 of the National League Division Series Thursday night, winning the series 3-2. Chicago faces the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night in Game 1 of the League Championship Series. The...

Nationals once again left to make sense of an NLDS loss

Nationals once again left to make sense of an NLDS loss
Most of them had been through this at least once before, some twice, a select few three times. The Nationals have grown accustomed to - and, quite frankly, tired of - standing inside a dead-silent clubhouse late at night following an agonizing loss in the National League Division Series and trying to make sense of it all. They did it after the ninth-inning fiasco against the Cardinals in 2012. They did it after a poorly played series against the Giants in 2014. They did it after a dramatic...

Mistakes abound in another Game 5 loss for Nationals

Mistakes abound in another Game 5 loss for Nationals
If the Nationals were going to finally do it, if they were going to cast aside their reputation for coming up short when it matters most and at long last win a postseason series, they were going to have to blast their way through some major obstacles. The defending World Series champs were tough enough to beat. But in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, the Nationals were left to try to beat themselves, committing one costly gaffe after another during a 4 1/2-hour marathon that...

NLDS roster includes Goodwin, Robles, Romero, Lobaton

NLDS roster includes Goodwin, Robles, Romero, Lobaton
The Nationals are carrying four left-handed relievers and an extra bench player for the National League Division Series, ultimately choosing to take a chance on young players like Brian Goodwin, Victor Robles and Enny Romero over veterans or a long reliever. The Nationals will have a seven-man bullpen for their best-of-five series against the Cubs. Closer Sean Doolittle is joined by right-handed setup men Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler and Matt Albers, plus a trio of lefties who can be used to...

Who makes the Nationals' NLDS roster?

Who makes the Nationals' NLDS roster?
The Nationals have until Friday morning to set their 25-man roster for the National League Division Series. And given some of the down-to-the-wire decisions they need to make, they might just use every remaining minute available to them before submitting that roster to Major League Baseball. First and foremost, of course, is the state of Max Scherzer's right hamstring. The ace insists he'll be pitching in this series, but the Nationals won't know for sure when he'll pitch until after he...

Goodwin in Florida, could make NLDS roster (Nats lose 7-5)

Goodwin in Florida, could make NLDS roster (Nats lose 7-5)
PHILADELPHIA - Brian Goodwin probably won't be returning to play for the Nationals in the regular season. Which doesn't mean he might not still return to play for them in the National League Division Series. Goodwin, out since Aug. 13 with a strained groin, has left the club and is now in West Palm Beach, Fla., playing in instructional league games. The outfielder will stay there through the weekend, manager Dusty Baker said, and could use that as a springboard to joining the active roster...

October is coming: Nats dress up as "Game of Thrones" characters for final road trip

October is coming: Nats dress up as "Game of Thrones" characters for final road trip
In an effort to liven up the final road trip of the regular season to Philadelphia, the Nationals went all out dressing up as characters from the HBO show "Game of Thrones." Even if you have not seen the show and don't quite understand the references, you can't deny this is one of the best themed road trips, proving the Nats squad is ready to battle it out in October during the National League Division Series: The best full-team dress-up I've ever seen. Jayson as Jon Snow; Bryce as...

Lobaton shakes off ankle injury, but Severino making a case

Lobaton shakes off ankle injury, but Severino making a case
When he was trying to shake off the pitch that caught him square on the left ankle in the bottom of the second inning Thursday night, Jose Lobaton was asked by Nationals director of athletic training Paul Lessard if he could walk. In that moment, Lobaton honestly couldn't, so he told Lessard he needed to come out of the game. That justifiably had the Nationals concerned about the long-term health of their No. 2 catcher, but those fears were alleviated when X-rays on Lobaton's ankle came back...

Nationals ride rookies, Roark to 5-2 win over Braves (updated)

Nationals ride rookies, Roark to 5-2 win over Braves (updated)
In an effort to give many of his regulars a well-deserved breather, Dusty Baker has fielded several lineups recently featuring more rookies and backups than veterans and starters. Not that it has hurt his team's chances of winning. Quite the contrary. Tonight's "B" lineup was plenty effective at the plate against the Braves, and with Tanner Roark tossing another quality start before handing the game over to his bullpen, the Nationals earned a comfortable 5-2 victory to avoid a series sweep...

Five Nats who still have something to prove before October

Five Nats who still have something to prove before October
There are team-oriented objectives for the Nationals over the season's final three weeks, but there also are individually oriented objectives that will help determine how this team looks once it reaches the postseason. With that in mind, let's take a look at five players for whom this final stretch carries some extra weight, even with the Nationals having already clinched the division crown... WILMER DIFO The dynamic infielder is going to make the postseason roster; he has earned that spot...

Tight back keeps Wieters out of lineup again (Nats lose 7-2)

Tight back keeps Wieters out of lineup again (Nats lose 7-2)
MILWAUKEE - Matt Wieters is out of the Nationals lineup for the third straight day, though the veteran catcher said it's not because of the foul ball he took off his right knee Thursday night but rather a tight back that has been bothering him for a little while. "The knee's fine," Wieters said. "Just bruises. No problem coming into play. I've been having a little bit of a tight back to go with it, so it's kind of more just trying to get it completely freed up and loosened up before we...

Wieters sits for second straight game with sore knee (Nats win 3-2)

Wieters sits for second straight game with sore knee (Nats win 3-2)
MILWAUKEE - Matt Wieters is out of the Nationals lineup for the second straight night, still dealing with a sore left knee that was injured late in Thursday's game at Miller Park. Wieters took a foul ball off that knee during the Nats' 6-2 loss to the Brewers in their series opener, and though he finished the game he has been held out of the lineup each of the last two nights. Manager Dusty Baker doesn't expect his veteran catcher to miss any more time. "He's doing OK," Baker said. "He...

Nationals continue to crush rivals' hopes

Nationals continue to crush rivals' hopes
In mid-June, the Nationals traveled to New York to face off against the Mets for a four-game series. The Nats were 39-26 and the Mets were 30-34. Sports talk radio in New York was buzzing for a possible four-game Mets sweep. If New York could pull it off, the Nats' lead would be only 4 1/2 games. The Nats went into New York and promptly won three of the four games. With each long road trip or matchup against playoff contending teams, the Nats were subjected to criticism like, "This will be...

Strasburg homers and fires complete-game shutout in 4-0 win

Strasburg homers and fires complete-game shutout in 4-0 win
Right-hander Stephen Strasburg fired a complete-game shutout for the Nationals against the Marlins in their 4-0 series-sweeping clincher Wednesday at Nats Park. It was the Nats' first series sweep of the Marlins since 2014. Strasburg connected for the first run of the game with a solo homer, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate. Strasburg was efficient: 110 pitches over nine innings works out to 12.2 per frame. Strasburg was also getting guys out with all of his pitches: fastball, curveball,...

Fresh Strasburg is sharp in six-inning return from DL

Fresh Strasburg is sharp in six-inning return from DL
SAN DIEGO - The Nationals entered tonight's game at Petco Park with a simple, primary goal: Get Stephen Strasburg through a full start healthy. Not that they didn't care about trying to beat the Padres as well, but that goal - if they were willing to be honest about it - was secondary to the more pressing matter at hand. This is what happens when you own a 14-game lead on Aug. 19, with a magic number already down to 28 despite six more weeks of regular season games left on the schedule. So...

Postseason bench will be strong, but who's odd man out?

Postseason bench will be strong, but who's odd man out?
With the addition of veteran infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick, the Nationals have the makings of an extremely lethal offense starting eight and bench. The club will be especially potent when it gets back starters Jayson Werth, Michael A. Taylor and Trea Turner. Taylor appears the closest of those three to getting back. He began his rehab assignment Monday night for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout as the designated hitter. He looked very good shagging fly...

Pitch-framing: The art of getting a strike call

Pitch-framing: The art of getting a strike call
The game within the game for a catcher involves a critical skill: the ability to frame pitches in a way to set the strike zone to benefit your pitcher. Pitch-framing depends on many factors involving the pitcher, the catcher, the umpire and the game situation. This is part one in our series on the art of the game: catchers and pitch-framing. Some of the best in the business at "stealing strikes" for their pitchers are 30-year-old and five-time All-Star Buster Posey and 34-year-old eight-time...

In long-awaited debut at-bat, Sanchez battles but gets burned

In long-awaited debut at-bat, Sanchez battles but gets burned
ST. LOUIS - Throughout a childhood spent learning the game in Venezuela, throughout a decade in the minors that included lengthy stops at every level of the Nationals farm system, throughout the better part of his first two nights as a major leaguer, Adrian Sanchez had ample time to think about the first at-bat of his career. Maybe it would come in a blowout. Maybe he'd actually get a chance to start a game. Maybe he'd be summoned to bat with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth inning...