Michael A. Taylor leaps through the air for show-stopping catch

Michael A. Taylor leaps through the air for show-stopping catch
For a few tense seconds, it appeared the Nationals' early lead they built against Matt Harvey was evaporating. Trailing 5-1 in the fifth, the Mets had two runners on with two outs and Eric Campbell at the plate. Gio Gonzalez offered a 92 mph fastball and Campbell drilled it to deep right-center field. "I thought it was at least off the wall, maybe top of the wall," Gonzalez said. Then Michael A. Taylor came into the picture. With the ball screaming through the air, Taylor turned on the...

Nats get late homer from Harper, but too much Kershaw leads to 4-2 loss

Nats get late homer from Harper, but too much Kershaw leads to 4-2 loss
Three consecutive singles to start the second inning from Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig resulted in the Dodgers' first run against Nationals starter Doug Fister. Fister has yielded one run on five hits with one walk and one strikeout through three innings. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw has struck out four of the first seven batters he has faced. Clint Robinson collected the Nationals' lone hit on a single up the middle in the second. Update: Fister ran into difficulty with...

OMG! It's the Nats' top 10 quotes from the first half of the season

OMG! It's the Nats' top 10 quotes from the first half of the season
The Nationals clubhouse is loaded with a wide spectrum of personalities - from the quirkiness of guys like Gio Gonzalez and Jose Lobaton to the intensity of Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper. As the Nationals prepare to ramp back up for a run at a second straight National League East crown, we take a look a back at the top 10 quotes from the season's first half. 10. June 27, Gonzalez: "This rain kinda caught us all off-guard. I mean, we didn't know it was coming for, like, three days." This was...

Tough outing for Roark as Nationals split doubleheader

Tough outing for Roark as Nationals split doubleheader
PHILADELPHIA - The Phillies pounded out 16 hits as the Nationals fell 8-5, ending a season-best eight-game winning streak. Having burned Gio Gonzalez in yesterday's delayed postponement, Nationals manager Matt Williams made the call to start Tanner Roark in the second game of today's doubleheader. "He knew yesterday he was going to get the second game today," Williams said of Roark. "He was prepared." The Phillies pelted Roark with a barrage of ground balls that the Nationals were never...

Nationals bench steps up to help in three-game sweep of Pirates

Nationals bench steps up to help in three-game sweep of Pirates
After Thursday's loss to Tampa Bay, the sixth straight non-winning series for the Nationals, manager Matt Williams said that he was looking for players to "step up." Over the weekend, in three sold-out games at Nationals Park, the Nats stepped up with three wins against the red-hot Pirates, who had arrived with a season-high eight-game hit streak. In every game over the weekend, the Nationals had at least three regular starters not in the lineup. Left fielder Jayson Werth (wrist fractures)...

Max Scherzer wasn't perfect, but still scored 100

Max Scherzer wasn't perfect, but still scored 100
Max Scherzer wasn't perfect yesterday, but he did achieve a score of 100. That lofty number in statistician Bill James' Game Score metric is actually rarer than throwing a perfect game. Twenty-three men have thrown perfect games in baseball history, but only 11 had reached the century mark for Game Score before Scherzer's 16-strikeout, one-hit, one-walk complete game shutout yesterday. Digging deeper, just five pitchers - Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, Matt Cain, Clayton Kershaw and Kerry Wood -...

Pillar on homers off of Scherzer, Lobaton on the double steal

Pillar on homers off of Scherzer, Lobaton on the double steal
Nationals ace Max Scherzer gave up two homers in a game for the first time this season in Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, a 7-3 loss. Scherzer last allowed more than one homer in a game on Aug. 30 of last season at the White Sox. Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar hit both of the round trippers, a solo shot in the second that made it 1-0 Toronto and a game-changing three-run homer in the sixth that gave them a 4-3 lead. Pillar said it was the first time in his career...

Nats have rallied around Gio Gonzalez in May (with lineups)

Nats have rallied around Gio Gonzalez in May (with lineups)
The Nationals enter today's game in Cincinnati as winners in the last five games that Gio Gonzalez has started. However, May has been a bit of a roller coaster month for the left-hander. Gonzalez has received a decision in three of those five games, allowing just three runs over 20 1/3 innings. But Gonzalez's ERA is 9.90 in the other two starts, with the Nats offense bailing him out both times. Gonzalez has pitched exceptionally well against the Reds in his career. In four starts with the...

No doubting Drew Storen

No doubting Drew Storen
The Nationals have been sizzling, with a 19-5 record over their last 24 games. Drew Storen has collected saves in nine of those 19 victories and recorded a win in another. He picked up his National League-leading 14th save in yesterday's 4-1 win over the Phillies. Storen has only allowed two earned runs in 19 1/3 innings (0.98 ERA) this season. Jose Lobaton has been behind the plate for five of Storen's 14 saves. He gave the obvious answer when asked about his thoughts when Storen enters the...

Nats roll through "epic" homestand with eighth straight series win

Nats roll through "epic" homestand with eighth straight series win
A sold-out Nationals Park watched the home team notch its eighth straight series win with today's 4-1 win over the Phillies. The Nationals are on a 19-5 clip over their last 24 games, vaulting them to first place in the National League East, and the fans are responding. 41,044 filled the ball park to see their young, budding superstar Bryce Harper drive in the go-ahead run in the fifth and another in the seventh to reclaim the major league lead with 41 RBIs. "I thrive on big crowds," Harper...

Gonzalez, Harper lead Nats to 4-1 win

Gonzalez, Harper lead Nats to 4-1 win
After three scoreless innings, the Nationals and Phillies both lit up the scoreboard in the fourth. With one out, Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis reached on an infield single. Ian Desmond made a lunging stop on Galvis' sharp grounder and then twirled to throw but it was too high for Ryan Zimmerman. Nats starter Gio Gonzalez then walked first baseman Darin Ruf to move Galvis into scoring position. Right fielder Jeff Francoeur took advantage with a line drive single to left, plating Galvis for...

A focused and aggressive Strasburg gets back on track (Davis note)

A focused and aggressive Strasburg gets back on track (Davis note)
SAN DIEGO - There has never been a question about the quality of Stephen Strasburg's pitching repertoire or his stuff. He features a blazing fastball in the high 90s that darts around the plate, usually backed up by sharp breaking ball. What has seemed to frustrate those around the Nationals organization lately with Strasburg has been his mental approach on the mound, especially with runners on base. Adversity faced Strasburg right away in the first inning on Sunday. He had just thrown a...

Bryce Harper having his way in Nats' 10-5 win

Bryce Harper having his way in Nats' 10-5 win
SAN DIEGO - It's come now to the point where you're left surprised when Bryce Harper doesn't reach base. On Sunday, he did just about everything at the plate, including smacking his National League-leading 14th homer, to help the Nationals to a 10-5 win over the Padres in the series finale. "Oh, my God? I'm gonna say O-M-G. That's it," Jose Lobaton said. "It's unbelievable. How can you explain that? Go oppo whenever he wants. Pull the ball. Hit a homer. Hit doubles. Triples. I don't...

David Huzzard: Overlooked and underappreciated

David Huzzard: Overlooked and underappreciated
By many metrics, the Nationals' starting staff is the best in the majors, the offense is scoring 4.77 runs a game and if one wants to find a weakness with this team, one might point to the bullpen. The Nationals bullpen isn't statistically bad by ERA, FIP or fWAR, but it has blown the third-most saves in the majors and has blinked first in several tie games. The Nats have struggled to find a replacement for Tyler Clippard with Casey Janssen on the disabled list, and don't even ask what...

Fister cites work with Lobaton, Harper's play as reasons why are Nats finally getting above .500

Fister cites work with Lobaton, Harper's play as reasons why are Nats finally getting above .500
It might be a bit lost in all the hoopla of another walk-off home run from the sensational Bryce Harper, but right-hander Doug Fister played his part in the Nationals' 8-6 win over the Braves on Saturday. Fister provided 6 2/3 innings to the Nationals' cause, allowing three runs on six hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. He got into a jam in the seventh after recording two quick outs, but the Braves managed only one run off of his pitching in the first six frames. Fister said his...

Unreal stretch for Bryce Harper continues with walk-off homer, Nats win 8-6

Unreal stretch for Bryce Harper continues with walk-off homer, Nats win 8-6
The Nationals are on quite a roll with the long ball. Catcher Jose Lobaton joined the party in the second inning with a two-run shot into the second deck beyond the right field wall at Nats Park. For Lobaton, both of his homers this season have come off Braves starter Julio Teheran. Second baseman Danny Espinosa followed Lobaton's blast with a double to center field. Three batters later, third baseman Yunel Escobar hit a two-out flare to center plating Espinosa for the Nats' third run. Nats...

Bryce Harper tries to stay in zone in matinee (with lineups)

Bryce Harper tries to stay in zone in matinee (with lineups)
Braves right-hander Julio Teheran will take his shot at cooling down Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper this afternoon. Over his last two games, Harper is 6-for-8 with five homers, 10 RBIs and five runs scored. In other words, he is zoned in. According to Elias, the only other former No. 1 overall draft picks to hit five bombs in two games are Alex Rodriguez (2002) and Josh Hamilton (2012). Teheran started the crazy game in Atlanta that featured the largest comeback in Nationals' history. He...

Uggla's home run could have lasting effect on Nationals season

Uggla's home run could have lasting effect on Nationals season
The Nationals needed someone, anyone, to make a play. Denard Span and Jose Lobaton made plays to get the Nationals back in the game. But it was a former Braves player, who is still drawing a paycheck from Atlanta (the Braves owe Uggla $12,692,500 in 2015, the most of any player on their current roster in 2015), who was still booed by the home team each early at-bat (drawing the admiration of a Braves legend) that provided the most dramatic of swings for a struggling team. Disappointed with...

Nats expect momentum to follow emotional win

Nats expect momentum to follow emotional win
ATLANTA - The Nationals have underachieved, without question, in the first month of the season. Grand talks of running away with the National League East have turned to grumblings of early changes. So it's easy to point at last night's dramatic comeback and assume it will be the wake-up call for the baseball gods to reclear the path to October. "Yeah, this has got to," infielder Danny Espinosa said. "This could really take us a long way and get us on a good streak, get us in a good spot....

Nats, Scherzer aiming for series win vs. Cardinals (with lineups)

Nats, Scherzer aiming for series win vs. Cardinals (with lineups)
The Nationals will send right-hander Max Scherzer to the hill this afternoon to try and take the rubber game of a three-game set against the Cardinals. Scherzer is 1-1 with a 0.83 ERA in his first three starts in a Nats uniform. Left fielder Jayson Werth is out of the starting lineup, with Clint Robinson getting the nod in left and hitting fifth. The Nats are hoping the matchup of Robinson's left-handed power bat and right-hander Michael Wacha starting for the Cardinals will translate into...