Nats ransacked by Padres in second-half opener (updated)

Nats ransacked by Padres in second-half opener (updated)
Had this performance come last weekend, with the Nationals on fumes at the end of a brutal stretch heading into the All-Star break, it might've been understandable. Annoying, but understandable, given the circumstances. But for this to happen in the first game out of the break? With everyone refreshed and ready to go again? That isn't going to sit well with anyone employed by the Nationals who had to watch tonight's 24-8 beatdown at the hands of the Padres, a game that featured all kinds of...

Game 90 lineups: Nats vs. Padres

Game 90 lineups: Nats vs. Padres
And we're back. The second half of the season gets underway tonight on South Capitol Street, and before Erick Fedde throws the first pitch, there's already been plenty of news. For those who didn't see it earlier: Starlin Castro has been placed on administrative leave while Major League Baseball investigates an allegation of domestic violence. Jordy Mercer has been activated off the 10-day injured list and will start at third base tonight against the Padres. Also, the Nationals signed...

After limping into break, rested Nats need to start thriving

After limping into break, rested Nats need to start thriving
The Nationals closed out the season's first half with their toughest two-week stretch to date: 14 games in 14 days, all of them against contenders. The goal at the time: Survive and reach the All-Star break in one piece. How'd they do? Things started off swimmingly with three straight wins over the Mets and Rays. Then Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber got hurt just as the Nats were about to face the National League West's three top teams, and they proceeded to lose nine of 11, limping into the...

Nats helpless against Gausman, swept by Giants (updated)

Nats helpless against Gausman, swept by Giants (updated)
Manager Davey Martinez had hoped the Nationals could use the final game of a West Coast road trip to end a three-game skid, prevent a sweep by the Giants and head into the All-Star break with a little bit of positive momentum. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Giants right-hander Kevin Gausman, who throttled the Nats in a 3-1 victory that gave his team a sweep of the three-game weekend series. Gausman allowed only four hits through six-plus innings - three of them of the infield variety -...

Game 89 lineups: Nats at Giants

Game 89 lineups: Nats at Giants
After dropping the first two games of a three-game set at Oracle Park, the Nationals will turn to Erick Fedde (4-5, 4.53ERA) to try to snap a three-game losing streak and end the season's first half on a high note. The right-hander will be making his 13th start of the season and his second since returning from the injured list with an oblique issue. In his first game back from the injury, Fedde struggled through 4 1/3 innings against the Padres at Nationals Park, allowing six runs on eight...

Fedde rusty in return from IL, Nats fall to Padres (updated)

Fedde rusty in return from IL, Nats fall to Padres (updated)
The Nationals' resurgent June was built upon multiple developments, but high on the list was the resurgence of their rotation into an elite unit for the first time all season. Now as the calendar has shifted to July, they're finding out just how important that development was. It's hard to win games when your starter doesn't provide both quality and length. And the Nats haven't been getting either over the last week. They got away with Jon Lester's poor start Monday night in San Diego,...

Rotation decision looms as Fedde returns, Strasburg gets closer

Rotation decision looms as Fedde returns, Strasburg gets closer
The Nationals get Erick Fedde and Kyle Finnegan back from the injured list tonight, surprisingly quicker than most expected in Fedde's case. And at some point in the not-too-distant future, they believe they'll get Stephen Strasburg back as well, the final and most significant return to a rotation that has needed some patching together through the season's first half. The Nats have been going without Strasburg and Fedde since June 24, when Fedde woke up with a strained oblique one day after...

Game 84 lineups: Nats at Padres (Fedde starting)

Game 84 lineups: Nats at Padres (Fedde starting)
Davey Martinez promised roster moves (plural) after Monday night's win, and the Nationals manager meant what he said. The Nats added two healthy pitchers to their staff today, activating both Erick Fedde and Kyle Finnegan off the 10-day injured list. And Fedde (surprise, surprise) will start tonight in San Diego. That was not expected, because as far as we know, Fedde has not faced any live hitters since going on the IL with an oblique strain two weeks ago. We'll see if that means he's...

Fedde's strain believed mild, Strasburg throws off mound

Fedde's strain believed mild, Strasburg throws off mound
Erick Fedde felt nothing during his start Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. But when the Nationals right-hander woke up Thursday morning in Miami, his left side was bothering him. The club told him to take it easy, and he didn't attempt to throw his typical bullpen session between starts. And after an MRI revealed what manager Davey Martinez called "a minor strain of his left oblique," Fedde was placed on the 10-day injured list this morning. It's the latest blow to a Nationals rotation...

Game 75 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Fedde to IL)

Game 75 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Fedde to IL)
Forty-eight hours ago, the Nationals were feeling as good about themselves as they had in a while. Winners of five straight and 10 of 11, they had reached the .500 mark for the first time since May 2. What's happened since then? They've lost two in a row to the Marlins, fallen back into their offensive funk and have now seen their second-most reliable starting pitcher get hurt. Erick Fedde was placed on the 10-day injured list this morning with an oblique strain, an unexpected development to...

Nats rally twice, pull out all stops to beat Phillies 13-12 (updated)

Nats rally twice, pull out all stops to beat Phillies 13-12 (updated)
In order to pull off their ninth win in 10 games, the Nationals needed another Kyle Schwarber three-run homer to highlight a five-run top of the fifth, a Josh Bell grand slam to cap a six-run top of the sixth, a two-run single by Starlin Castro in the top of the ninth to re-take a lead that had just been lost and then the first save conversion of Paolo Espino's career (with some help from a bleeding Jordy Mercer at second base). And it all worked out. Somehow. Some way. Adding another...

Game 71 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 71 lineups: Nats at Phillies
Well, guess what? There's another ballgame to be played in Philadelphia. This afternoon. The buzz from Tuesday night's histrionics hasn't dissipated yet, but the Nationals and Phillies can't wait for that to happen before taking the field again for the finale of this quick, two-game series. The Nats, by virtue of a dramatic 3-2 win that was overshadowed by Joe Girardi's attempt to get into Max Scherzer's head (or, at least, his sweaty hair), are now in position to sweep the mini-series...

Unexpected delays couldn't derail Fedde's breakthrough

Unexpected delays couldn't derail Fedde's breakthrough
Erick Fedde's phone rang around midnight, a few hours following the Nationals' May 18 loss in Chicago. He was immediately asked where he was (his hotel room) and instructed not to leave. "Wait, what are you talking about?" the right-hander finally asked. At which point he was told the news: "You have COVID." "I was like, it has to be a false positive," Fedde said Sunday during a one-on-one interview outside the dugout at Nationals Park. "Unfortunately, it wasn't. I guess shock is...

Why the Nats' surge might be legit and why it might not

Why the Nats' surge might be legit and why it might not
Kyle Schwarber first said it one week earlier, unprompted, at the end of a Zoom session with reporters in which he was trying to temper recent suggestions the 2021 Nationals were going nowhere fast. "Remember, this is a good team," the outfielder said as he stood up from his chair. "You guys stay with us now, all right? Stay with us." One week later, at the end of the most productive week of his playing career, Schwarber didn't feel the need to try to convince doubters of the Nationals'...

Fedde extends scoreless innings streak as Gomes walks off Mets (updated)

Fedde extends scoreless innings streak as Gomes walks off Mets (updated)
It hasn't been easy going for Erick Fedde over the last month. Almost a month ago, he was placed on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive for the coronavirus in Chicago. That was just three days after he turned in one of the best performances of his career in Arizona. A little over three weeks after landing on the IL, he was reinstated after quarantining in Chicago and building his arm strength back up. That roller coaster stretch would be enough to throw any pitcher out of...

Game 66 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Castro returns)

Game 66 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Castro returns)
It's hard to make too much of a weekend series against a division rival in the middle of June. But considering the circumstances surrounding this four-game series against the Mets over the next three days, you have to put some level of importance on it if you're the Nationals. Coming off a sweep of the Pirates, riding a four-game winning streak and having won six of their last eight games, the Nationals should feel confident facing the division-leading Mets this weekend. They also have a...

Fedde returns from COVID-19 IL, leads Nats to win (updated)

Fedde returns from COVID-19 IL, leads Nats to win (updated)
A long day of baseball for the Nationals began with a flurry of roster moves, moves necessitated both by pitcher usage and pitcher injury in the last 48 hours. After Max Scherzer departed Friday night's start 12 pitches in with a tweaked groin and Daniel Hudson had to go on the 10-day IL this morning with right elbow inflammation, they had no choice but to summon whatever healthy arms they had available to them just to get through the 14 innings on today's schedule. Really, though, the...

Hudson's IL stint highlights flurry of roster moves

Hudson's IL stint highlights flurry of roster moves
The Nationals made a flurry of roster transactions in advance of today's doubleheader against the Giants, most of them necessitated by their need to have fresh arms for the 14 innings scheduled on the heels of what turned into a bullpen game after Max Scherzer departed with a tweaked groin after recording only one out. The promotions of right-handers Jefry Rodriguez (who may start tonight's second game) and Andres Machado (designated as the 27th man for both games) from Triple-A Rochester...

Game 60 lineups: Nats vs. Giants

Game 60 lineups: Nats vs. Giants
Here's some good news to begin your Saturday: The clouds are beginning to clear out of the region and there is no forecast of rain today. The Nationals and Giants should have no trouble playing both ends of today's 14-inning doubleheader. That's about the only good news, unfortunately. The Nats just announced a swath of roster moves, a couple of them quite unexpected. Here's the full list: * Right-hander Daniel Hudson was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. *...

Fedde will rejoin rotation for Saturday twinbill

Fedde will rejoin rotation for Saturday twinbill
Rain continues to fall steadily at Nationals Park, the tarp is on the field and some players are running or throwing in the outfield. The Nationals are in firmly in pregame mode, even as manager Davey Martinez simultaneously plans for a single game tonight, a split doubleheader tomorrow and the possibility of back-to-back twinbills should tonight's scheduled contest be rained out. "We're preparing to play (tonight), obviously, but we haven't heard anything," Martinez said during his...