Nats go with Turner-Soto combo atop lineup for first time in 2021

Nats go with Turner-Soto combo atop lineup for first time in 2021
Davey Martinez has mentioned more than once his interest in batting Juan Soto second at times, and his interest in batting Victor Robles ninth at times. For today's series finale in St. Louis, the Nationals manager decided to try out both in those spots. With an early-afternoon matchup against Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright, Martinez wanted to get his two best hitters as many at-bats as possible and give them a chance to get on the board early. So it's Trea Turner leading off with Soto...

Scherzer great, lineup not great as Nats shut out again (updated)

Scherzer great, lineup not great as Nats shut out again (updated)
One week into a season that didn't start when they expected and didn't include the roster they expected, the Nationals have established a fairly common daily narrative. And not an uplifting one. The typical game has played out like this: An impressive outing by the starter is squandered by a lack of offense (especially a lack of power), with some shaky fundamentals and maybe a late home run served up by the bullpen thrown in for good measure. That formula added up to a 3-0 loss to the Dodgers...

Game 6 lineups: Nats at Dodgers

Game 6 lineups: Nats at Dodgers
It's hard to call a ballgame on April 11 a "must-win," but here we are. The Nationals, having dropped four in a row since their walk-off win on opening day, kind of really need to find a way to emerge from Los Angeles with a victory this afternoon. Not that it would doom their season, but another loss to complete a sweep would leave them 1-5 and needing to win two of three in St. Louis just to come home 3-6. That's not a situation Davey Martinez and Co. want to find themselves in. The good...

Corbin struggles in delayed debut, Nats fall to Dodgers (updated)

Corbin struggles in delayed debut, Nats fall to Dodgers (updated)
Patrick Corbin talked about the benefits of getting stretched out and admitted that his sinker lacked its usual bite. If not for the fact that he was facing the defending world champion Dodgers, he could have been critiquing a spring training start where pitchers are more focused on getting their work in than anything results-oriented.Corbin got his pitches in, totaling 80 and pitching into the fifth inning of his 2021 debut for the Nationals on Saturday night. But the left-hander struggled...

Is Soto destined to be pitched around all season?

Is Soto destined to be pitched around all season?
Victor Robles' attempt to steal second base during the top of the eighth Friday afternoon in Los Angeles was ill-advised, as both the Nationals center fielder and his manager conceded following their 1-0 loss to the Dodgers. As Robles correctly noted, in getting caught trying to swipe second with runners on the corners and nobody out, he failed to recognize who was coming to bat behind him: Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman. Especially Soto, who was in the on-deck circle at the time as...

Soto delivers walk-off to cap stirring opening day win (updated)

Soto delivers walk-off to cap stirring opening day win (updated)
They came wearing their masks and had their temperatures taken and stayed distanced from everyone else in attendance because they wanted to witness precisely this moment. Bottom of the ninth, tie game, Juan Soto at the plate. It's the kind of situation the sellout crowd of 4,801 for the first ballgame at Nationals Park with fans in attendance in 18 months live for. And, to be honest, it's exactly the kind of situation the team itself sorely missed experiencing. The 2019 Nationals owned those...

Game 1 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 1 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The day has arrived. At last. It required four postponements, four positive tests for COVID-19, nine other players and staff members placed into quarantine and three straight days of negative tests for everyone else, but the Nationals are finally going to open their 2021 season this afternoon. They will do so not against the Mets, but the Braves, who already are 0-3 after a rough weekend in Philadelphia. And they will do so not with the lineup anybody anticipated a week ago, but with a batting...

Nationals prepared to be without five regulars in opener

Nationals prepared to be without five regulars in opener
As he emerged from the dugout at Nationals Park this afternoon and scanned the group of players assembling for one cobbled together workout in advance of Tuesday's rescheduled season opener, Davey Martinez could've chosen to focus on who wasn't there. That list, by the way, would include the likes of Trea Turner, Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber, Josh Harrison, Patrick Corbin, Jon Lester, Brad Hand, Yan Gomes, Alex Avila and Jordy Mercer. Anyone who knows Martinez, though, knows that's not how his...

Soto, Castro playing in simulated games before opener

Soto, Castro playing in simulated games before opener
Though the Nationals don't doubt Juan Soto and Starlin Castro will be ready to play in Thursday night's season opener in Washington, both players will have to do so without having appeared in the final three games of the exhibition season in Florida. Neither Soto nor Castro is in the lineup for today's Grapefruit League finale against the Astros, but each took five at-bats during a simulated game outside The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches this morning and experienced no issues with the minor...

Harris didn't have blood clot, Soto and Castro optimistic (updated)

Harris didn't have blood clot, Soto and Castro optimistic (updated)
Despite an initial diagnosis of a blood clot in Will Harris' pitching arm, the Nationals learned tonight a procedure performed on the veteran reliever today found no such evidence, and now they're suddenly hoping to have him back pitching for the team soon. "Tonight, not only did we win, but we got some really, really good news," manager Davey Martinez said during his Zoom session with reporters following a 7-3 exhibition victory over the Mets. "We're excited about that." Only seven...

Soto's night ends in first inning due to calf cramp

Soto's night ends in first inning due to calf cramp
When Juan Soto battled his way through an 11-pitch at-bat with young Marlins flamethrower Sixto Sánchez in the top of the first tonight in Jupiter, Fla., and ultimately trotted to first base having drawn a well-earned walk, it felt like the most encouraging thing the slumping Nationals slugger had done in days. But when the inning ended a few minutes later and his teammates took their positions for the bottom of the first, Soto did not join them. He would later be seen walking back to the...

What to make of Soto's shockingly bad spring numbers?

What to make of Soto's shockingly bad spring numbers?
The heart of the Nationals lineup has put up some huge numbers this spring. But here's the strange thing about that: Juan Soto has had nothing to do with it. While Josh Bell, Ryan Zimmerman and Kyle Schwarber tear up the Grapefruit League with a combined 10 doubles, 14 homers and 31 RBIs, Soto has produced next-to-nothing this month. The best hitter on the team, possibly the best hitter in baseball, is batting .182 (6-for-33) with zero extra-base hits and zero RBIs. Spring training stats, of...

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie
It took a little longer than expected, but today Jon Lester finally makes his Nationals spring training debut. The veteran left-hander, a key acquisition this winter, has been slotted all along as the club's No. 4 starter. But when he needed surgery to remove one of the parathyroid glands in his neck earlier this month, that schedule was delayed. The good news is, Lester is healthy and doesn't appear to have any lingering effects from the surgery. He's already faced live hitters in a...

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach
After their first true day off of the spring, the Nationals are back in action tonight in West Palm Beach, facing the Mets. And tonight marks the end of the second turn through the projected rotation. Joe Ross is on the mound for his second start, looking to build off a solid debut against this same New York lineup in which he threw 39 pitches across 1 2/3 innings and struck out three. Though nobody is saying it out loud, it seems pretty clear Ross is the planned No. 5 starter entering the...

Soto sits again, Rainey throws again, cabbage races again

Soto sits again, Rainey throws again, cabbage races again
Juan Soto reported to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches this morning, feeling better after spending Wednesday at home with what was believed to be a sinus issue, and wanted to play in the Nationals' exhibition game against the Marlins. And Davey Martinez initially put Soto in his lineup. He was batting second, behind Victor Robles and ahead of Trea Turner in the latest attempt by the manager to see if that new-look trio atop the order could work. Then Martinez thought better of it. Soto was...

Lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in Jupiter (updated)

Lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in Jupiter (updated)
Another day, another opportunity for Davey Martinez to try out what appears to be his preferred opening day lineup. That's the one that opens with Victor Robles, Juan Soto and Trea Turner, in that order. At this point, it should be clear Martinez really, really, really wants Robles to prove he can handle the leadoff spot. And though he has flip-flopped Soto and Turner in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, this arrangement (with Turner serving as Soto's protection) seems to be the manager's...

Scherzer ramps up, Soto stays home, Parra plays in B game

Scherzer ramps up, Soto stays home, Parra plays in B game
After using his first start of the spring to make sure his sprained left ankle was healed and his pitching mechanics were still in proper form, Max Scherzer remarked that his objective was to "go out there, get my work in and worry about getting the intensity later." It appears five days counts as "later" in Scherzer's mind. Making his second start of the spring this afternoon in West Palm Beach, Fla., Scherzer looked like a midseason version of himself. He faced nine Cardinals batters and...

Lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in West Palm Beach
The second half of spring training begins today. Yep, 20 days have passed and 20 days remain before the Nationals break camp and head north. So this is about the time when things begin to start ramping up a bit, when pitchers start pitching more, when regulars start playing more. In that vein, Max Scherzer today makes his second start of the spring. He threw 38 pitches over 1 2/3 innings Friday night against the Cardinals. Today, against the same St. Louis squad, he's scheduled to throw 50...

Nats won't detail Jeffress decision; Lester back in camp

Nats won't detail Jeffress decision; Lester back in camp
Though they will not reveal any reasons for Sunday's release of reliever Jeremy Jeffress, the Nationals are acknowledging the surprise move was not for baseball reasons. General manager Mike Rizzo, speaking to reporters via Zoom this morning from West Palm Beach, Fla., repeated the unusual phrase he provided Sunday in announcing the Jeffress release, saying only it was for "personnel reasons." Rizzo deflected several follow-up questions seeking a more detailed explanation but did concede...

In first test of new lineup, Nats get homers from two new sluggers

In first test of new lineup, Nats get homers from two new sluggers
For the first time this spring, manager Davey Martinez wrote out a lineup card featuring his six best players in the order he appears to prefer. And for the first time, the Nationals' two biggest offensive additions of the winter showed off the power that could make this such a potent and deep lineup. That Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber's home runs were each solo shots prevented the Nats from keeping pace with a Marlins lineup that clubbed out six early runs before hanging on for an 8-5 victory...