How the Nats turned a four-run deficit into a seven-run victory

How the Nats turned a four-run deficit into a seven-run victory
They were down four runs already to their chief division rivals, their starting pitcher getting rocked and an imposing flamethrower on the mound for the opposition who had pitched his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the first. Given the way things had been going for the Nationals over the last week or so, you could forgive them if they were a bit demoralized at this particular moment, trailing Noah Syndergaard and the Mets in uninspired fashion. To listen to them describe...

Nats bats come roaring back during 11-4 thumping of Mets

Nats bats come roaring back during 11-4 thumping of Mets
Down four runs early to Noah Syndergaard, with the Mets lineup all over Joe Ross, the Nationals found themselves in a precarious position in the middle of the third inning tonight, in danger of letting their chief division rivals draw even closer in the standings. And then came the bottom of the third, at which point a Nationals lineup that spent the last week searching for any hit it could possibly get with a man in scoring position finally decided enough was enough. Beginning with a five-run...

Losing streak ends with 3-2 Nats win

Losing streak ends with 3-2 Nats win
MILWAUKEE - Tanner Roark is through three scoreless innings against the Brewers. Now if only the offense could do something to help the right-hander. Roark has allowed one hit - Jonathan Lucroy's leadoff single in the second - walked one and struck out three. Jonathan Villar drew a leadoff walk in the first, but was erased trying to steal on a strong throw from catcher Jose Lobaton. The Nationals are still searching for their first hit. Ben Revere's sharp two-out grounder to second could have...

District 34: About last night ...

District 34: About last night ...
So last night's end to the Nationals-Dodgers series was less than ideal ... Plain and simple: Michael A. Taylor had a bad night at Dodger Stadium (0-for-5, five strikeouts and a three-base error in the ninth inning). But those days happen, and he's not the only one to struggle over this five-game losing streak on the West Coast. Alas, the Nationals must press on ... Meanwhile, Byron Kerr and I get to look back at last night's crazy and unfortunate finish for this week's episode of District...

Game 68 lineups: Nats at Padres

Game 68 lineups: Nats at Padres
The Nationals didn't appear to suffer at all from jet lag last night in the first game of their first West Coast trip of the season. The bats were alive during an 8-5 win over the Padres that included home runs from Bryce Harper, Wilson Ramos and Anthony Rendon. Whether all the late nights and travel catch up to them tonight remains to be seen. This much is certain: Joe Ross should be plenty motivated facing the organization that drafted and then traded him. Ross has pitched against the Padres...

Cubs-Nats games have proven tense, tight affairs so far

Cubs-Nats games have proven tense, tight affairs so far
There is a long way to go, a whole lot of baseball left to play and no way to know how things will shake out in the end. But there is at least a reasonable chance of the Nationals and Cubs seeing each other again in 2016, even after today's series finale on South Capitol Street. The owners of the NL's two best records after 2 1/2 months of baseball are well positioned to keep up their strong play and reach October. And then, it's quite possible they would square off at some point, once the...

Nats manufacture runs, but not enough to beat Cubs

Nats manufacture runs, but not enough to beat Cubs
More than two months into the season, the Nationals have established their ability to hit the ball out of the park. They lead the National League with 87 homers in 65 games. They have not yet, however, established their ability to manufacture runs. There have been glimpses, as there were tonight against the Cubs. But they haven't quite been able to get over that hump on a consistent basis. This 4-3 loss before a boisterous crowd of 41,955 - largest of the season to date - underscored the issue...

Solis on late loss to Cubs: "It hurts"

Solis on late loss to Cubs: "It hurts"
The Nationals battled back to tie but were unable to take the lead late against the Cubs. Down 3-1, the Nats scored on a pair of sacrifice flies to tie the game heading to the ninth. After getting through the eighth, left-hander Sammy Solis ventured out to pitch the ninth. The Cubs opened with an Addison Russell walk. David Ross moved him up to second with a sac bunt. Rookie Albert Almora Jr. then broke the tie with a run-scoring double. The Cubs went on to win 4-3, handing Solis his second...

Small ball produces early lead in D.C. (Nats win 8-0)

Small ball produces early lead in D.C. (Nats win 8-0)
The Nationals have relied on the home run often during their recent offensive surge. So far today, they're scoring runs the old-fashioned way: with a string of quality at-bats and timely base hits. Thanks to four singles, a hit-batter and a perfectly executed squeeze bunt, the Nationals racked up four runs in the bottom of the second this afternoon, storming out to an early lead against the Phillies. There were no long bombs in this rally, only a bunch of solid hits off right-hander Aaron Nola...

Contributions come from entire lineup in blowout victory

Contributions come from entire lineup in blowout victory
CHICAGO - On nights like this, when he is handed a comfortable lead and can actually take a few moments to watch his own teammates hit, Max Scherzer can't help but be impressed by what he sees. Then again, what wasn't to like about the Nationals' 11-4 thumping of a shell-shocked James Shields and the rest of the White Sox? "Man, one through nine we did a great job against Shields tonight," Scherzer said. "All the guys were just fouling off pitches, and any time there was a mistake, they...

Game 57 lineups: Nats at Reds

Game 57 lineups: Nats at Reds
CINCINNATI - The Nationals have fallen in seven of their last eight games against the Reds and have lost only their second road series of the season following 7-2 and 6-3 setbacks here at Great American Ball Park. Right-hander Tanner Roark will look to change that trend today. He comes in 4-4 with a 2.70 ERA and has allowed two earned runs or less in three consecutive starts. Jayson Werth gets today off, with Ben Revere sliding over to left field and Michael A. Taylor starting in center. Reds...

Baker met with Revere to try to get outfielder going at the plate

Baker met with Revere to try to get outfielder going at the plate
CINCINNATI - Nationals center fielder Ben Revere continues to struggle at the plate, going just 2-for-28 (.072) in the last seven games. Manager Dusty Baker decided to have a one-on-one meeting with the scuffling leadoff man to try to get him back on track. "He's struggling. I called Ben in today and I had a meeting with Ben," Baker said. "I explained to him it didn't take you two weeks to get in this hole and usually it takes you twice as much time to get out of hole as you got in a...

Patrick Reddington: With one-third of season complete, Nats hitters are heating up

Patrick Reddington: With one-third of season complete, Nats hitters are heating up
Though he will reportedly miss a few games this weekend while on the paternity list, Ryan Zimmerman has been heating up in recent weeks, going 30-for-111 over the last month- plus (.270/.320/.550) with eight doubles and seven homers over his last 29 games. Anthony Rendon has put up a .279/.380/.477 line with eight doubles, a triple and four home runs in 30 games since May 1, after a slow start to the season. Daniel Murphy just earned the National League Player of the Month award, after going...

Game 54 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 54 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals are going for a series sweep tonight at Citizens Bank Park, but they'll have to do it without the services of Bryce Harper once again. Harper remains out of the lineup, two days after taking a fastball off the outside of his right knee. This again isn't a huge shock. Harper said the knee didn't feel any better yesterday than it did the night before, and Dusty Baker hinted that he might try to take advantage of the team being off Thursday in order to give Harper...

Good numbers for Espinosa, Revere and Rendon

Good numbers for Espinosa, Revere and Rendon
Shortstop Danny Espinosa's home run in the fifth inning was the 19th of his career while hitting right-handed. Even Espinosa didn't now if he had gotten all of the Jaime Garcia offering. "I wasn't sure. Kind of low and hooking a little bit, so really hoping for a double right there," Espinosa said. Later, Espinosa almost was able to hit a ball the opposite way. The potential double was caught in left field. "Thought I had a double to get that run in. He made a real nice play," he...

Benches warned after Garcia close call, but Nats understand it wasn't personal

Benches warned after Garcia close call, but Nats understand it wasn't personal
Left-hander Jaime Garcia went seven innings for the Cardinals in their 6-2 victory over the Nationals. He allowed only two runs, but he wasn't close to having his best command. That led to a few pitches that hit or came close to Nationals hitters. Daniel Murphy was hit by a pitch to lead off the fourth inning. Then in the fifth, Garcia came close to hitting Ben Revere. Home plate umpire Alan Porter then warned Garcia and both benches, even though Nationals starter Max Scherzer had not been...

Nats take down Harvey again with five-homer barrage

Nats take down Harvey again with five-homer barrage
The bottom of the fourth had arrived at Nationals Park, the home team was trailing 1-0 and the cheers from the sizeable pockets of Mets fans was far more noticeable than anything that could be heard from those dressed in red. And yet ... It was the first truly warm evening of the season on South Capitol Street (first pitch temperature: 83 degrees), the Nationals were making solid contact despite nothing to show for it on the scoreboard and Matt Harvey was on the mound for New York. If ever...

Five homers and steady Strasburg lift Nats to 7-4 win over Mets

Five homers and steady Strasburg lift Nats to 7-4 win over Mets
On Monday night, the Nats scored the first run followed by five runs in a row by the Mets. The Mets hit three home runs to go on to win 7-1. On Tuesday night, the Mets got on the board first with one run in the fourth. The Nationals retaliated with five runs fueled by three homers over two innings to lead 5-1. The Nationals went on to hit a season-high five homers and even the series courtesy of a 7-4 decision. Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon hit back-to-back homers in the fourth to quickly...

Revere and Rendon ignite offense in 8-2 dispatch of Marlins

Revere and Rendon ignite offense in 8-2 dispatch of Marlins
MIAMI - Ben Revere and Anthony Rendon were expected to be the igniters at the top of the order to begin the season for the Nationals offense. But Revere missed 27 games with a strained right oblique and Rendon got off to a cold start. Revere returned to the lineup May 6. In an attempt to mix things up, manager Dusty Baker moved Rendon down in the order last week. On Sunday in Miami, both hitters played huge parts in the Nationals' offense explosion in an 8-2 series-clinching dispatch of the...

Revere scores early run to give Nats head start (Nats win 8-2)

Revere scores early run to give Nats head start (Nats win 8-2)
MIAMI - The Nationals did a nice job of manufacturing a run in the first inning to go up on the Marlins in the series finale. Ben Revere singled to lead off the first inning for the second game in a row. He stole second for his first stolen base of the season. Jayson Werth grounded out to second to move Revere to third. Bryce Harper then lofted a ball to shallow center field. Marcell Ozuna's throw home was way over the head of catcher Jeff Mathis. Revere slid home safely and the Nationals...