Revere plays nine innings with Syracuse, nearing return to Nats

Revere plays nine innings with Syracuse, nearing return to Nats
Ben Revere had his longest rehab outing this season Tuesday, going 1-for-5 with a single, in Triple-A Syracuse's 8-3 win over Rochester. The nine innings by Revere were more than he had played since joining the Chiefs. Revere had played several games of five or seven innings as he attempts to return from a strained right oblique suffered in the opening game of the season at Atlanta. Revere has gone 3-for-16 (.188) with a walk and a stolen base in five starts for the Chiefs. Manager Dusty...

Updates on Rendon, Zimmerman, Arroyo and Revere

Updates on Rendon, Zimmerman, Arroyo and Revere
KANSAS CITY - Any discussion of how the Nationals can improve their offensive production almost certainly starts with two struggling lineup members who have track records of success: Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman. The two infielders have lagged behind others through the season's first month, combining for just one home run and nine RBIs (eight of them via Zimmerman). There are signs of encouragement, though. Or, at least, signs of bad luck that may change. Rendon, in particular, has been...

Revere goes five innings for Syracuse, still trending toward Thursday return

Revere goes five innings for Syracuse, still trending toward Thursday return
Center fielder Ben Revere, on a minor league rehabilitation assignment with a strained right oblique, played five innings in Triple-A Syracuse's 1-0 win over Rochester on Monday, going 0-for-3. On defense, he caught a pair of flyouts in the second inning and one in the third. He squeezed a flyout in the fourth and then retrieved a single later in the inning. On offense, he grounded out to the pitcher in the first and grounded out to the first baseman in his second at-bat. He later grounded out...

Revere plays seven innings for Syracuse, steals a base

Revere plays seven innings for Syracuse, steals a base
Ben Revere returned to the Syracuse lineup Sunday, playing seven innings in center field, as the Chiefs dropped Pawtucket 5-4 in 10 innings. Revere grounded out to shortstop, reached on a fielder's choice and grounded out to the pitcher in three at-bats. In the third inning, he reached on a fielder's choice. With Trea Turner batting, he stole second base. The Chiefs begin a three-game set Monday night at home against Rochester. After playing five innings in back-to-back games, Revere had the...

Revere plays second straight game, goes five innings for Syracuse (updated)

Revere plays second straight game, goes five innings for Syracuse (updated)
Ben Revere completed his second rehab game with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs Friday night. The center fielder, rehabbing a right strained oblique, went 0-for-2 with a walk. Syracuse stunned Pawtucket with a 3-2 walk-off victory. The Chiefs have won five of their last six games. Caleb Ramsey replaced Revere on defense to begin the top of the sixth. Revere has now played a pair of games in a row, playing five innings in each. Manager Dusty Baker had pointed to the Chicago Cubs series as the games...

Revere headed to Triple-A Syracuse to begin rehab assignment

Revere headed to Triple-A Syracuse to begin rehab assignment
Center fielder Ben Revere continues to make solid progress in his recovery from an oblique injury and will begin rehab games tomorrow night at Triple-A Syracuse. Manager Dusty Baker said Revere made progress during yesterday's batting practice session. Revere has been on the disabled list since April 5 with a strained right oblique. He has missed 18 games. "He looked good. I mean, he looked real good," Baker said. "He ran well. He ran the bases. He did everything baseball. And he went out...

Positive updates on Ross and Revere

Positive updates on Ross and Revere
Nationals right-hander Joe Ross confirmed his blister injury on his throwing hand has mended well enough that he could have started tonight. But the Nationals played it cautiously and gave Max Scherzer the start against the Phillies. "It's feeling good. I think I could throw today," Ross said. "They decided to skip me and give me some more rest. I don't think they want me to re-aggravate my finger or anything like that." Ross said he did not throw a bullpen today but believes he will...

Baker: Taylor just needs to "remain confident and work"

Baker: Taylor just needs to "remain confident and work"
Michael A. Taylor is getting a day off on Saturday, with Chris Heisey leading off and playing center field for the Nationals. Taylor is hitting .174 (4-for-23) the last seven days and .161 for the season. Leading off, he is hitting .175 through 13 games. Manager Dusty Baker was asked why he put Heisey at the top of the order. "You got any better choices? He's batted leadoff for me before," Baker said. "He's my best choice today." Baker is just giving Taylor the day off and he's not...

Werth returns and Revere making steady progress

Werth returns and Revere making steady progress
Center fielder Ben Revere is making progress as he looks to come back from a right oblique strain that has kept him on the disabled list since April 5. Nationals manager Dusty Baker said Revere is continuing basic baseball related activities and will slowly start implementing swings from the left side for the first time during his recovery. "He was hitting right-handed off the tee," Baker said. "He sprinted yesterday, which was a positive sign. I think he threw some. Today he might be...

Revere begins running, taking light swings

Revere begins running, taking light swings
MIAMI - Ben Revere has begun running and taking light swings, his first baseball-related activities since straining his right oblique muscle on opening day 2 1/2 weeks ago. Revere, who suffered the injury on his very first swing with the Nationals, ran in the outfield at Marlins Park this afternoon, then also took some light, right-handed swings in the cage to test his side. He emerged feeling confident about his recovery, albeit sore from the layoff. "Everything felt good. I just need to get...

Revere shooting for May 3 return

Revere shooting for May 3 return
PHILADELPHIA - Nationals center fielder Ben Revere gave an update today on his rehab from a strained right oblique. He has not ventured to baseball related activities, but is concentrating now on strengthening other parts of his body. He is on the disabled list, retroactive to April 5. "Definitely taking my time with this injury," he said. "But hopefully the process goes quickly. I am doing more and more activities. I am going to Miami do a lot more stuff, then go home do a lot more stuff....

Revere makes trip, no timetable set for his return

Revere makes trip, no timetable set for his return
PHILADELPHIA - Injured outfielder Ben Revere made the trip here with his teammates. Revere is on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 5, due to a stained right oblique suffered in the first game of the season at Atlanta. But Nationals manager Dusty Baker does not know when Revere will be healthy enough to return to the lineup. "I just looked at the reports," Baker said. "They say he's doing better. But I haven't talked to him and I haven't talked to director of athletic...

Haphazard schedule throws wrench into Baker's plans

Haphazard schedule throws wrench into Baker's plans
The baseball schedule is a funny thing. The Nationals barely have been playing because of scheduled off-days and unscheduled rainouts, having taken the field only 12 times in the last 21 days. Now, though, they're looking at a grueling stretch in which they're scheduled to play 35 games in 36 days. With that in mind, manager Dusty Baker is trying to make plans to give many of his regulars a day off at some point in the next week. It begins today, with Ryan Zimmerman not in the lineup for the...

Friday morning Q&A from D.C.

Friday morning Q&A from D.C.
So ... anything worth talking about this morning? The Nationals' season is only three games old, but there have been no shortage of compelling storylines already. There's Ben Revere's strained oblique on his very first swing as a National. There's Bryce Harper's two home runs, leaving him on the precipice of 100 for his young career. There's Daniel Murphy's impressive debut with his new team. There's Jayson Werth and Michael A. Taylor's 0-fers to begin their respective seasons....

Rizzo on roster depth, payroll and relationship with Baker

Rizzo on roster depth, payroll and relationship with Baker
Mike Rizzo knows too much about injuries to his roster, having spent the majority of the 2015 season trying to patch and re-patch his Nationals club together for months after a host of key players went down. So when it happened again on opening day in Atlanta, when Ben Revere strained a right oblique muscle on his very first swing in the very first inning, Rizzo knew he'd be calling upon his organizational depth yet again. "We try and think of every different type of scenario for injuries,...

Revere lands on DL with oblique strain, den Dekker recalled

Revere lands on DL with oblique strain, den Dekker recalled
ATLANTA - The Nationals managed to stay remarkably healthy all spring, offering a glimmer of hope they would enjoy some better fortune this season than the last two. But that good luck didn't even last one batter into the 2016 campaign. The club was forced to place Ben Revere on the 15-day disabled list this afternoon with a right oblique strain, an injury the new leadoff man and center fielder suffered on his very first swing in the top of the first inning during Monday's opener at Turner...

Nats game blog: Strasburg looks to turn tables on previous visits to Atlanta

Nats game blog: Strasburg looks to turn tables on previous visits to Atlanta
The Nationals look to start the season 2-0 as they wrap up a series in Atlanta against the Braves. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg has gone just 3-3 with a 4.79 ERA in nine career starts at Turner Field. His 19 walks there are the most he has surrendered in any visiting ballpark. But last season, Strasburg finished strong, going 6-2 with a 1.90 ERA in his final 10 starts of the season. He battled injury in the first half, going just 5-5 with a 5.16 ERA in 13 starts. Right-hander Bud Norris split...

Game 2 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 2 lineups: Nats at Braves
ATLANTA - Hello again from Turner Field, where tonight the Nationals and Braves wrap up their abbreviated, two-game series to open the season. Odd scheduling for this one, with the 4:10 p.m. start on Monday, then an off-day, then a 7:10 p.m. start tonight. The Nats aren't real happy this is a night game, what with their own home opener scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Thursday. All of this, of course, is weather permitting. Tomorrow's forecast in D.C. looks awful (90 percent chance of rain), so the...

Steve Mears: Understanding Ben Revere's importance to the Nats lineup

Steve Mears: Understanding Ben Revere's importance to the Nats lineup
On January 8, Ben Revere's life took one of those turns that you cannot control. He got that phone call informing him he was traded to the Washington Nationals. Revere made one of his first phone calls to Denard Span, who only gave him positive comments about the Nats. Span and Revere were teammates with the Minnesota Twins, and Span was always a person Revere knew he could go to for advice. The Nats would be Revere's third team within a year, as the Philadelphia Phillies traded him to the...

Revere hopes ribcage injury sidelines him only couple of days

Revere hopes ribcage injury sidelines him only couple of days
ATLANTA - Given all the injuries they sustained last season, the sight of Ben Revere departing in the fourth inning on opening day after feeling a tug on his right side had to leave the Nationals and their fans holding their collective breath, fearing the worst. The initial indication, though, is that Revere did not seriously injure himself, suffering what manager Dusty Baker and the leadoff man described as a mild strain of one of his right ribcage muscles that may only sideline him a couple...