Nationals bolster bullpen with top available lefty Hand

Nationals bolster bullpen with top available lefty Hand
The Nationals have known all winter they needed an experienced left-hander for their bullpen, someone who could be counted upon to get big outs late in games. They're going to wind up getting the best one available. The Nats are in agreement with veteran reliever Brad Hand on a one-year deal worth $10.5 million, pending a physical, a source familiar with the signing confirmed. Once the deal becomes official, the Nationals will have added one of baseball's best lefty relievers over the last...

Nats complete huge turnaround with perfect homestand (updated)

Nats complete huge turnaround with perfect homestand (updated)
A Nationals regular season that began with endless promise, bottomed out in late May but then kicked into high gear for a long time came to an end this afternoon with an 8-2 victory over the Indians and a most impressive 93-69 record few could've predicted four months ago. Next up: One game Tuesday night against the Brewers to decide whether they'll get a chance to make amends for past October failures. The Nationals will host Milwaukee in the National League wild card game, an 8 p.m....

Game 162 lineups: Nats vs. Indians

Game 162 lineups: Nats vs. Indians
It's Game 162, which has meant many different things over the years. Sometimes it's a celebration of a great regular season and final prep for the Division Series. Sometimes it's a meaningful game to determine a postseason berth or home-field advantage. Sometimes it's the end of a long road that won't continue. For the Nationals, this Game 162 is simply a bridge between a week's worth of big games and Tuesday's wild card showdown. The only thing at stake is a chance to finish 93-69,...

Suzuki catches, Kendrick plays second, Parra breaks out

Suzuki catches, Kendrick plays second, Parra breaks out
These final games of the regular season are, first and foremost, about trying to lock up home field advantage for the wild card game, which the Nationals can now do if they simply win one of their two remaining games against the Indians. But they're also about putting everyone in the best possible position heading into Tuesday night's winner-take-all game against either the Brewers or Cardinals. Which means there's a concerted effort right now to give all the key participants whatever...

Nationals keep rolling at home, win sixth straight (updated)

Nationals keep rolling at home, win sixth straight (updated)
The final week of the regular season was supposed to represent a daunting challenge to the Nationals, who assumed all along they were going to have to come up big against a pair of fellow contenders in the Phillies and Indians just to sneak into the playoffs. The Nationals indeed have come up big this week. They've won six in a row. And because of that, they remain in the driver's seat to host Tuesday's National League wild card game while also sending these two opponents to...

Game 160 lineups: Nats vs. Indians

Game 160 lineups: Nats vs. Indians
When the 2019 schedule was announced way back when, this final series featuring an interleague matchup stuck out like a sore thumb. Nobody wants to finish up the season with interleague games, but as long as the two leagues have 15 teams apiece, Major League Baseball has no choice but to do this. So the Nationals and Indians drew the short straw and will face each other this weekend. It's a really important weekend for both teams, of course. The Nationals are trying to secure home field...

Infielder from Murphy trade is player to be named in Gomes deal

Infielder from Murphy trade is player to be named in Gomes deal
The Nationals completed their trade for Yan Gomes today when they announced minor league infielder Andruw Monasterio as the player to be named in their deal with the Indians. Monasterio, 21, was the prospect the Nationals acquired from the Cubs for Daniel Murphy in August. He wound up playing in only 13 games with the organization, all for Single-A Potomac, hitting .308 with a triple and 5 RBIs. The Nationals already had sent right-hander Jefry Rodriguez and minor league outfielder Daniel...

Nats acquire Gomes for Rodriguez, two others (updated)

Nats acquire Gomes for Rodriguez, two others (updated)
The Nationals finalized a trade tonight that will bring All-Star catcher Yan Gomes to Washington in exchange for right-hander Jefry Rodriguez, minor league outfielder Daniel Johnson and a player to be named, completing a dramatic, 11-day overhaul of their catching corps. Having just signed veteran Kurt Suzuki to a two-year, $10 million deal last week, the Nationals went out and acquired another experienced catcher in Gomes, who had been the subject of trade speculation in recent days, though...

Rediscovering his old approach, Werth produces for Nats again

Rediscovering his old approach, Werth produces for Nats again
Jayson Werth long ago figured out what kind of hitter he was. He may have the physique of a slugger, but deep down he's a table-setter, a guy who's at his best when he works the count, takes his walks, prolongs at-bats and ultimately does whatever he needs to do to get on base. At various points along the way, managers and hitting coaches have suggested to Werth that he try a more aggressive approach, that he try to drive the ball more and not let himself get into bad counts. That, though,...

Nationals' bats finally come alive in 7-4 victory over Indians

Nationals' bats finally come alive in 7-4 victory over Indians
On a blistering hot afternoon when they needed production from their erratic and injury-depleted lineup, the Nationals got just what they ordered. Jayson Werth's three-run homer highlighted the Nats' best offensive performance of this homestand, propelling them to a 7-4 victory over the Indians and a split of their brief, two-game interleague series. Werth homered, doubled and walked, extending his league-best streak of consecutive games reaching base to 40. Daniel Murphy, Wilson Ramos and...

Ball flying on scorching afternoon in D.C. (Nationals win 7-4)

Ball flying on scorching afternoon in D.C. (Nationals win 7-4)
The heat index was 102 degrees when the Nationals took the field at 4:05 p.m. today for their series finale against the Indians. Is it any surprise the ball is flying out of the park? Jayson Werth and Francisco Lindor each have clubbed home runs in the game's first three innings, with a couple other doubles off the wall by the Indians, who have rallied to leave things tied 4-4 on a scorching hot day in the District. Werth launched a three-run homer into the left field bullpen in the bottom of...

Game 113 lineups: Nats vs. Indians

Game 113 lineups: Nats vs. Indians
It's going to be a scorcher this afternoon when the Nationals and Indians wrap up their brief, two-game series with a late-afternoon start on South Capitol Street. Temperatures are going to top 90 degrees, and the humidity is off the charts, as well. So if you've got tickets, take all the necessary precautions. After losing 3-1 last night, the Nationals will try to rediscover their lost offensive production, though they'll again have to do it with a depleted lineup. Bryce Harper is out for...

"Little things" cost Scherzer in latest no-hit bid

"Little things" cost Scherzer in latest no-hit bid
It has become somewhat commonplace in these parts, and so folks tend not to get overexcited when it happens. Make no mistake, though, Dusty Baker knew what was going on with Max Scherzer, just as every one of the 30,978 spectators at Nationals Park knew it. "Everybody was thinking it. You were thinking it," Baker said of Scherzer's no-hit bid against the Indians. "Because he knows how to close out those games. Then it went from a no-hitter to a loss in a matter of time, and we couldn't...

Scherzer loses no-hitter, then 3-1 game to Cleveland

Scherzer loses no-hitter, then 3-1 game to Cleveland
Max Scherzer made yet another run at history on the mound, but a quick flurry of events in the top of the seventh combined with a lack of run support from his teammates left the right-hander and the Nationals to stew over a 3-1 loss to the Indians on a night that appeared to be headed for a much happier conclusion. Scherzer held Cleveland hitless into the seventh in his latest attempt at a third career no-hitter before things fell apart. Francisco Lindor's one-out single up the middle broke up...

Scherzer strikes out 200 for fifth straight year (Nats lose 3-1)

Scherzer strikes out 200 for fifth straight year (Nats lose 3-1)
Only a select few major league pitchers surpass the 200-strikeout mark each season. Max Scherzer just got there on Aug. 9, with nearly two more months to add to that total. Scherzer hit the magical 200-strikeout number tonight with a third-inning punch-out of Indians catcher Roberto Perez. It's the fifth straight season the Nationals right-hander has done it, a feat duplicated only by Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander, among active pitchers. This is Scherzer's 24th start...

Game 112 lineups: Nats vs. Indians

Game 112 lineups: Nats vs. Indians
The Nationals are back to work tonight, hosting the Indians in the opener of a two-game interleague series, the second half of their head-to-head matchup that included two games in Cleveland a couple weeks ago. The two clubs split that series at Progressive Field, but only because of Jonathan Papelbon's blown save in the opener. Obviously, things have changed a bit since then. Max Scherzer, who did not pitch in that first series, takes the mound tonight and looks to continue his recent surge...

Strasburg, Murphy and Werth's contributions to yesterday's win

Strasburg, Murphy and Werth's contributions to yesterday's win
SAN FRANCISCO - Good morning from the left coast, where tonight the Nationals open a four-game weekend series with the Giants, another significant test for this team during a long road trip. (OK, so I need to be honest with you: I'm not actually in San Francisco as I type this. I'm somewhere over the Midwest, 33,000 feet in the air, en route from Cleveland. It's still Wednesday night. But by the time you read this in the morning, I will be in San Francisco. Promise.) Before we move ahead and...

Pressed into new roles, Turner and Treinen lead Nats to win

Pressed into new roles, Turner and Treinen lead Nats to win
CLEVELAND - Ballclubs can plan a season out, think they have everything set as they prefer, even have contingencies in place in case something goes awry. But sometimes they still have to adjust on the fly and go with something that may not have been their preferred course of action but became necessary to attempt to win that day's game. The Nationals thought they had most everything planned out properly this season, and even well into the summer. But when things started to go awry in the last...

Nationals bounce back with 4-1 victory in Cleveland

Nationals bounce back with 4-1 victory in Cleveland
CLEVELAND - Two sure ways to wash away the bitter taste of back-to-back losses via bullpen meltdown: 1) Get a dominant start from one of your aces, and 2) Score enough runs that you don't need to send your embattled closer back to the mound. The Nationals did both this afternoon, riding Stephen Strasburg's seven innings of scoreless ball and clutch hits from Trea Turner and Daniel Murphy to a 4-1 victory over the Indians that salvaged a two-game series split at Progressive Field. Back to work...

Game 101 lineups: Nats at Indians

Game 101 lineups: Nats at Indians
CLEVELAND - And we're back. Only 11 hours have passed since the Nationals walked off the field in disgust following a 7-6 loss to the Indians, but everyone is back at Progressive Field, preparing for today's early matinee (12:10 p.m.) to wrap up this unusual two-game interleague series. This could be a good thing (no time to stew over the loss) or it could be a bad thing (the hangover effect). We'll just have to wait and see. One good thing from the Nats' perspective: Stephen Strasburg is...