Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)

Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)
ATLANTA - After watching their bullpen throw seven perfect innings during Saturday's 14-inning win, the last thing the Nationals needed was to have to turn to their relief corps early today. Which is exactly what happened after starter Jeremy Hellickson departed only two batters into the bottom of the first with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Hellickson hurt himself trying to make a leaping catch of Mark Reynolds' high toss on Ozzie Albies' grounder to first. The ball caromed off...
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Madson returns to roster, Goodwin appears to be next up

Madson returns to roster, Goodwin appears to be next up
ATLANTA - The Nationals are getting the first of their key injured players back tonight, with Ryan Madson activated off the disabled list. And more appear to be coming, with Brian Goodwin likely joining the club this weekend and Daniel Murphy and Matt Grace not too far behind. Madson was added back to the active roster in time for tonight's opener against the Braves, the strained right pectoral muscle that sidelined him for two weeks having healed. The veteran setup man was able to make it...
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Madson throws for first time since landing on DL

Madson throws for first time since landing on DL
When Ryan Madson made three appearances in four days against the Diamondbacks earlier this month, his velocity up from previous outings, the veteran reliever was as encouraged as he had been all season about the way he was pitching and the way his arm felt. Then on the flight home from Arizona, Madson felt a cramp in his right pectoral muscle. And a week later, having not pitched in a game since, he was placed on the 10-day disabled list. "I didn't feel it pitching, or during the game,"...
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Kendrick out for year with ruptured Achilles, Soto to be promoted

Kendrick out for year with ruptured Achilles, Soto to be promoted
Howie Kendrick, the Nationals and everybody inside the ballpark who watched the veteran left fielder crumple to the ground and grab his lower right leg this afternoon knew this probably was a serious injury. By the end of the night, they all knew just how serious: Kendrick needs season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. That diagnosis was announced by manager Davey Martinez minutes after Sean Doolittle blew his first save of the season, leaving the Nationals scarred from a 5-4...
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Kendrick suffers apparent serious right leg injury (updated)

Kendrick suffers apparent serious right leg injury (updated)
The Nationals' already thin outfield lost another key player today when Howie Kendrick appeared to suffer a significant right lower leg injury making a catch in the top of the eighth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Dodgers. Kendrick retreated to the wall to catch what otherwise was a routine fly ball by Los Angeles first baseman Max Muncy, then threw the ball toward the infield as Justin Turner tagged up from third and scored. Kendrick immediately went down to the ground...
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Wieters expected to miss significant time after hamstring surgery

Wieters expected to miss significant time after hamstring surgery
Matt Wieters had surgery Wednesday to repair his left hamstring, the Nationals announced today, a major procedure that figures to sideline the veteran catcher until at least late in the season, if not through the remainder of the season. The Nationals offered no timeline yet for Wieters' recovery, saying only that they "will provide more information when Matt returns to Washington, D.C. and is evaluated by our medical staff." Hamstring surgery, though, is a major procedure and typically only...
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Eaton encouraged after surgery, wants to return in six weeks

Eaton encouraged after surgery, wants to return in six weeks
Adam Eaton has heard the reactions since he woke up from arthroscopic surgery Thursday in Green Bay and the baseball world was informed of the procedure he had to remove a flap of cartilage from his left ankle. Today, the Nationals outfielder sought to allay fears that came with that news by declaring his goal to return to the active roster in six weeks. "It's going to be soon," Eaton said, seated at his locker with his lower left leg in a cast that was due to be removed later in the day....
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Wieters placed on 10-day DL, Kieboom promoted (updated)

Wieters placed on 10-day DL, Kieboom promoted (updated)
PHOENIX - The Nationals, as expected, placed Matt Wieters on the 10-day disabled list today with a left hamstring strain, though the club has not yet announced what this morning's MRI of the catcher's injured left leg revealed. Wieters hurt himself rounding first base during the top of the second inning of Thursday night's 2-1, 11-inning win over the Diamondbacks, his left leg buckling. Afterward, he said he was hopeful the injury was confined to his hamstring, though the MRI was scheduled...
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Wieters departs with apparent knee injury (Nats win 2-1 in 11)

Wieters departs with apparent knee injury (Nats win 2-1 in 11)
PHOENIX - A Nationals club that already has dealt with long-term injuries to multiple key regulars this season just saw another one go down to a potentially serious injury. Matt Wieters appeared to injure his left knee after taking a wide turn around first base on his second-inning single tonight at Chase Field, leaving a Nats organization woefully thin on catching depth in a possible jam. With one out in the top of the second, Wieters singled through a hole on the left side of the infield made...
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Rendon could return Saturday, Kelley and Grace getting closer

Rendon could return Saturday, Kelley and Grace getting closer
Anthony Rendon is playing third base for the Potomac Nationals tonight. If all goes well, he'll be playing third base for the Washington Nationals tomorrow. After taking five plate appearances as the designated hitter Thursday night in Woodbridge, Rendon is again in the P-Nats' lineup tonight, batting third and this time playing third base. Manager Davey Martinez said he will get three or four at-bats, and assuming there are no problems with his bruised left big toe, Rendon will "probably"...
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Murphy admits he can't run well enough to play yet

Murphy admits he can't run well enough to play yet
Daniel Murphy today confirmed what was pretty obvious to anyone who watched him work out at Nationals Park yesterday afternoon: His surgically repaired right knee is still in pain when he tries to run, which has left his potential return from the disabled list up in the air. "I'm not in a position where I can run right now to play," the veteran second baseman said in his first session with reporters since he returned from extended spring training earlier this week. Murphy, who had...
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Murphy returns from Florida, Rendon tests out toe in workout

Murphy returns from Florida, Rendon tests out toe in workout
They don't have any of their three key injured regulars back in the lineup tonight, but the Nationals did have a welcome visitor to their clubhouse this afternoon: Daniel Murphy. The veteran second baseman, who has yet to make his season debut following October knee surgery, made the trip up from West Palm Beach after two weeks spent at extended spring training. Murphy, who was briefly seen in the clubhouse before the Nationals took batting practice but did not speak to reporters, was...
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Rendon unlikely to return until Tuesday at earliest (Nats win 3-1)

Rendon unlikely to return until Tuesday at earliest (Nats win 3-1)
Anthony Rendon wasn't activated off the disabled list today even though he was eligible, but the Nationals third baseman appears to be close to returning from a bruised left big toe. Rendon hit, ran and took grounders this morning with no issues, manager Davey Martinez said. The Nationals weren't prepared to activate him off the 10-day DL yet, and Martinez said the move probably won't be made Monday, either, though it won't be much longer. "I'd probably say no (to being active Monday),...
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Rizzo on ever-changing roster: "Nobody said it would be easy"

Rizzo on ever-changing roster: "Nobody said it would be easy"
Mike Rizzo goes into every season knowing there will be unexpected ailments and performances that require roster changes. And the Nationals general manager goes into every season prepared to tap into as much depth as is necessary from his club's farm system. The first month of this season, though, is testing that depth like never before. "It's a grind, man," Rizzo said this afternoon before his fourth-place, 11-14 Nationals opened a 10-game homestand. "Nobody said it would be easy." Well,...
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Nats concede and place Rendon on DL, promote reliever Adams

Nats concede and place Rendon on DL, promote reliever Adams
LOS ANGELES - For eight days, they waited and hoped Anthony Rendon would be able to return to the lineup after fouling a ball off his left big toe. On the ninth day, the Nationals finally decided they could wait no longer. Except now they'll have to wait at least seven more days for Rendon to be eligible to return from the disabled list. In formally placing Rendon on the 10-day DL this afternoon, the Nationals extended the third baseman's time away beyond what it might have been had they...
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With toe still sore, Nats will "re-evaluate" Rendon's status

With toe still sore, Nats will "re-evaluate" Rendon's status
LOS ANGELES - Davey Martinez's afternoon declaration that Anthony Rendon would likely be available to pinch-hit surely left many of Nationals fans wondering why the star third baseman never did emerge from the dugout during Saturday night's 4-0 loss to the Dodgers. It's not like there wasn't an opportunity, most notably the top of the eighth, when with his team trailing by two runs, Martinez sent Matt Reynolds instead of Rendon up to pinch-hit against lefty Tony Cingrani. Reynolds, who...
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Nats expect Rendon back this weekend, Eaton during road trip

Nats expect Rendon back this weekend, Eaton during road trip
LOS ANGELES - Anthony Rendon fouled a ball off his left big toe one week ago, in the fifth inning last Friday night at Nationals Park. He hasn't played since, and despite initial hope he'd be back for tonight's series opener against the Dodgers, he's not in the lineup. Which begs the question: Why, given the fact he's now been out seven days, was Rendon not placed on the 10-day disabled list? "He constantly kept saying he was getting better and better," manager Davey Martinez said. "And...
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Murphy heading to Florida to play in extended spring training

Murphy heading to Florida to play in extended spring training
As the Nationals head out on a long road trip, Daniel Murphy is heading down to Florida to start playing in extended spring training games. Murphy, now in the final stages of rehab from October microfracture knee surgery, is scheduled to fly to West Palm Beach on Monday and begin getting at-bats with others from the organization who remain at the club's complex for extended spring training. The veteran second baseman has been with the big league club throughout the season's first 2 1/2 weeks,...
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Rendon still dealing with sore toe, Goodwin out with sore wrist

Rendon still dealing with sore toe, Goodwin out with sore wrist
Anthony Rendon isn't in the Nationals lineup this afternoon. That's not a surprise, given the third baseman had to come out of Friday night's game after fouling a ball off his left big toe. The real question now is how much time Rendon will need before he is ready to return to an already-struggling lineup that keeps losing key players to injury. "He's sore, real sore," manager Davey Martinez said this morning. "So he's probably going to be day-to-day." Rendon hurt himself fouling a...
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Eaton tweaks ankle, but expects to return in a day or two

Eaton tweaks ankle, but expects to return in a day or two
It was both a wonderful sight to behold while simultaneously leaving 42,477 people inside Nationals Park holding their collective breaths. Adam Eaton being waved around third base on a double into the left field corner? How long has everyone been waiting for that moment since that fateful night nearly one year ago when the Nationals outfielder tore his left ACL tripping over first base against this same Mets ballclub? The good news: Eaton was safe, thanks to José Reyes' wide relay throw to...
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