Bryce Harper "definitely excited" about returning to All-Star Game as starter

Bryce Harper "definitely excited" about returning to All-Star Game as starter
Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper was selected to his third All-Star Game as the leading vote-getter in the National League. Harper garnered well over 13.9 million votes to get the opportunity to start in the 86th All-Star Game on July 14 in Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park. The 13,964,950 votes were the third most of any player in Major League Baseball. This will be his second career start. After Sunday's 3-1 win over the Giants, Harper said he was thrilled to get voted to start this...

Max Scherzer powers Nationals to 5-2 win

Max Scherzer powers Nationals to 5-2 win
PHILADELPHIA - Back spasms forced Denard Span out of tonight's game, with Michael A. Taylor taking over center field and the leadoff spot in the order. Taylor smacked the first pitch from Phillies starter Aaron Harang over center fielder Odubel Herrera's head for a double. Two batters later, Harang ran an 89 mph fastball in hard on Yunel Escobar's left hand, sending him to the ground. Nationals manager Matt Williams and head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz immediately came out of the dugout to...

Nats explode for nine in the first, sweep Pirates

Nats explode for nine in the first, sweep Pirates
Inspired by Max Scherzer's stunning no-hit performance yesterday, the Nationals offense exploded by tying a club record with nine runs scored in the first inning. Pirates starter Charlie Morton came into today's start riding a five-game winning streak and boasting a sterling 1.62 ERA. He was able to get Denard Span to line out to begin the game, but then the wheels fell off. Yunel Escobar started the onsluaght with a base knock to left bringing Bryce Harper to the plate. The Nats slugger...

Almost perfect, Max Scherzer throws no-hitter in Nats' 6-0 win

Almost perfect, Max Scherzer throws no-hitter in Nats' 6-0 win
Max Scherzer's dominance from last Sunday's one-hit shutout has carried over into today's start. Scherzer has retired the first 12 Pirates he's faced. He whiffed the side in the fourth, with Andrew McCutchen the final victim to go down swinging. Scherzer has struck out 21 batters in his last 13 innings. Bryce Harper put the Nationals on the scoreboard with a leadoff bomb in the bottom of the fourth. The solo shot landed up in the grassy batter's eye area behind the wall in dead center...

Nats pound Rays 16-4 with record offensive night

Nats pound Rays 16-4 with record offensive night
The Nationals came out swinging against Rays starter Alex Colome tonight. Denard Span led off the game with a single and then Bryce Harper ripped a two-out double to the gap in right-center. Former Nat Steven Souza Jr. did an excellent job of cutting off the ball and holding Span at third, where he stayed as Ramos grounded out to end the inning. Colome wasn't so lucky in the second. Clint Robinson started the frame with a towering solo homer that disappeared in the rafters beyond the right...

Rendon quickly improving at the plate (with lineups)

Rendon quickly improving at the plate (with lineups)
Bryce Harper returns to right field a night after going 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts as the designated hitter. Harper has calmed his strikeouts down considerably since the first month of the season. He has just six in 55 plate appearances in June and yesterday was his first game with multiple whiffs since May 27. With Yunel Escobar serving as the DH tonight, Anthony Rendon moves over to third base with Danny Espinosa at second. Rendon's timing seems to be improving 49 plate...

Gonzalez roughed up in Nats' 6-1 loss

Gonzalez roughed up in Nats' 6-1 loss
After quickly recording the first two outs, Gio Gonzalez labored through the remainder of the first inning. Gonzalez gave up a couple of walks and a base hit to load the bases before Danny Espinosa bailed him out of the jam. Rays first baseman Jake Elmore tapped a curveball back to Gonzalez, who fielded it well, then errantly threw to first base. Espinosa, making only his third career start at the position, calmly picked the one-hopper out of the dirt to close out the inning. Gonzalez wasn't...

Nobody's perfect, but Max Scherzer was close in Nats' 4-0 win

Nobody's perfect, but Max Scherzer was close in Nats' 4-0 win
The Nationals jumped on the scoreboard first this afternoon. Denard Span bounced a single up the middle to lead off the third and then picked up his sixth stolen base. Danny Espinosa gave the Nats runners at the corners with a line drive just over the outstretched glove of Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett and into right field. Anthony Rendon followed with a sacrifice fly to deep right field that easily scored Span for the game's first run. It's Rendon first RBI on the season. Meanwhile,...

Zimmermann knocked out early (Nats lose 8-4)

Zimmermann knocked out early (Nats lose 8-4)
Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann was forced to battle through a 31-pitch first inning that resulted in two unnecessary Brewers runs. Indecisiveness between Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon on a poorly played ground ball left the Brewers with right fielder Ryan Braun on first base instead of the inning ending on a double play. First baseman Adam Lind followed with a single and then third baseman Aramis Ramirez ripped a two-run double that rolled to the wall in left to give the Brewers the early...

Nats hoping Zimmermann delivers in homecoming (with lineups)

Nats hoping Zimmermann delivers in homecoming (with lineups)
The Nationals enter tonight's matchup in Milwaukee as losers in 10 of their last 13 games. Jordan Zimmermann will take the hill in hopes of creating some momentum for the Nats. Zimmermann returns to his home state, where he holds a 2-0 record with a 1.50 ERA against the Brewers at Miller Park. Overall, the Wisconsin native is 4-0, having allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his five career starts against Milwaukee. Zimmermann experienced defeat in his last start for the first time since...

Michael A. Taylor, Denard Span clutch in Nats' 5-4 comeback win

Michael A. Taylor, Denard Span clutch in Nats' 5-4 comeback win
The young and the old helped the Nationals to a much needed 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Yankees this afternoon. After the Nats' lead disappeared in the seventh, rookie Michael A. Taylor answered with a clutch two-run game-tying homer in the eighth. A stout performance from the Nats bullpen extended the game into the 11th inning, where 31-year-old Denard Span legged out an infield single, allowing Tyler Moore to safely hurry to the plate for the eventual game-winning run. "We battled today,...

Scherzer takes the loss as Nats fall 6-1

Scherzer takes the loss as Nats fall 6-1
In a game featuring top-flight starting pitching, a couple of solo homers are the only runs on the scoreboard. Nationals starter Max Scherzer flinched first. Leading off the third inning, Yankees second baseman Stephen Drew belted a fastball over the right field fence. Scherzer missed on the heater, leaving it on the inner half of the plate and Drew made him pay with his eighth longball of the season. Bryce Harper answered for the Nats in the fourth. Facing a 1-0 count with two outs, Harper...

Offense shows life in Nats' 7-5 win

Offense shows life in Nats' 7-5 win
The Nationals offense has been struggling badly as of late, especially with runners in scoring position. Danny Espinosa took care of that early tonight. After Wilson Ramos singled to right and Ian Desmond ripped a double to left, Espinosa belted a monster three-run homer to deep left-center that landed in the seats beyond the Cubs bullpen. Espinosa is second on the Nationals behind Bryce Harper with seven home runs. Tanner Roark has made quick work of the Cubs so far. The right-hander has...

Source: Joe Ross to be called up from Double-A to start Saturday

Source: Joe Ross to be called up from Double-A to start Saturday
The Nationals have had to be creative and aggressive in filling vacant turns in their rotation the last couple of weeks due to injuries to starters Doug Fister (right forearm tightness) and Stephen Strasburg (neck tightness). That assertive formula continues this weekend as the Nationals will call up Double-A Harrisburg right-hander Joe Ross to make his first major league start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, an industry source confirmed to MASNsports.com. The news originally reported in a...

Taylor Jordan roughed up in Nats' 8-0 loss

Taylor Jordan roughed up in Nats' 8-0 loss
Not the beginning right-hander Taylor Jordan was looking for in his first big league start of the season. Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes drew a four-pitch leadoff walk. Third baseman Josh Donaldson, the reigning American League Player of the Week, followed with a line drive pounded over Denard Span's head for a double. Reyes crossed the plate when right fielder Jose Bautista singled. Another base hit from left fielder Chris Colabello brought Donaldson home to increase his major league-leading...

Homers hurt Scherzer as Nats fall 7-3

Homers hurt Scherzer as Nats fall 7-3
Max Scherzer labored through a 26-pitch first inning, which included a walk and a poor throwing error from Yunel Escobar. Scherzer seemed to get back on track as he retired the first two batters of the second inning on just three pitches. But with two outs, Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar pulled a solo homer to left. It was Pillar's third home run of the season and the fourth allowed by Scherzer. A runner has been on base for the Nats in each of the first two innings, but nothing has...

Span, Zimmerman sit; Nats recall den Dekker (with lineups)

Span, Zimmerman sit; Nats recall den Dekker (with lineups)
Major League Baseball rules allow teams to add a 26th man to their rosters for the second game of doubleheaders scheduled less than 48 hours in advance. The Nationals chose to recall outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Syracuse this afternoon to fill that spot for Game 2 tonight. den Dekker was on the Nationals' opening day roster, going 0-for-2 while appearing in four games at the start of the season. Once Jayson Werth returned from the disabled list after shoulder surgery, den Dekker...

Zimmermann blanks Blue Jays in Nats' 2-0 win

Zimmermann blanks Blue Jays in Nats' 2-0 win
Jordan Zimmermann has pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits with three strikeouts. Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey matched Zimmermann for a while, blanking the Nationals until Zimmermann helped his own cause to start the fifth. On a full count, Zimmermann knocked an 82-mph fastball from Dickey up the middle for a leadoff single. After Yunel Escobar walked, Ian Desmond dropped a sacrifice bunt down to safely move both runners into scoring position for Bryce Harper. Harper drove a...

Bullpen falters as Nats lose 8-2

Bullpen falters as Nats lose 8-2
Tanner Roark held the Reds scoreless through the first three innings, but third baseman Todd Frazier ended the streak in the fourth. Leading off the inning, Frazier belted a fastball deep down the left field line for a solo homer. It's the only hit that Roark has allowed through four innings to go along with two walks and one very important hit batter. When Reds first baseman Joey Votto stepped to the plate in the first, Roark promptly plunked him. The 92 mph fastball aimed at Votto's...

Neck tightness forces Stephen Strasburg out early in Nats' loss

Neck tightness forces Stephen Strasburg out early in Nats' loss
The Nationals have lost only seven games the entire month of May. Stephen Strasburg has started four of them. The right-hander lasted just five batters tonight before exiting with an injury in a 5-2 loss to the Reds. "He came out of the game with left trap tightness ... trapezius muscle, neck tightness," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after the game. Strasburg quickly got ahead of Reds catcher Brayan Pena 0-2 to start the second inning before delivering four consecutive balls...