Johnson on playing his starters and Lombardozzi's strong season

Johnson on playing his starters and Lombardozzi's strong season
ST. LOUIS - Davey Johnson says he didn't sleep too well last night. Can't really blame him. In his last season as manager of the Nationals, he officially saw his team get knocked from the playoff picture last night. The season that Johnson labeled as "World Series or bust" back at the Winter Meetings reached bust here in St. Louis, leaving Johnson to go through all the what-ifs as he laid in bed last night. Eventually, he got to sleep, and made his way over to the ballpark earlier today....

Even after elimination, Nats sticking with regular lineup

Even after elimination, Nats sticking with regular lineup
ST. LOUIS - Prior to yesterday's game, Davey Johnson said that even if his team was to be eliminated from the playoff picture, he still planned on "putting my best foot forward" by starting his regular players down the stretch. Johnson is a man of his word. The Nationals skipper is running out his normal starting lineup today in game two of this three-game set against the Cardinals. Johnson talked last night, after the Nats had been eliminated, about wanting to deliver some payback to the...

Harper: "I've got to try to be in this lineup every night"

Harper: "I've got to try to be in this lineup every night"
ST. LOUIS - It was a pretty innocuous question, but one that drew an interesting answer. After the Nationals were eliminated from postseason contention last night, Bryce Harper was asked how much he thinks back to the early part of the season and what could have been different when the Nats struggled to gain momentum and put together any extended period of strong play. "I wasn't there for a month," Harper replied. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I'm a game-changer or...

Davey Johnson: "We gave it a good fight. We just came up short"

Davey Johnson: "We gave it a good fight. We just came up short"
ST. LOUIS - Minutes after his team had been mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture, Davey Johnson held back tears as he discussed the Nationals' dreams of postseason baseball coming to an end. Johnson, the Nats' 70-year-old skipper who is in his final season at the helm of this team, spoke evenly, and his voice didn't break at any point during his session with reporters, but you could see the sadness on his face. The Nationals' 4-3 loss to the Cardinals coupled with wins by...

On the verge of elimination (Nats lose, won't be postseason-bound)

On the verge of elimination (Nats lose, won't be postseason-bound)
ST. LOUIS - Not only are the Nationals losing here in the late innings in St. Louis, but the Pirates and Reds just won in dramatic fashion. With their win, the Pirates will clinch a playoff spot if the Nats lose here tonight. Same deal with the Reds. Put in other words, the Nats are three outs away from elimination. The Nats go into the top of the ninth inning trailing the Cardinals 4-3. A Ryan Zimmerman RBI groundout in the eighth cut the Cardinals' lead in half, but the Nats will need a...

A big blast, then a few zeros (Roark finally allows a homer)

A big blast, then a few zeros (Roark finally allows a homer)
ST. LOUIS - Jayson Werth got the road trip started on a positive note early on tonight. Boy, did he ever. Werth demolished a 2-2 curveball from Adam Wainwright way out to left field for a two-run shot in the top of the first inning, giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead right off the bat. It was an absolute bomb, one that nearly traveled to the "Big Mac Land" sign on the facade of the second deck in left field. The Cardinals estimated the ball traveled 439 feet, which sounds about right. It...

Marlins take early lead on Strasburg (Nats walk off with 5-4 win)

Marlins take early lead on Strasburg (Nats walk off with 5-4 win)
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg, making his 29th start of the season and first in two weeks, got off to a slow start Sunday night in the second game of a split doubleheader versus Miami. The Marlins' Donovan Solano led off the game with a double and later scored on a Christian Yelich grounder to first base. Miami led 1-0 after one. In the second, Justin Ruggiano crushed his 18th homer of the season, a solo shot over the wall in left-center field to extend the Marlins' lead to...

Marlins-Nationals game postponed; split doubleheader Sunday (updated)

Marlins-Nationals game postponed; split doubleheader Sunday (updated)
After a rain delay of 3 hours, 45 minutes, it's been announced that tonight's Marlins-Nationals game has been postponed due to rain. The two teams will play a split doubleheader tomorrow. The first game is scheduled to start at 1:35 p.m., with the nightcap following at 7:05 p.m. Because it's a split doubleheader, separate admission will be required for each game. The stadium will be cleared in between ballgames. It will be Dan Haren and Marlins right-hander Tom Koehler (who was scheduled...

As the rain falls ... (start of tonight's game officially delayed)

As the rain falls ... (start of tonight's game officially delayed)
Rain continues to fall at Nationals Park, and based on the radar that we're all looking at in the press box, there's no sign of things letting up for a while. If this was June, it'd be an easy call to bang this one tonight and reschedule the game for later in the season. But in late September, postponements are tough because of scheduling issues. The only possible option other than waiting it out tonight is playing two tomorrow, which is a getaway day for both the Nats and the Marlins....

Nats break it open in the sixth (Zimmermann throws two-hitter in 8-0 win)

Nats break it open in the sixth (Zimmermann throws two-hitter in 8-0 win)
The crowd at Nationals Park might have been down for a few minutes after Jordan Zimmermann's no-hit bid was spoiled with two outs in the sixth on Donovan Solano's single to center, but the Nationals lifted their fans' spirits with a huge seven-run bottom half of the inning. They got seven hits and a walk in the sixth inning alone, batting around and quickly turning what was a scoreless game into a laugher. Denard Span started the merry-go-round with a leadoff single, giving him a one-game...

Zimmermann dominating through four hitless frames (there goes the no-no)

Zimmermann dominating through four hitless frames (there goes the no-no)
Jordan Zimmermann is all kinds of locked in tonight, and he's running through a soft Marlins lineup. Zimmermann has yet to allow a hit through four innings of work. He's struck out eight. He's thrown 40 of his 54 pitches for strikes. The fastball is sitting in the mid-90s. The slider has been tight and has touched 89 mph. And the curveball has been sharp. Zimmermann struck out two in the first inning, including Giancarlo Stanton to end the frame. He struck out the side in the second. And...

Span: "It's just an unbelievable feeling, I'll be honest"

Span: "It's just an unbelievable feeling, I'll be honest"
Denard Span's 29-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-for-4 performance tonight in a 3-2 win over the Marlins, but while Span was a little disappointed with the end result, he still was able to reflect on the last month with a smile on his face. When Span was done with an on-field MASN interview immediately after the game, he walked down the dugout tunnel and saw the entire Nationals team waiting for him at the front of the clubhouse. All his teammates and coaches were there...

Span extends the streak, but Nats still trail (Nats lose 5-2)

Span extends the streak, but Nats still trail (Nats lose 5-2)
When Denard Span walked from the on-deck circle to the plate leading off the seventh inning, a large portion of the 30,636 at Nationals Park tonight started cheering, trying to spur Span on as he attempted to extend his hitting streak in the late innings. The fans got even louder after Span laced a single to right-center, pushing that hitting streak to 29 games. Span had been 0-for-3 tonight entering that at-bat, and I'm sure he was aware as he made his way into the batter's box that it...

A lead, but a missed opportunity (Nats sweep doubleheader with 4-0 win)

A lead, but a missed opportunity (Nats sweep doubleheader with 4-0 win)
The Nationals hold a 1-0 lead after three innings tonight, thanks to Steve Lombardozzi's RBI single in the second, but they've already made two outs on the bases, one of which could have been easily prevented. After Tanner Roark's infield single leading off the third (which now makes the right-hander a spiffy 3-for-9 at the plate in his big league career), Denard Span shot a ground ball down to first base. Freddie Freeman gloved it and got the force at second, but shortstop Andrelton...

Tremendous postgame quotes from Haren (plus game two lineups)

Tremendous postgame quotes from Haren (plus game two lineups)
Dan Haren got robbed of a win today when the Braves came back to take a late lead in the first game of today's doubleheader. But the veteran right-hander couldn't seem to care much less about that. Given all that happened in the D.C. community yesterday with the tragic shooting at the Navy Yard, just blocks from Nats Park, Haren was more concerned with boosting fans' spirits and giving everyone a reason to smile again. And while his six innings of one-run ball weren't enough to lead the...

Johnson discusses Nats' walk-off 6-5 win

Johnson discusses Nats' walk-off 6-5 win
The Nationals were three outs away from a brutal loss at the hands of the Braves, a defeat that would've delivered a big hit to their already-slim playoff hopes. They would've fallen to 5 1/2 games back in the wild card race. They would've given the Braves a chance to clinch the NL East title tonight with another win. They would've dropped to 4-13 this season against Atlanta. Instead, they came back against arguably the toughest closer in baseball, scoring three runs in the bottom of the...

Clippard surrenders lead in eighth on Gattis homer (Nats win 6-5)

Clippard surrenders lead in eighth on Gattis homer (Nats win 6-5)
The Nationals held a 1-0 lead three batters into their half of the first inning. They had a 3-0 lead after a full inning of play, and looked poised to knock Braves starter Mike Minor from the game early and pile on the runs. The Nats now trail 4-3 midway through the eighth, largely due to Tyler Clippard surrendering a two-run homer to Evan Gattis in the eighth, and largely due to their own inability to produce any kind of add-on offense. Clippard gave up a one-out walk to Freddie Freeman in...

Minor issues for the Braves, Span keeps streaking (Haren goes six strong)

Minor issues for the Braves, Span keeps streaking (Haren goes six strong)
Boy, did Mike Minor ever have some trouble in the first inning. The Braves starter faced eight hitters in the first. He walked three, allowed two hits and threw a wild pitch. The left-hander ended up surrendering three runs, and needed 39 pitches to finally get out of the first inning. Things were looking so shaky there for a little while that Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez needed to get someone up and warming in the bullpen before Minor was able to get out of the frame. After back-to-back...

Let's play two

Let's play two
While the Nationals postponed last night's game in the wake of the mass shooting at the Navy Yard just blocks from Nationals Park, the rest of the baseball world did play on yesterday. And the Nats wake up a half-game farther back in the National League wild card chase than they were this time yesterday. The Reds beat the Astros last night, pushing Cincinnati five games ahead of the Nats for the final NL playoff spot. The Nats remain four back in the loss column, and have 13 games remaining...

Navy Yard shooting could affect Braves-Nats game tonight (updated twice)

Navy Yard shooting could affect Braves-Nats game tonight (updated twice)
Nationals players have been told to stay away from Nationals Park for the time being after today's tragic shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and we're awaiting word on how this situation might affect tonight's game between the Nats and Braves. According to media reports, two shooters "are down" after a massive police search of the Navy Yard, where at least 10 people were reportedly shot this morning, four of which were killed. Again, all that information is according to...