Feature: Latest Reports from The Washington Posts ‘Nationals Journal’

Here are the latest reports from The Washington Posts ‘Nationals Journal’.

Daniel Murphy, Nationals’ hitting machine, refuses to come back down to earth

NEW YORK — When Daniel Murphy was hitting over .400 after the first three weeks of the season, it was inevitable to ask, “Can he keep this up?” It was early but Murphy was a career .288 hitter entering the season and fresh off his Ruthian display in the playoffs. Three more weeks later, Murphy is […]

Jayson Werth’s adjusted contract will defer $10 million

The Nationals and Jayson Werth adjusted the veteran outfielder’s contract to defer $10 million of his $21 million 2016 salary with interest, according to the terms of the contract. According to a Fox Sports report, which first mentioned the change in the terms Thursday, Werth and the Nationals adjusted the contract last fall and the money will be […]

Nationals lineup vs. Mets’ Matt Harvey

NEW YORK — The Nationals stick with their tweaked lineup that has Jayson Werth hitting second and Anthony Rendon in the sixth spot. Werth matched a career high Wednesday by reaching base five times. Rendon drew two walks and drove in two. The lineups are below, and talk about the game in the comments section. […]

Charles County Commissioner says Nationals may soon have minor league affiliate in Waldorf

A Charles County investment group has a deal in place to move the Batavia (N.Y.) Muckdogs, short-season A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, to Waldorf, Maryland, where they would become an affilliate of the Washington Nationals, according to Charles County Commissioner Ken Robinson. Robinson emphasized that the move is “not a done deal,” but that the investment group […]

At quarter pole, Nationals off to best start in team history

NEW YORK — The Washington Nationals aren’t a perfect team now, but they have overcome their offensive inconsistencies with stellar starting pitching, an improved bullpen and sure-handed defense. Through 40 games, the Nationals are 24-16, their best record at that point in team history, and in first place in the National League East.  The difference […]

Jayson Werth, Dusty Baker talk lineup changes and slumps

NEW YORK — Confidence is an important trait in baseball, and despite a slow start, Jayson Werth still believes in what he can do at the plate. He is hitting .210 with six home runs and 20 RBI through 34 games. Entering Wednesday’s games, Werth’s .668 OPS is 22nd among 26 qualified left fielders in […]

Nationals lineup vs. Mets’ Bartolo Colon

The Nationals are sticking with Dusty Baker’s tweaked lineup — with Jayson Werth hitting second and Anthony Rendon sixth — for the second game of the three-game series against the Mets. After being scratched from Tuesday’s lineup, David Wright is back in the Mets lineup Wednesday. The lineups are below, and as always, talk about […]

How Reynaldo Lopez became a hard-throwing Nationals prospect

Although from starkly different parts of the world, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito have become friends over the past three years, teammates at short-season Auburn, low-Class A Hagerstown, high-Class A Potomac and now Class AA Harrisburg. When they line up for the national anthem before games, Lopez sometimes stands near Giolito. Both top pitching prospects have fastballs […]

The Nationals are desperate for help from the top of the order

NEW YORK — The Nationals faced Noah Syndergaard on Tuesday, so grand conclusions about the state of their offense should be considered with a small grain of salt. “He throws 100 miles an hour,” right fielder Bryce Harper said. “Sometimes you’ve just got to tip your cap and do that. He’s got devastating stuff. … […]

Daniel Murphy returns to New York and receives NL championship ring

NEW YORK — Daniel Murphy walked into the Mets’ press conference room at Citi Field on Tuesday afternoon, three hours before his first game here since signing with the Nationals in the offseason. The room was jammed with nearly 50 people waiting to hear from the longtime Met, the hitter that powered New York to the World […]

Jayson Werth hitting second, Anthony Rendon dropped to sixth vs. Mets

NEW YORK — The inaugural three-game series between division rivals begins Tuesday at Citi Field with one of the best pitching showdowns of the season. Max Scherzer takes the mound for the first time since his 20-strikeout performance. Noah Syndergaard starts for the Mets. Nationals Manager Dusty Baker made his biggest lineup change of the […]

Daniel Murphy and the Nationals face the Mets for the first time this season

The Washington Nationals will play the New York Mets in a three-game series beginning Tuesday; it is the first meeting between the teams this season. The National League East is crowded — the Nationals lead the Mets and Phillies by 1.5 games and lead the Marlins by two games. But by late this summer, many expect two […]

Minor League Monday, Week 6: Trea Turner and Rafael Bautista setting the pace

This is the sixth installment of our new Minor League Monday, a weekly post in which we’ll wrap up the previous week’s action for Washington’s minor league affiliates. We’ll give you the information you should know, about the Nationals prospects you need to know, so you can keep an eye on the future. CLASS AAA SYRACUSE As […]

The Trea Turner question, service time and Danny Espinosa

Even though the the Nationals are 23-15 and in first place in the National League East six weeks into the season, some fans still wonder: When is Trea Turner coming up? The fact that Danny Espinosa is hitting .212 with a .630 OPS only fuels the question. Turner is the Nationals’ top position player prospect […]

One of the slumping Nats, Ben Revere, compared slow return to ‘Space Jam’

While Ben Revere was away recovering from his career-first oblique injury, the Nationals believed their up-and-down offense would improve with a proven leadoff and contact hitter in the fold. But in the week-plus since his return from the disabled list, neither Revere nor the offense in general has yet hit its stride: Including Sunday’s 0-for-4 game […]

Daniel Murphy scratched from Nationals’ lineup with illness

Daniel Murphy was scratched from the Nationals‘ lineup on Sunday because of illness, the team announced. He was originally set to bat cleanup and start at second. But about 90 minutes before the game, the Nationals released a new lineup with Stephen Drew at second base instead. Jayson Werth, who didn’t start the second game of Saturday’s […]

Bryce Harper drops appeal, to serve one-game suspension during doubleheader’s nightcap

Bryce Harper dropped the appeal of his one-game suspension and will serve it during the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the team announced before the nightcap. Harper went 0 for 2 with three walks in the first game of the doubleheader, a 6-4 win over the Marlins. The Nationals and Harper timed the dropping of the appeal. Had […]

Nationals pick up GM Mike Rizzo’s two-year option

The Nationals have picked up General Manager Mike Rizzo’s two-year option, ensuring he will remain with the team through the 2018 season, according to a person familiar with the situation. Rizzo’s contract had a June 15 deadline for the option to be picked up. The Nationals, at 23-13, are off to their best start in team history. […]

Nationals recall Matt Den Dekker as 26th man for Saturday’s doubleheader

The Nationals are allowed to add an extra player to their roster for their doubleheader Saturday, per Major League Baseball rules, and outfielder Matt den Dekker got the call-up from Class AAA Syracuse. Often, teams opt for an extra reliever in these situations, given the strain two games in one day could put on their […]

Nationals bench makes a little bit of history with pinch-hit power

Ask any major leaguer to name the toughest job in their sport, and most will mention pinch hitting. Getting one at-bat a game — or perhaps every few games, in slower times — leaves more time to think and evaluate and stew than most hitters would prefer. Taking that at-bat late in the game, against a […]

Daniel Murphy hitting cleanup again, plus details on Saturday’s doubleheader

Nationals Manager Dusty Baker is sticking with Daniel Murphy in the cleanup spot Friday against the Marlins. Baker selected the hot-hitting Murphy to bat behind Bryce Harper in Wednesday’s lineup, and Murphy’s success against Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann, plus the absence of left-handed relievers in the Marlins bullpen, prompted his manager to keep him there. “They can’t bring in a couple left-handers […]

Nationals pitcher Matt Belisle moving toward return

Matt Belisle will throw off a mound in the next couple days, the right-hander said Friday. The Nationals placed him on the disabled list with a strained calf on April 27, after he broke to cover first base and felt pain in his right calf — the same calf he injured conditioning before spring training. […]

Ryan Zimmerman’s ‘A Night at the Park’ raises $225,000 to battle MS

Ryan Zimmerman started the ziMS foundation in his living room, with his parents, a decade ago. He was young then, not yet married, certainly not a father. When the foundation started hosting “A Night at the Park” seven years ago, Zimmerman had never played in the postseason. Thursday night, Zimmerman walked into Nationals Park with his wife, […]

Shawn Kelley quietly off to a strong start in the Nationals bullpen

For many, Shawn Kelley was a bit of an enigma early in the season. He signed a three-year, $15 million deal with the Nationals in the offseason thanks to high strikeout rates, but the veteran reliever had only finished a season with an ERA below 3.00 once in his career. He started 2016 solidly but slowly, tossing 89 mph […]

Emerging prospect Koda Glover settles in at Class AA Harrisburg

The pitching staff for the Class AA Harrisburg Senators is home to some of the Washington Nationals‘ most heralded pitching prospects. Lucas Giolito, the big right-handed prodigy, and Reynaldo Lopez, the more compact right-handed fireballer, are in the rotation. Left-hander Nick Lee, who is on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, and right-hander Wander Suero, both of whom appeared […]

Questions and answers from Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout game

Perhaps, at the end of it all, the biggest question left unanswered about Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout game was what exactly was in the cooler his teammates poured on him afterward — and did it taste better than chocolate sauce?  But, of course, try as we might to recap a game like that in the moments […]

Bryce Harper suspended for one game by MLB

Major League Baseball suspended Bryce Harper and fined him an undisclosed amount for his actions following his ejection Monday, “which included returning to the field,” according to the league’s announcement. Harper is appealing the suspension, so he is eligible to play in Wednesday’s game against the Tigers. Harper was tossed from the dugout in the ninth […]

Why Dusty Baker moved Ryan Zimmerman out of the cleanup spot

For a couple days now, Dusty Baker has fielded questions about the middle of his batting order. Ryan Zimmerman was struggling to offer adequate protection for Bryce Harper, so much so that the Cubs walked Harper a record-tying six times Sunday. But Baker said he wanted to stick with Zimmerman, that one game or series or week […]

Ryan Zimmerman homers twice while Wilson Ramos draws some walks

The Nationals nearly came back against the Tigers on Tuesday thanks, in part, to the bats of Ryan Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos, two hitters with much to prove this season. Zimmerman has struggled, hitting the ball hard but with little to show for it. Hitting behind Bryce Harper, he has stranded a large share of […]

Stephen Strasburg: ‘I’m really, really happy’ with contract extension

Seven years ago, on a summer day at Nationals Park, Ryan Zimmerman handed Stephen Strasburg his first Washington Nationals jersey, the one with his name and number outlined in gold. Strasburg was 20, the first overall pick in the 2009 draft and the best pitching prospect to come along in quite some time — the kind of […]

Jayson Werth back in the Nationals lineup

After a day off Monday, Jayson Werth is back in the lineup Tuesday against the Tigers. The rest of the lineup is the same with Joe Ross on the mound. As always, the lineups are below. Feel free to talk about the game below. Nationals 1. Ben Revere, CF 2. Anthony Rendon, 3B 3. Bryce […]

MLB reviewing Bryce Harper’s ejection, yelling at umpire

Major League Baseball, as is standard practice following an ejection, is reviewing Bryce Harper’s ejection from Monday’s game and his yelling at umpire Brian Knight, according to a league spokesman. Harper was tossed from the dugout in the ninth inning for arguing a called third strike on Danny Espinosa at the plate. Harper shouted at Knight from the […]