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

Michael A. Taylor, Anthony Rendon out of the lineup Thursday

Dusty Baker joked that reporters must have sneaked a peek at his desk, seen his plan to alter the lineup Thursday, then asked about it after the Nationals failed to score Wednesday night. He was already planning to give his first and second hitters, Michael A. Taylor and Anthony Rendon, a day off on get-away day. […]

Joe Ross will return to rotation in St. Louis

Dusty Baker announced his rotation for this weekend’s series against the Cardinals, and Joe Ross is back in it, pitching Saturday. Stephen Strasburg will pitch Friday night against Mike Leake. Ross will face Jaime Garcia. Max Scherzer faces Carlos Martinez Sunday. Strasburg and Scherzer will both pitch on regular rest. Ross left his outing on April […]

D.C. native Emmanuel Burriss returns home with the Phillies

Last season was special for D.C. native Emmanuel Burriss. After years of struggles in the minor leagues, he was the first D.C.-born baseball player to play for his hometown team in several decades. The infielder spent a few weeks in the majors but notched little playing time, going 2 for 5 at the plate. In the offseason, the […]

Anthony Rendon is hitting the ball hard, but hasn’t hit his stride yet

By some measures, Anthony Rendon has hit the ball fairly well — at least above average — this season. Albeit a small sample size, he is hitting fewer ground balls while his fly ball and line drive rates are up. According to MLB’s StatCast numbers, Rendon’s average exit velocity — one indicator of a player hitting the […]

What do Bryce Harper and Jesse James have in common?

If one were to compile a list of people to whom Bryce Harper has been compared over the years, it would be a lengthy one full of Hall of Famers, present stars and older legends, and prodigies and precocious types. But until Wednesday afternoon, that list would have contained one glaring, self-evident omission — an icon of […]

Dusty Baker sticks with usual lineup to back Gio Gonzalez

Despite yesterday’s light offensive showing, and steadily slow starts from several regulars, Nationals Manager Dusty Baker is sticking with his go-to lineup Wednesday night against the Phillies. Anthony Rendon (.241) and Ryan Zimmerman (.250) will continue to sandwich Bryce Harper, whom the Phillies pitched around three times Tuesday night. Michael  A. Taylor, who has two […]

Nationals bringing reliever Sammy Solis to D.C.

Because of Matt Belisle’s calf injury suffered in Tuesday’s game, the Nationals are bringing Sammy Solis from Class AAA Syracuse to D.C. on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the situation. Solis, a left-handed reliever, is off to a dominant start, allowing one run and striking out 14 over nine innings in Syracuse. His fastball […]

Will teams stop pitching to Bryce Harper?

After his team’s 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, Phillies Manager Pete Mackanin outlined his new plan for handling his division rival Bryce Harper. “I’m going to walk him every time we faec him this series,” MacKanin said. “I’m kidding. That’s a joke.” No one would blame him if he were serious. […]

Matt Belisle leaves game with right calf strain

Matt Belisle left Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss to the Phillies after facing one batter after straining his right calf, re-aggravating an injury he battled in spring training. The right-hander began the eighth inning by getting left fielder David Lough to line out to Ryan Zimmerman at first. When the ball was hit, Belisle broke toward first. […]

Wilson Ramos placed on bereavement leave, Pedro Severino recalled

The Nationals placed Wilson Ramos on the bereavement list Tuesday so that he might be with family to mourn the death of his grandfather. The team recalled 22-year-old catcher Pedro Severino to fill Ramos’s roster spot. Bereavement leave allows players a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven days away from the team. […]

Ben Revere now feels pain free and is nearing a rehab assignment

For the first time since he injured his right oblique on Opening Day, Ben Revere took batting practice on the field before Tuesday’s game. Now pain free, Revere proclaimed he has no issues swinging and is shaking off the rust of being mostly idle for weeks. He began light swings in the indoor batting cages and running […]

From the majors to the minors, the Nationals are using defensive shifts more

An underlying theme of the Nationals’ hot start is good defense. They have made the fewest errors in the majors, and rank near the top in other advanced defensive metrics. A notable part of the Nationals’ fielding this season under Manager Dusty Baker has included more defensive shifts. When Matt Williams took over as manager in 2014, he wanted […]

Minor League Monday: Week 3

This is the third installment of our new Minor League Monday, a weekly post in which we’ll wrap up the previous week’s action for Nationals 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 […]

Bryce Harper, Dusty Baker express mutual admiration

Hard as it is to imagine, Bryce Harper is producing at higher rates three weeks into this season than he did at this point in his historic MVP season a year ago. Through 18 games (17 starts) this season, Harper is hitting .323 with a .405 on-base percentage, .855 slugging percentage and a 1.260 OPS […]

Five highlights from the (wildest and) longest regular season game in Nationals history

The Nationals, off to baseball’s best start at 14-4, will wake up Monday morning perhaps still tired and puzzled as to how they won Sunday’s wild game over the Twins. The marathon 16-inning contest will be long etched in the memories of Nationals fans because of the memorable moments it produced: Bryce Harper’s game-tying pinch-hit home run […]

Dusty Baker on replay challenges: ‘If you don’t [try], you don’t have a chance’

In the seventh inning of Saturday’s game, Chris Heisey smacked a ground ball to the right side of the infield. First baseman Joe Mauer stopped the ball and flipped it to pitcher Phil Hughes, who covered the bag. Heisey slid head-first into the bag and was ruled out. The play happened so fast it was […]

Max Scherzer, not Joe Ross, to start on Tuesday against Phillies

The Nationals are exercising caution with Joe Ross and skipping his next turn in the rotation, on Tuesday, because of a blister. Thanks to Monday’s off day, Max Scherzer will start on regular rest Tuesday against the Phillies instead, the team announced. He will be followed by Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark, in that order, in […]

Bryce Harper gets first day off of the season

Bryce Harper is out of Sunday’s lineup, a planned day off by Manager Dusty Baker. Until Sunday, Harper was the only National to play every game of the season. Baker staggered days off for players; he gave Daniel Murphy the day off Saturday and he is back in Sunday’s lineup. Michael A. Taylor, who got a day […]

Saturday morning thoughts from Dusty Baker

Around 11 o’clock Saturday morning, Dusty Baker marched into the news conference room at Nationals Park for his daily meeting with the media. With a steaming cup of coffee in hand, he shared thoughts about a variety of subjects, including getting out of the way of inside pitches, not getting out of the way of inside pitches, […]

Chris Heisey leads off as struggling Michael A. Taylor gets a day off

As expected, Manager Dusty Baker gave Daniel Murphy the day off Saturday. Murphy had played every game this season. Bryce Harper is the only other player who has played every game so expect Baker to also give him a day off soon. Baker made one notable change to Saturday’s lineup versus Twins right-hander Phil Hughes: […]

As baseball’s batting average leader, Daniel Murphy is a ‘hitting machine’

Maybe this is rooted in superstition, but when Daniel Murphy talks about hitting and his success at it, he repeats this phrase often — “pitch in the zone I’m looking in and try to get my A swing off” — and doesn’t say much beyond that. Perhaps after seven years in the big leagues, he has […]

Despite slow starts, Nationals have faith in Michael A. Taylor, Danny Espinosa

Three key parts of the Nationals everyday lineup — Jayson Werth, Danny Espinosa and Michael A. Taylor — have gotten off to slow start this season. Werth, who has a longer track record of production, has shown some signs of snapping out of his early funk; he has a .828 OPS over the past week. […]

Jayson Werth returns to lineup Friday against Twins

After Jayson Werth left Wednesday’s win over the Marlins in the fifth inning with left hamstring tightness, Nationals Manager Dusty Baker said the veteran was fine. Werth said the same — literally, “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” Baker said Werth was not even on the injury report he got Thursday, and that Werth was not […]

Anthony Rendon is the Nationals’ pitcher whisperer

Twice when starter Max Scherzer was in a jam on Thursday afternoon in Miami, pitching coach Mike Maddux jogged out from the dugout to the mound to calm him down. Mound visits are common for pitching coaches — and sometimes the manager does it, too, but often only when a pitching change is coming. A few times […]

What’s the secret to Gio Gonzalez’s early success?

Gio Gonzalez believes the last two seasons constitute an aberration. He believes he is a regular 200-inning pitcher, like he was until 2013, not the starter who averaged fewer than six innings per start in 2014 and 2015. High pitch counts doomed him then — falling behind and walking batters. According to FanGraphs, Gonzalez threw first-pitch strikes […]

Drew Storen adjusting to new life with the Blue Jays

BALTIMORE — Until the Blue Jays landed in Toronto ahead of their April 8 home opener, Drew Storen had never been to his new home city. When the Nationals played an interleague series in Toronto in 2012, the former longtime Washington reliever was rehabbing an elbow injury. So on the bus ride after landing in […]

Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman sit and other lineup notes

MIAMI — Hours after he left Wednesday night’s game with tightness in his left hamstring, Jayson Werth’s name was not Thursday’s lineup card — though it was not supposed to be. Nationals Manager Dusty Baker planned a day off for Werth and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman as part of his ongoing effort to keep both healthy, particularly until […]

The Nationals have the best ERA in the majors

MIAMI — Fourteen games into the 2016 season, the Washington Nationals have the best ERA in the majors, 2.06 at the start of play Thursday. Their starters lead baseball with a 1.94 ERA. Their relievers rank fourth with a 2.35 ERA. Asked if there is a common thread, one approach, pitch or something that is […]

Joe Ross leaves Marlins game early with blister after strong start

MIAMI — As Joe Ross stepped to bat in the top of the third inning, right-hander Yusmeiro Petit — the Nationals’ long reliever — began warming up in the bullpen. Ross had worked his way through the Marlins’ lineup successfully, allowing one hit, no runs, a walk and hit batter to his first eight hitters. He […]

Jayson Werth leaves Marlins game in fifth inning

MIAMI — A few innings after Joe Ross left Wednesday’s game early, left fielder Jayson Werth did the same. Werth did not go out to left field for the bottom of the fifth inning, replaced unexpectedly by Chris Heisey. Werth was 1 for 2 with a bloop single and had made two tough plays — […]

Ben Revere showing substantial progress rehabbing oblique strain

MIAMI — Ben Revere ran in the Marlins Park outfield Wednesday afternoon, working around ground balls hit by Marlins’ pitchers during batting practice. Revere, who strained his right oblique on his first swing of the season, was barely able to jog out for introductions at the Nationals home opener a few days later. Running, therefore, represents […]

Joe Ross among N.L.’s early statistical leaders

MIAMI — Technically, Joe Ross is the Nationals‘ fifth starter. Statistically, he is their early-season ace. Through the very small sample of two 2016 starts, Ross ranks third among National League starters with a 0.61 ERA — the product of two starts in which he has thrown 14 2/3 innings and allowed one run. He […]