Category: Washington Nationals (Current Franchise)

Washington Nationals (Current Franchise)

Espinosa provides this year’s fireworks in Washington

Friday’s post-game fireworks were canceled due to extra innings, and rain might well wash out many of the Washington area’s July 4 pyrotechnics this year, but Danny Espinosa has been making the Nationals’ offense explode for the past few weeks. It’s hard to say whether the Nats’ shortstop is the most productive No. 8 hitter …

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With skid over, Nats can focus on winning habits

It’s too early to say whether Tanner Roark’s guile and Jayson Werth’s guts actually saved the Nationals’ 2016 season. But when they look back it all, their June 26 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers may be seen as an epiphany. For now, at least, the bleeding has stopped. In just a week’s time, the Nationals …

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Nats deserve serious All-Star consideration

Time is running out to cast All-Star ballots, and for the first time in several years, more than one member of the Nationals deserves consideration for a starting spot. The National League team has included two Nats in each of the last three seasons, as well as in 2005, the Nats’ first season in Washington. …

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Streaks to remember: Stras and the Big Train

Stephen Strasburg has been in great company while streaking through this season, blowing past franchise marks for consecutive victories set by Pedro Martinez, Dennis Martinez and Livan Hernandez, and matching Jake Arietta for the major league lead in wins. If that’s not enough, the Nationals star now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with arguably the greatest pitcher of …

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Lots of positives in disappointing series for Nats

So the Nationals just lost two out of three to the second-worst team in the National League, allowing 22 runs 31 hits and seven home runs to the 21-36 Reds. Let’s dwell on the positive, though, shall we? Despite the pitching staff getting spanked by one of the league’s top hitting teams, the struggling offense …

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Strasburg’s better (No, really, he is)!

So where are the Stephen Strasburg trolls now? A year ago, they were out in force, but a guy who was once seen by some as a first-round bust seems to have quieted them, maybe for good. Remember last year, when Strasburg was lifted from a game in Cincinnati after just batter into the second …

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Remembering Tom Cheney, who deserved better

Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout performance against the Detroit Tigers was certainly one for the ages, the highlight of one of the most remarkable weeks in the history of the Washington Nationals. But Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, whose contract extension was a key part of that week, owe a debt of gratitude to a man who might …

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Nats aren’t as far behind Cubs as they seem

The old adage goes that good baseball teams play .500 on the road and have a winning record at home. Still, Nationals fans can’t help but have a bad taste in their mouths after dropping the last four games of a 5-5 road trip to the Chicago Cubs. It seems the Cubs have been edging …

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Ross, Nats pitchers show there’s no need for a DH

When the Nationals visit the Kansas City Royals tonight, manager Dusty Baker will pencil a designated hitter into his lineup for the first time this season. But even playing in an American League park, Baker might actually think twice before he does so. Most Nationals fans could sense that Joe Ross was done for the …

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Is this fun enough for you?

The Nationals have a new slogan this season, and it’s probably not the one the marketing team envisioned. Instead of the “One Pursuit” tagline the team rolled out for the 2016 season, what seems to have caught on with the fans is Bryce Harper’s seemingly impromptu “Make Baseball Fun Again.” Spawned in the the wake …

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