September 28, 2016

Washington Nationals Game 148 Review: Harper homers again as Nats top Marlins

September 19, 2015 by

Bryce Harper hit his league-leading 41st homer,  a two-run shot in the seventh inning, and Tyler Moore added a solo home run as the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 at Nats Park on Saturday.

With the Mets loss to the Yankees earlier in the day, the Nats are seven games back with 14 to play.

Harper drove in a run a sacrifice fly earlier in the day to up his RBI total to 95. Moore’s homer, his fifth of the season, came in the fifth inning off starter Brad Hand. Moore finished 2 for 3 for the day. [Read more…]

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Washington Nationals Game 147 Review: Nats Beat Marlins on a Sacrifice Fly in Extra Innings

September 19, 2015 by

The Washington Nationals made things interesting on Friday night and ended their night with a 5-4 win  over the Miami Marlins on a sacrifice fly hit by Catcher Jose Lobaton. The fly ball hit by Lobaton sent outfielder Jayson Werth home to score and secure the victory.

Starting pitcher Max Scherzer stayed strong through seven innings pitched despite a minor hiccup of a two-run homer hit by Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich in the first inning. Scherzer threw 104 pitches and 70 strikes while giving up five hits and two runs. He walked two, struck out two, and threw one wild pitch.

The Nats offense caught up with Miami the next inning by scoring a run on a solo homer hit by Clint Robinson off Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez making it 2-1 through two innings played. Fernandez lasted five and two-thirds innings while giving up five hits and two runs to the Nats.

Washington tied it up at 2-2 in the sixth inning when outfielder Bryce Harper scored on a wild pitch thrown by Fernandez but the Marlins pulled ahead 3-2 in the eighth while facing reliever Felipe Rivero.

A throwing error made by second baseman Anthony Rendon with reliever Blake Treinen on the mound in the eighth tied it up 3-3  before the Nats pulled ahead by a  run after in the bottom half of that same inning. Wild pitches thrown by Marlins reliever Jose Urena resulted in movement along the base path for the top of the Nats order. Pinch runner Trea Turner scored on a on a sacrifice fly hit by shortstop Ian Desmond to center field to tie it up and Harper scored on a clutch single hit by outfielder Michael A. Taylor giving the Nats a 4-3 lead.

Miami caught up with the Nats to tie it back in the top of the ninth against closer Jonathan Papelbon, whose been ill the past few days with a fever and wasn’t 100% according to Manager Matt Williams. Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas tied it up by scoring off a sacrifice fly hit by Miami’s lead off man Dee Gordon but the Nats would take the game in the tenth inning on Lobaton’s sacrifice fly off reliever Brian Ellington as redemption.

HERO: Lobaton for the sac fly in the tenth.

GOAT: Papelbon for blowing the save.

NATS NOTES:

  • The Nats are 8-2 in extra innings this season now.

UP NEXT: LHP Justin Nicolino (3-3, 3.81) and the Miami Marlins face RHP Jordan Zimmermann (12-8, 3.51) and the Washington Nationals in Washington, D.C. at 4:05 p.m.

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Washington Nationals Game 146 Review: Nats Fall Short Against Marlins

September 18, 2015 by

The Miami Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 on Thursday night in Washington, D.C. Starting pitcher Tanner Roark lasted five innings against the Marlins while giving up six runs on eight hits — including two home runs — and striking out four batters. Roark threw 80 pitches and 54 strikes.

Miami dug into Roark right away starting with lead off man and second baseman Dee Gordon. Gordon opened the game up with a single before third baseman Martin Prado went long with one out putting the Marlins up 2-0.

Washington tied it up at 2-2 in the second inning  when outfielder Jayson Werth scored on a two-run homer crushed by shortstop Ian Desmond off Marlins starting pitcher Jarred Cosart. The Nats didn’t manage to get another run again until the sixth inning and it was already too late by that point.

The Marlins took a four-run lead in the fifth inning against Roark and the Nats on four hits. Shortstop Miguel Rojas led off the inning with a double before scoring on a sacrifice fly hit by Gordon making it a 3-2 ballgame. A pair of back-to-back singles hit by outfielder Christian Yelich and Prado followed by a three-run homer hit by first baseman Justin Bour was the game’s “decider” moment according to Washington’s Manager Matt Williams with the Marlins up 6-2.

The Nats had an opportunity in the eighth inning to tie up the game but only managed a pair of runs. Washington left the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate while falling to Miami 6-4. Third baseman Anthony Rendon led off the inning with a single off reliever Brian Ellington and moved to scoring position on a single hit by outfielder Bryce Harper off reliever Mike Dunn. A two-out , two-RBI single hit by Desmond off reliever Bryan Morris putting the Nats within reach of the Marlins but it wasn’t enough.

HERO: Desmond for presenting the Nats with a clutch offensive performance. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and a single. Washington only had six hits on Thursday. He had two of them.

GOAT: Roark didn’t get the job done. It’s that simple.

NATS NOTES: 

  • Closer Jonathan Papelbon was unavailable today due to falling ill. He had a fever.
  • The Nats bullpen held the Marlins for four innings tonight. Nobody scored against Doug Fister, Matt Grace, Rafael Martin, and Matt Thornton.

UP NEXT: Jose Fernandez (5-0, 2.06) and the Miami Marlins face Max Scherzer (12-11, 2.91) and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. at 7:05 p.m.

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Washington Nationals Game 140 Review: More of the same as bullpen falters in seventh

September 12, 2015 by

Like a broken record, the Washington Nationals allowed their opponent to score the deciding run in the seventh inning and the Nats fell to the cellar-dwelling Miami Marlins 2-1 in Miami.

Coupled with the New York Mets 5-1 win over Atlanta, the Nats fell 8 1/2 games back in the N.L. East and 11 games back of the wild card with 22 games to play. [Read more…]

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Washington Nationals Game 129 Review: Strasburg Pulled Early, Nats Beat Marlins

August 30, 2015 by

The Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 7-4 on Sunday afternoon despite starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg being pulled after four innings pitched.

Strasburg threw 60 pitches and 43 strikes in four innings while giving up four runs and two home runs on seven hits while striking out three batters. According to the team after the game, Strasburg left with an upper back injury not considered to be serious. [Read more…]

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Washington Nationals Game 128 Review: Zimmermann, Zimmerman lead Nats over Marlins

August 29, 2015 by

THREE HOMERS POWER NATS, EAST LEAD AT 5 1/2

Jordan Zimmermann pitched seven solid innings, Ryan Zimmerman homered and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 5-1 at Nats Park.

Coupled with the New York Mets 3-1 loss to Boston, the Nats cut their deficit in the N.L. East to 5 1/2 games. [Read more…]

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Washington Nationals Game 127 Review: National drop opener to Marlins 4-3

August 28, 2015 by

NIHILISM COMES TO THE NATIONALS CLUBHOUSE, LOSES 4-3.

August is where baseball seasons go to die, and the Nationals’ campaign is all but dead.

Though their elimination is not yet complete, you’d have struggled to find evidence of that Friday night at Nationals Park. The Marlins leapt out to a 4-1 lead off Nationals ace Max Scherzer, and a lackluster injury-depleted lineup could not compete with the 51-77 Miami Marlins, who remain without the service of their mammoth offensive machine, Giancarlo Stanton.

Scherzer completed seven full, surrendering two home runs among the six hits, and striking out eight. The blasts from Marcel Ozuna and Martin Prado were enough to put the Marlins on top for the evening. Though Scherzer would recover to throw four strong innings after giving up the runs, it was enough to doom his outing.

Trea Turner, starting at 2nd base, was a bright light for the Nationals in the field, making a series of nice plays that demonstrated his incredible speed. He left the game in the eighth inning as part of a double switch.

Danny Espinosa started in left field tonight, only moving to 2nd base as part of a double switch in the eighth. Espinosa acquitted himself well in the outfield, including making a long run to retrieve a foul fly ball.

Ian Desmond put the Nationals on the board in the 2nd to tie the game at one, and Wilson Ramos would deliver another blast in the 5th to narrow the lead to 4-2. The Nationals had every chance to take the lead in the sixth inning, as the wheels came right off Marlins starter Adam Conley. A double by Jayson Werth into the bullpen, a single by Anthony Rendon and a Bryce Harper walk loaded the bases with no one out.

Kyle Barraclough came out of the bullpen to face Ryan Zimmerman, who delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3. Ian Desmond struck out swinging, but Espinosa walked to re-load the bases for Wilson Ramos. Despite Ramos’ earlier towering blast, Barraclough came in to attack the zone against the Buffalo, getting him to ground out to end the threat.

Felipe Rivero pitched 1.1 innings of perfect relief, his stellar control on display before the Nationals Park crowd. Blake Treinen finished off the 9th, despite allowing a double and a hit batsman.

The 9th inning saw the Nationals get the tying run to 2nd, but that was all they could muster against A.J. Ramos. Ian Desmond started things off with a single, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Espinosa. Wilson Ramos struck out on a pitch in the dirt. Clint Robinson, batting for the pitcher’s slot, flew out harmlessly to end the threat.

HERO: Ryan Zimmerman gets half a hero for his RBI tonight, but sac flies are pretty terrible.

GOAT: Yes. Every last lily-livered player. There’s no fire out there right now, no passion, just workman-like losses over and over and over again.

NATS NOTES:

  • Per the Nationals and Elias: Ryan Zimmerman has now driven in a run in 12 of his last 13 plate appearances with the bases loaded (dating to July 2014).

NEXT UP: Your next appointment with sadness is tomorrow at 7:05pm. Tom Koehler vs. Jordan Zimmermann. Bring all of the bourbon you can.

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Washington Nationals Game 100 Review: Scherzer shuts down Marlins

July 31, 2015 by

DREW STOREN PERFECT IN EIGHTH, JONATHAN PAPELBON THE SAME IN NINTH FOR FIRST NATS SAVE

Max Scherzer rebounded from his rocky last start to pitch seven shutout innings, Ryan Zimmerman homered for the first time since returning from the disabled list, and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 1-0 on Thursday.

The Nats (54-46) extend their lead in the N.L. East to three games with the Mets loss to San Diego.

Scherzer (W, 11-8, 2.22) allowed just three hits and walked three in his effort, striking out six. He threw 75 of his 109 pitches for strikes, generating nine ground ball outs with just two fly ball outs.

Drew Storen, moved into a set-up role after the acquisition of closer Jonathan Papelbon, struck out two in a hitless eighth inning. Papelbon earned his 18th save of the season — in 18 tries — with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out former Nats Michael Morse for the final out.

Morse was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way trade with Atlanta, then designated for assignment by L.A. before ever getting on a plane.

Miami’s Dan Haren did a good job of limiting the Nats, giving up just four hits in six innings. But two of those were from Zimmerman, who’s 4 for 11 since being activated, and he hit his first homer since May 19 against the Yankees.

The Nats travel to New York to face the Mets in a three-game weekend series. Gio Gonzalez (8-4, 3.83) faces Matt Harvey (9-7, 3.16) on Friday night.

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Washington Nationals Series Preview: Miami Marlins

July 28, 2015 by

The Washington Nationals look to bounce back from a rough series in Pittsburgh as they continue their 10-game road trip with three in Miami.

The Nats (52-45) lost three out of four in Pittsburgh, but face a free-falling team in the Marlins (41-58). Jayson Werth will reportedly rejoin the lineup on Tuesday, as the Nationals enter the series holding a two-game lead in the National League East, with a matchup in New York against the second-place Mets looming this weekend, with newly-acquired reliever Tyler Clippard available in the Mets pen.

The Last Time…

The last time the Nationals and Marlins faced off was in early May. The Nationals took two out of three from Miami in Washington, as the teams came into that series separated by just a half-game in the standings. (The Nationals are now 12 games in front of Miami.) The Marlins swept a three game series in April in Miami.

In The Other Dugout

The good news: The Nationals will not have to face Giancarlo Stanton in this series. Stanton will begin hitting a ball off a tee as he comes back from a wrist injury, but is not expected to rejoin the Marlins anytime soon. Dee Gordon, on the other hand, may be back from the DL during the series — he suffered a thumb injury just before the All-Star break.

The bad news: The Marlins’ young ace Jose Fernandez has been stellar since coming back from Tommy John surgery, and the Nationals will face him in the series opener on Tuesday night.

Matchup To Watch

If Werth returns for the series, his timing couldn’t be much better — he is hitting .346 combined against Tom Koehler and Dan Haren, Wednesday and Thursday’s Marlins starters. He has two homers against Koehler and one against Haren. He’s only 1 for 8 against Jose Fernandez…but that one hit is also a home run.

For the Marlins, Martin Prado is a combined 15-for-33 against Jordan Zimmermann and Max Scherzer.

Probables

Tuesday, 7:10pm: Jordan Zimmermann (8-5, 3.30 ERA) vs. Jose Fernandez (3-0, 2.77 ERA)

Wednesday, 7:10pm: Doug Fister (3-6, 4.50 ERA) vs. Tom Koehler (8-6, 3.16 ERA)

Thursday, 12:10pm: Max Scherzer (10-8, 2.33 ERA) vs. Dan Haren (7-6, 3.51 ERA)

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Washington Nationals Game 28 Review: Strasburg Struggles Due to Shoulder Issue, Marlins Take Advantage

May 6, 2015 by

A previous streak of success against the Miami Marlins didn’t provide much solace for Washington’s right-handed starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night. The Nationals fell to the Marlins 2-1 while Strasburg made an early exit after three innings of work due to discomfort under his right shoulder blade.

Miami took advantage of the opportunity presented to them while Strasburg struggled to settle due to the shoulder irritation. Strasburg’s problems were apparent from the start. Outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna singled and walked with two out in the first inning. Strasburg got out of that situation unscathed but the Marlins found a way to get ahead of the Nats and score.

Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto led off the second inning with a triple hit past shortstop Ian Desmond, off of Strasburg, before scoring on a RBI-single hit by outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. A bunt attempt by Miami’s starting right-handed pitcher Mat Latos with nobody out and two men on base initiated an error made by Strasburg allowing Ichiro to score and giving the Marlins a 2-0 lead.

Washington answered back with a run in the bottom half of the second inning thanks to a  patient yet aggressive offensive appearance at the plate by first baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman led off the second inning  against Latos by drawing a walk in an eleven pitch at-bat. Catcher Wilson Ramos followed Zimmerman with a double off Latos moving Zimmerman to third. Second baseman Dan Uggla drove in the only run with a RBI-groundout sending Zimmerman home, allowing the Nats to score, but Miami’s starting pitching proved superior when compared to Strasburg’s short-lived appearance.

Strasburg’s three innings of work included four hits, two runs, two walks, two strikeouts, and one hit batter. He threw 64 pitches and 37 strikes before being replaced by recent call-up and left-handed reliever Sammy Solis in the fourth inning.

Solis made his second Major League appearance with three innings of work while giving up one hit and striking out two batters. Manager Matt Williams was impressed by the amount of strikes Solis has thrown in his pair of outings with Washington thus far. He has thrown five scoreless innings and retired nine of 10 batters faced, including seven straight.

Unfortunately, Washington’s offense tallied only three hits and left eight men on base while drawing six walks against Miami. The Nats’ bullpen posted six spotless innings of work thanks to right-handed relievers Blake Treinen and Aaron Barrett and left-handed reliever Matt Thornton — in addition to Solis, but the lack of offensive productivity left the Nats a run behind; Marlins 2, Nats 1.

HERO: The bullpen for preventing the Marlins from scoring any more runs from the fourth inning onward and Ryan Zimmerman for showing patience in his first at-bat of night, ultimately allowing the Nats to score their sole run.

GOAT: Stephen Strasburg. He’ll be getting his shoulder looked at on Thursday. The silver lining here is that there was mutual acknowledgement from Strasburg and the coaching staff indicating that the best choice for the starter’s health and the team as a whole was to remove him from the game shortly after identifying the issue. Washington made the right move taking him out in order to play it safe and not have him alter his mechanics.

NATS NOTES:

  • Nationals Manager Matt Williams said it seemed unlikely that Strasburg’s shoulder strain will warrant a trip to the disabled list but his condition will be reviewed on Wednesday.
  • Doug Fister had a solid pinch hit at-bat when he hit in Strasburg’s place during the third inning. He had a hard-hit single drop in the outfield but was called out due to a double play induced by outfielder Denard Span. Great piece of hitting though.

UP NEXT: RHP Tom Koehler (2-2, 4.67) and the Miami Marlins face RHP Max Scherzer (1-3, 1.26) and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park at 1:05 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

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