Comprehensive coverage of Washington, D.C. sports by local writers
Denard Span beat out an infield single, allowing Tyler Moore to scored from third in the 11th inning, lifting the Washington Nationals to a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
The Nats (31-28) snap a three-game losing streak and momentarily tie the New York Mets for first in the N.L. East depending on the result of the Mets late game. [Read more…]
Brian McCann had a two-RBI single in the seventh, and Masahiro Tanaka gave up one earned run in seven innings pitched as the New York Yankees beat the Washington Nationals 6-1 in the Bronx on Tuesday night.
When the Nationals and Yankees last met less than a month ago the Yankees were sliding and the Nationals were hot…and they meet again, this time in New York, with quite the opposite being true.
The Yankees (32-25) haven’t lost since the calendar turned to June – they face Washington riding a six game winning streak after sweeps in Seattle and against the Angels last week, which helped them reclaim first place in a tight American League East.
The Nationals (30-27) have struggled in June, following the three straight losses in Cincinnati that closed out May. Washington lost three of the four games against Chicago last weekend, and the Nats are 2-5 so far this month. The Mets didn’t have a great week, going just 3-4, but it was good enough that when the Nationals open up their short two game series with the Yankees Tuesday night, the Mets will play the Giants at Citi Field across town up a half-game in the National League East.
*The Last Time…
The Nationals played the Yankees for two games in Washington in May, with the Nats taking both games, but it wasn’t easy. In the first game they fought their way back from a 6-2 deficit, with Ryan Zimmerman providing the walk-off win by tagging Andrew Miller for the first runs he’d given up all season. Game two was a more conventional, though equally tight, 3-2 Nationals win.
*In The Other Dugout
On Tuesday night Masahiro Tanaka will be making just his sixth start of the season – and second back from the disabled list – when he takes the mound against the Nationals. Tanaka made four starts in April, then missed the last week of April and all of May with a forearm strain. This came after he bypassed surgery, instead resting, an arm injury at the end of last season. Tanaka started on June 3rd in Seattle, going seven innings, giving up just one run on three hits and striking out nine while walking none.
*Matchup To Watch
Mark Teixeira has 17 home runs and 45 RBI already this season – one of those home runs came off Gio Gonzalez last month. In his career Teixeira is 6 for 18 with 2 homers against Gonzalez. For their part, the Nationals are familiar with Gonzalez’s counterpart Wednesday afternoon, Nathan Eovaldi, from his time with the Marlins. Ryan Zimmerman is 3 for 10 against Eovaldi, but two of his three hits were home runs.
*Probables
Tuesday, 7:05pm: Max Scherzer (6-4, 1.85 ERA) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (3-1, 2.76 ERA)
Wednesday, 1:05pm: Gio Gonzalez (4-3, 4.57 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (5-1, 4.16 ERA)
ZIMMERMAN JOINS IMMORTALS MUSIAL, PEREZ, SCHMIDT, PUJOLS AND BONDS WITH 10-PLUS WALK-OFFS
The Washington Nationals and New York Yankees held the same record of 22-17 going into Tuesday night’s game at Nationals Park. But after ten innings of baseball played in the nation’s capital, the Nats emerged victorious beating the Yankees 8-6 thanks to a two-out, two-run walk-off home run hit by Mr. Walk-off himself — first baseman Ryan Zimmerman — against left-handed reliever Andrew Miller.
Offense is what kept the Nats in the game despite a shaky starting appearance made by left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez. The Nats got a jump start with home runs hit by shortstop Ian Desmond and outfielder Bryce Harper off right-handed starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi in the first inning making it a 2-0 game in favor of Washington. [Read more…]
After seven straight games out west (and ten straight games overall), the Washington Nationals (22-17) will play just eight games in eleven days, beginning with a short two game series with the Yankees (22-17).
The Nats won five out of seven on the road against the Diamondbacks and Padres. They’ve picked up four games on the Mets in the standings over the past ten games. As for their upcoming opponent, not many people expected the Yankees to be in first place in the American League East this deep into May, but their hot start has them a game in front of Tampa Bay. The Nationals might be catching them at the right time though — the Yankees have lost five of their last six games. They are 2-5 on a road trip that ends with these two games in Washington.
The Last Time…
The Nationals haven’t played the Yankees since June of 2012, when the Yankees swept a three-game series in Washington.
In The Other Dugout
He’s done everything right, said all the right things, and has played well to boot. Could we possibly be talking about Alex Rodriguez? A-Rod is hitting just .250, but he has 10 home runs and 22 RBI to help lead the Yankees’ offensive attack. Rodriguez is just six RBI from leaping Lou Gehrig and Barry Bonds on the all-time RBI list.
Matchup To Watch
Ryan Zimmerman is 3 for 8 career against Nathan Eovaldi, and two of those three hits are home runs.
Probables
Tuesday, 7:05pm: Nathan Eovaldi (3-1, 4.14 ERA) vs. Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.25 ERA)
Wednesday, 7:05pm: Adam Warren (2-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. A.J. Cole (0-0, 7.20 ERA)
WASHINGTON — In the final tuneup before Monday’s Opening Day, Doug Fister turned in a typical outing, but the Washington Nationals fell to the New York Yankees 4-3 at Nationals Park.
The Nats jumped all over Yankees Nate Eovaldi in the first inning. Michael Taylor led off with a single and went to third when Yunel Escobar singled through the hole at second asTaylor was running on the pitch. Bryce Harper walked, and Ryan Zimmerman’s fly to medium left field brought home Taylor and moved everyone up, including Harper taking a hyper-aggressive advance to second base.
Wilson Ramos followed with a single up the middle, scoring both runners.
Meanwhile, Fister cruised through the first three innings, facing just nine batters. He hit a batter and gave up a single in the fourth, but got through unscathed.
He wasn’t as lucky in the fifth, as a leadoff double the other way by Brian McCann and two-out homer from Stephen Drew made it a one-run game.
Fister went six innings total, allowing two earned runs on four hits, walked none, and struck out three.
Speaking of unlucky, in the eighth, Drew Storen came on for his first appearance in a week since suffering a blister on his foot. He got a popup for the first out and a routine fly which should have been out No. 2. But Matt den Dekker lost the ball in the sun in center field and it fell for a double.
So of course, the next batter, Chris Young, ripped a line drive through the teeth of a 20 MPH wind coming in from left just over the wall, and the Nats trailed 4-3. Storen left after 20 pitches and Rich Hill came in and struck out the next two batters, but the damage was done.
The Washington Nationals have reportedly acquired left-handed reliever Matt Thornton off a waiver claim from the New York Yankees, according to CBSSports.com writer Jon Heyman.
In 24.2 innings pitched this season, Thornton has held a 2.55 ERA and recorded 20 strike outs. Most importantly, he has posted solid numbers against left-handed hitters. This season, he has held left-handed batters to a .250/.306/.250 slash line through 64 plate appearances and, all-time, he has held left-handed batters to a .234/.297/.345 line.
The 37-year-old is set to earn $3.5 million in 2015, per his current contract.
Although the MLB non-waiver trade deadline has passed, teams can acquire players through the waiver wire.
After tossing a 1-2-3 first inning, Ross Detwiler gave up all the runs the New York Yankees needed in the second inning of the Washington Nationals’ 4-2 loss at George M. Steinbrenner Field Monday afternoon.
Detwiler retired Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter and Brian McCann in order in the first but gave up back-to-back singles to Brian Roberts and Francisco Cervelli in the second inning. It quickly became evident that Detwiler struggled with location, as several of his fastballs fell away from his inside targets.
The poor fortune continued when Kelly Johnson doubled in Roberts before Ichiro Suzuki reached on a throwing error by Nats’ shortstop Zach Walters. On the play, both Cervelli and Johnson scored to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead before an out was recorded.
Then, Zoilo Almonte hit a ground-rule double on a fly ball down the right-field line and soon after, Corban Joseph singled on a grounder that plated Suzuki.
Despite his struggles, Detwiler had no issues facing New York lead-off man, Gardner, as he struck him out a second time before the Nats called upon a replacement.
Detwiler finished his Grapefruit League debut in just 1 ⅓ innings of work, during which he allowed four runs, three earned, over five hits.
Left-hander Danny Rosenbaum stopped the bleeding, by simply forcing Yankee captain Jeter to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Tanner Roark took the mound for two uneventful innings, during which he allowed just two hits.
In fact, the Nationals’ relief corp prevented the Yankees from tacking on additional runs, from Xavier Cedeno and Christian Garcia to Aaron Barrett and Manny Delcarmen.
In the top of the fifth, the Nationals finally put a run on a board, via a home run by the red-hot Zach Walters. Walters is now 6-for-7 with two doubles, a triple and the solo home run this spring.
The Nats tacked on a second run in the sixth after Eury Perez and Denard Span led off with back-to-back singles. Danny Espinosa then reached on a fielding error by Jeter, which allowed Perez to score Washington’s second run.
CHIEFS OFFER BUS TRIP TO YANKEES/NATIONALS EXHIBITION IN D.C.
See Major Leaguers in action before the season starts
Syracuse, NY—The Syracuse Chiefs, Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, announce a fan bus trip to Washington, D.C. on Friday, March 29th to see the Chiefs’ parent club, the Washington Nationals, take on the New York Yankees. The game will be held at Nationals Park and is scheduled for a 2:05 P.M. first pitch.
The bus will leave Alliance Bank Stadium at 6 A.M. and is slated to arrive at Nationals Park at approximately 1 P.M. The bus will return to the home of the Chiefs after the game. The trip includes a game ticket, bus fare, snacks and a Syracuse Chiefs winter hat. The trip costs $150 per person.
Join other Chiefs fans in cheering on former Syracuse players in their final tune-up for the regular season. For more information about the trip, contact Desiree Ellison at desiree@syracusechiefs.com or 315-474-7833.
Former Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson filed his MLB retirement papers today at only age 34 according to several sources.
Nick Johnson was drafted by the New York Yankees in the third round of the 1996 amateur draft and made his major league debut on August 21, 2001 at only age 22. Johnson was traded by the Yankees to Montreal Expos with Randy Choate and Juan Rivera for Javier Vazquez.
Johnson joined the Nationals when the Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and #24 quickly became a fan favorite. In fact, there were still several Johnson jerseys worn at Nationals Park in 2012. Johnson was traded by the Nats to the then Florida Marlins after the all-star break in 2009 for Aaron Thompson.
Unfortunately, after the terrible collision in right field with outfielder Austin Kearns at Shea Stadium on Sept. 26, 2006 that left Johnson with a broken femur, Johnson could never quite get healthy again. After a half season with Marlins, Johnson bounced around from the Yankees to Indians and played last year with the Baltimore Orioles.
He only played 233 games in the big leagues after the 2006 injury, however, the guy could get on base. Since 2001, Nick Johnson has 10th best OBP (.399) among players with 3,000 plate appearances.
Some of the media poked fun of Johnson’s injury history and Sabremetricians hero.
Nick Johnson announced his retirement. In a related story, your health insurance premiums just went down.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) January 28, 2013
Nick johnson retires. And sabremetricians everywhere weep
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 28, 2013
Former National 1B Nick Johnson at Nats Park, 5/4/2008 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)
Former National 1B Nick Johnson at Nats Park, 6/4/2009 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)
Former National 1B Nick Johnson at Nats Park, 5/21/2009 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)
Former National 1B Nick Johnson sliding back for first base, 4/17/2009 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)
Former National 1B Nick Johnson sporting a beard, 4/17/2009 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)