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STATS Writer Philadelphia's Ryan Howard hasn't been able to carry his record-setting home run performance of spring training into the regular season - while his predecessor continues to put on a display of power for his new team. After finally hitting his second homer in 2006, Howard looks to begin adding to his total as the Phillies take on the Washington Nationals in the opener of a 10-game homestand Tuesday. |
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If anyone was beginning to believe Ryan Church wasn't ready to return to the big leagues, he sure changed their minds Sunday afternoon. Church clubbed a pair of two-run homers to lead the Nationals to a dramatic, 7-5 win over the Marlins, a remarkable series of events considering his immense struggles at the plate prior to that. |
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Washington right-hander Ryan Drese will not need surgery and is expected to miss four to six weeks with a right elbow injury. Drese has a flexor tendon strain in the elbow, according to an MRI exam during a visit to Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles, the Nationals said Monday. Drese, 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA, left Friday's game at Florida with a sore right elbow and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He began the season on the DL after having right shoulder surgery in the fall. |
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STATS Senior Editor For the Washington Nationals, getting revenge against the New York Mets no longer can be a top concern. Just beating them is. The Nationals hope to avoid a fourth consecutive loss to their NL East rivals and fifth straight overall on Thursday in the finale of their series with a team off to its best start in 21 years. The focus of this three-game set had been the animosity between the clubs, particularly Jose Guillen's disdain for Pedro Martinez. |
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Tony Armas Jr. surrendered just two runs in six innings on Wednesday, but the Nationals managed just one run off Pedro Martinez, falling to the Mets at RFK Stadium, 3-1. |
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Nationals manager Frank Robinson said that he did not need to talk to outfielder Jose Guillen about how he should handle himself against Mets right-hander Pedro Martinez on Wednesday night. But Jose Rijo and Jose Cardenal didn't take any chances. |
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Nationals leadoff hitter Brandon Watson, who has yet to score a run this season, acknowledges that he's not being productive at the plate. The outfielder knows, however, that the key to busting out of his slump is simply relaxing. |
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Well, at least Vice President Dick Cheney didn't misfire on the first pitch - much. The Nationals home opener lacked the excitement of last year's home opener and the team didn't turn things around, losing to the Mets 7-1. |
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As the Nationals began their second season in Washington, their fans came out to RFK Stadium for another Opening Day just as excited as they were for the first one a year ago. From a festival outside the stadium to the first pitch by the Vice President, there was a draw for everyone. |
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Washington's second home opener had a decidedly different feel to it from last year's first game, and nothing was more noticable than the outcome as the Nationals lost, 7-1, to the Mets on Tuesday. |
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As the Nationals face the Mets after last week's charged series in New York, Washington manager Frank Robinson says his pitchers won't change how they attack opposing hitters. |
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Alfonso Soriano's play in the outfield continues to be a work in progress. His offense, however, is right on schedule. Soriano misplayed a ball in the first inning that led to an Astros run, but he was 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and three runs scored to help the Washington Nationals beat Houston 13-6 on Sunday. |
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Congress could hold hearings on the impasse preventing the Washington area's largest cable provider from carrying Washington Nationals games, Rep. Tom Davis said Sunday. |
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Jason Marquis warmed up for the regular season, on the mound and at the plate. The best hitter by far among the St. Louis Cardinals' pitchers, Marquis connected off Pedro Astacio for hit his first home run of the spring in a 7-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday. Marquis allowed three hits in six scoreless innings, struck out six and walked two, fanning five of his last six batters. He's got one exhibition start remaining to get ready for the regular season. |
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Outfielder Ryan Church was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans on Tuesday by the Washington Nationals, meaning rookie Brandon Watson and Marlon Byrd will share time in center field. "Shocked. Only word I can say. That's it: shocked," said Church, who was chosen the NL rookie of the month in May last season but later lost time to injuries. |
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One week before Opening Day, the Nationals' No. 3 starter doesn't look as if he's in regular-season form. Pedro Astacio, slated to start Washington's third game of the season, was roughed up again Monday against the Cardinals, giving up seven runs on 10 hits in five innings. Astacio, signed after camp started to help compensate for the loss of starter Brian Lawrence to a shoulder injury, has now given up 14 earned runs in 12 innings this spring. |
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--INF Damian Jackson made his first start of the spring at third base Monday, giving 3B Ryan Zimmerman a rare day off. Manager Frank Robinson wants to see if Jackson is capable of backing up Zimmerman all season. There aren't any natural third basemen projected to make Washington's bench at the moment. --OF Jose Guillen wants to sign a long-term contract extension with the Nationals before the start of the season, but so far the two sides are far apart. Guillen, who hit . |
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For the second straight spring, the trajectory of Washington Nationals outfielder Ryan Church's major league career was affected by a surprising roster move on the Tuesday before opening day. This time around, Church was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans, meaning rookie Brandon Watson and Marlon Byrd will share time in center field. |
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It was an eventful and not always positive spring for the Nationals. Several key players were lost for the season because of injuries (Brian Lawrence, Luis Ayala, Cristian Guzman), several others were set back by their time away from camp in the World Baseball Classic and then Alfonso Soriano created a major distraction with his brief refusal to play left field. As camp wound down, though, things seemed to be getting back on track. |
The Washington Nationals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the National League's Eastern Division, and currently play at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The team is expected to move into a new ballpark, located in Southeast D.C. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol building, in the spring of 2008.
Prior to the 2005 season, the Nationals played in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as the Montreal Expos. The team's relocation was the first in Major League Baseball since 1972, when the Washington Senators moved to Texas, becoming the Texas Rangers. The franchise has been owned by Major League Baseball since 2002, and - although Major League Baseball promised to select a new owner by the end of 2005 - as the year drew to a close, no announcement was forthcoming.