Washington Nationals 2017 Season Thread

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Hello, and welcome to the Washington Nationals 2017 season thread! The Nationals start the 2017 season at home on Monday, April 3rd with a game start time of 1:05PM Eastern against the Miami Marlins. Currently there is a threat of rain later in the afternoon, however that is always subject to change.

After Monday's game, there is an off day and then Miami will complete a 3 game set on Wednesday the 5th and Thursday the 6th. Then Washington heads up the road for a weekend set with the division rival Phillies.

Play Ball!!!

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Washington Nationals 25 man roster to start the 2017 season

Just released earlier today (April 2nd), here's the Nationals 25 man starting roster courtesy of the Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN):

Washington Nationals 25 man starting roster for 2017

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Opening Day! Washington Nationals 4, Miami Marlins 2

The Washington Nationals and Stephen Strasburg pick up their first win of the season with a 4-2 defeat of the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. This is just the 5th Opening Day win for the Nationals in 13 tries since the franchise began play here in 2005.

Already noted, Strasburg picks up his first win of the season, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings pitched with new Washington closer Blake Treinen getting his first save of the season. Washington would send a total of 3 hurlers to the mound, while Miami used 4 pitchers. Starter Edinson Volquez worked 5 innings, giving up just 4 hits and walking 1 while striking out 6. Miami's David Phelps is charged with the loss, surrendering 3 runs on 3 hits including 2 home runs.

In the extra base derby, Miami got doubles from J. T. Realmuto and Giancarlo Stanton while the Nationals benefitted from doubles by Trea Turner and Adam Eaton and home runs from Bryce Harper and Adam Lind. Lind's 2 run, pinch hit shot in the 7th with 2 outs put the Nationals in the lead for the first time in the game. It is worth noting that Harper now has 5 Opening Day home runs in his career.

The final line: Washington 4 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors, Miami 2 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors.

Next game: Wednesday, April 5th in Washington, game start 7:05PM Eastern.

Nationals record: 1 Win, 0 losses :o

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Wednesday, April 5th Nationals 6, Marlins 4

The Washington Nationals take game 2 of their season opening home stand by defeating the Miami Marlins by the score of 6 to 4.

Washington's Tanner Roark picks up the win, pitching 6 innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs while striking out 6. Washington would use 5 pitchers in the contest with Blake Treinen picking up his second save.

For the Marlins, Dan Straily is charged with the loss after giving up 6 hits and 5 runs in 3.1 innings. Miami would also send 5 pitchers to the mound.

Extra base hits for Miami came in the form of a double from Tyler Moore and a 2 run homer from J. T. Realmuto. Washington would counter with doubles from Adam Eaton, who performed the feat twice, Bryce Harper and Matt Weiters. Ryan Zimmerman stroked his first homer of the year with 1 on.

Each team pulled off one double play.

The final line: Nationals 6 runs, 11 hits, 0 errors Miami 4 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors

Next game: Thursday, April 6th vs. Miami in Washington, game time 4:05PM Eastern. (Note that the storms that are currently wreaking havoc in the south are headed in this direction making the ability to play Thursday's game questionable.)

Nationals record: 2 wins, 0 losses :applaud:

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Thursday, April 6th Marlins 4, Nationals 3 (10 innings)

The Washington Nationals suffer their first defeat in this young season in an extra inning affair that would start late due to rain and then be delayed again as a second round of storms passed through the Washington area. Both teams would use 6 pitchers with neither starter figuring in the decision. The game started 1 hour, 20 minutes late with a second rain delay lasting 63 minutes in the middle of the 6th inning.

For Miami, starter Tom Koehler would work 5 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 run while walking 3 and striking out 4. David Phelps would pick up the win for the Marlins and AJ Ramos would be awarded the save. Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez worked 6 innings giving up 7 hits, but no runs while walking 1 and striking out 7. Both Shawn Kelley and Blake Trenien are charged with blown saves h while Joe Blanton is charged with the loss.

All three Nationals runs came from solo home runs by Adam Eaton, Ryan Zimmerman (Zimmerman would also double) and Jayson Werth however the Nats inability to score with men on base was the deciding factor. Washington would strand a total of 10 runners.

For Miami, Justin Bour doubled and J. T. Realmuto stroked a 2 run homer. Miami left 9 men on base.

The final line: Miami 4 runs, 14 hits, 0 errors, Washington 3 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors.

Next game: Friday, April 7th vs. the Phillies in Philadelphia, game time 3:05PM Eastern

Nationals record: 2 wins, 1 loss

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Friday, April 7th Washington Nationals 7, Philadelphia Phillies 6

The Washington Nationals win their first road game of the young season by jumping out to 7-0 lead in the first 5 innings, then have to hold on as the bullpen surrenders 5 runs (One charged to Max Scherzer) to escape with a 7-6 victory.

Washington starter Scherzer would work 6.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 7. The Nationals would use 5 pitchers with Blake Treinen picking up his 3rd save in 4 tries despite giving up 2 hits and 2 runs in just 1 inning of work. For Philadelphia starter Vince Velasquez is tagged with the loss, working 4 innings, giving up 5 hits and 4 runs while walking 3. He was impressive however by striking out 10. The Phillies also sent a total of 5 pitchers to the mound.

Despite the cold temperatures and a strong wind there was plenty of offense - Washington benefitted from doubles by Daniel Murphy and Matt Wieters and home runs from Bryce Harper, Murphy and Jayson Werth. Werth's 3 run shot in the top of the 5th would prove to be the difference in the game. Philadelphia came through with doubles from Cesar Hernandez, Freddy Galvis and Howie Kendrick and homers from Aaron Altherr and Galvis whose 2 run shot brought the Phillies within 1 run in the bottom of the 9th.

The Phillies turned 3 double plays.

The final line: Washington 7 runs, 11 hits, 0 errors, Philadelphia 6 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors.

Next game: Saturday, April 8th in Philadelphia, game start 7:05PM Eastern

Nationals record: 3 wins, 1 loss

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Saturday, April 8th Phillies 17, Nationals 3

The weather in Philadelphia Saturday evening was much more conducive for baseball and the Phillies respond by crushing the Nationals 17-3. h

The game was over in the bottom half of the first inning. :disbelief: Washington starter Jeremy Guthrie was tagged, more appropriately body slammed, with the loss after giving up 6 hits and 10 runs while walking 4 in the first .2 inning. He'd be relieved by Enny Romero who would give up another 2 runs in one third of an inning before Washington left the field at the end of the first, behind 10-0. Romero would give up another run in the 2nd. Joe Blanton looked good in 3 innings of work, not surrendering any hits or runs but Oliver Perez would give up another 3 in two innings and Shawn Kelley would also allow one run.

Compounding the misery, Washington would commit their first 2 errors of the season. :dismay:

For Philadelphia, starter Aaron Nola picks up the win hurling 6 innings, giving up 7 hits and 3 runs while walking 2 and striking out 7. The Phillies used 3 pitchers in the game.

Offense, as you might suspect, was pretty much all Philadelphia, looking more like batting practice than an actual game. The Phils got 3 doubles from César Hernández, Maikel Franco and Michael Saunders, 3 triples from Hernandez, Howie Kendrick and Saunders and 2 home runs from Cameron Rupp and Andres Blanco. Washington was only able to muster one double from the bat of Daniel Murphy.

The final line: Phillies 17 runs, 15 hits, 0 errors, Nationals 3 runs, 10 hits, 2 errors

Next game: Palm Sunday, April 9th in Philadelphia, game time 1:35PM

Nationals record: 3 wins, 2 losses

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Sunday, April 9th Phillies 4, Nationals 3

What a disappointment! The Washington Nationals, down 3-0 in the 9th inning, stage a dramatic comeback with a 3 run, pinch hit homer by Ryan Zimmerman only to see that effort wasted when the Phillies fight back with another run to win the game in the bottom half of the inning. :choke:

Stephen Strasburg started for Washington, working 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 3 runs while walking 3 and striking out 8. Sammy Solis held the Phils in the 8th however Koda Glover is charged with the loss after giving up 2 hits and a walk, the game ending on a walk off RBI single by Cesar Hernandez. h

The Phillies used 5 pitchers in the game. Starter Jeremy Hellickson worked 5 impressive innings giving up just 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 2. Closer Genmar Gomez is awarded the win despite surrendering Zimmerman's 3 run shot thanks to Hernandez' game ending hit.

In the extra base department, the Nationals got doubles from Adam Lind and Matt Weiters and Zimmerman's homer while the Phillies saw Howie Kendrick and Andrew Knapp both double.

The final line: Phillies 4 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors, Nationals 3 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors

Next game: Monday, April 10th in Washington vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, game time 7:05PM Eastern (This is the start of a 6 game home stand with St. Louis and Philadelphia coming to Washington.)

Nationals record: 3 wins, 3 losses

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Monday, April 10th Washington 14, St. Louis 6

The St. Louis Cardinals come east for a 3 game series in Washington and drop the opener by a score of 14-6. The Nationals struggle in the field, committing 4 errors but make up for that shortcoming by rapping out 19 hits including 4 for extra bases.

Both starting pitchers would figure in tonight's decision. Washington's Tanner Roark would be awarded the win, his record now 2-0, by pitching 5 innings, giving up 7 hits and 5 runs (2 unearned) while striking out 3. The Nationals used 4 pitchers. The Cardinals Adam Wainwright is charged with the loss after working 4 innings, giving up 11 hits and 6 runs (1 unearned) while striking out 3 and walking 2. The Cardinals would send a total of 6 pitchers to the mound.

Despite all of the runs scored there weren't a lot of extra base fireworks. The Cardinals got a double from Kolten Wong and a round tripper from Jedd Gyorko. The Nationals would counter with doubles from Stephen Drew, Adam Eaton, Adam Lind and Ryan Zimmerman.

The Nationals managed to pull off 2 double plays, the Cardinals 1.

The final line: Washington 14 runs, 19 hits, 4 errors, St. Louis 6 runs, 10 hits, 1 error

Next game: Tuesday, April 11th, St. Louis in Washington, game time 7:05PM Eastern

Nationals record: 4 wins, 3 losses

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Tuesday, April 11th Nationals 8, Cardinals 3

The Washington Nationals make it 2 in a row over visiting St. Louis with an 8-3 victory on Tuesday night.

Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez picks up the win, working 7 innings, giving up 7 hits and 1 run while striking out 6 and walking 1. The Nationals used 3 pitchers in the game. For St. Louis, starter Lance Lyn is charged with the loss, giving up 5 hits and 6 runs (4 earned) while striking out 4 and walking 4. The Cardinals would also send 3 pitchers to the mound.

In the extra base department, the Cardinals got a double from Dexter Fowler and home runs from Aledmys Diaz and Randall Grichuk while the Nationals countered with doubles from Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Matt Weiters and round trippers from Murphy, Jayson Werth and Weiters.

There was just one double play in the game, executed by the Nationals.

The final line: Nationals 8 runs, 11 hits, 1 error, Cardinals 3 runs, 7 hits, 2 errors

Next game: Wednesday, April 12th, Cardinals vs Nationals in Washington, game time 4:05PM Eastern

Nationals record: 5 wins, 3 losses

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Wednesday, April 12th Cardinals 6, Nationals 1

After scoring 22 runs in the previous 2 games, the St. Louis Cardinals cool off the Nationals bats by holding them to 1 run in the final game of the 3 game set. Curiously both St. Louis and Washington are both credited with 8 hits, however the Cardinals made theirs count.

St. Louis starter Mike Leake works 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and no runs while striking out 7 and not walking any. The Cardinals would use 5 pitchers, 3 in the bottom of the 8th inning. For the Nationals, Max Scherzer is stung with the loss, working 6 innings, giving up 4 hits, 3 runs (Just 1 earned) and 2 walks while striking out 10. A rather strange 5th inning would see St. Louis load the bases without a hit (Error, hit by pitch, walk) and eventually score twice in the frame on just 1 hit. The Cardinals would also benefit from a Stephen Piscotty home run with 2 aboard in the top of the 9th. The Nationals sent a grand total of 6 pitchers to the mound.

Extra base hits were few - Stephen Piscotty doubled and homered for the Cardinals while the Nationals got doubles from Adam Eaton and Ryan Zimmerman.

There were no double plays in the game.

The final line: St. Louis 6 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors, Washington 1 run, 8 hits, 2 errors.

Next game: Good Friday, April 14th vs the Philadelphia Phillies in Washington, game time 1:05PM.

Nationals record: 5 wins, 4 losses

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Friday, April 14th Washington Nationals 3, Philadelphia Phillies 2 (10 innings)

Washington's Daniel Murphy is the hero, appropriately on Daniel Murphy Bobblehead Day, stroking a game winning RBI double in the bottom of the 10th inning, defeating Philadelphia by a score of 3-2.

Neither starter figured in today's decision - Philadelphia's Aaron Nola worked 5 innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 run while striking out 6 and not issuing any walks. The Phillies would use 5 pitchers with Jeanmar Gomez being charged with the loss. For Washington, Stephen Strasburg would last 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs while walking 2 and striking out 8. Washington sent 4 pitchers to the mound with Shawn Kelley picking up the win in relief.

The Phils got doubles from Howie Kendrick and Cameron Rupp and a home run from Tommy Joseph while the Nationals countered with doubles from Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman, capped off by Murphy's game winner.

Philadelphia executed 1 double play, Washington 2.

The final line: Washington 3 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors, Philadelphia 2 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors

Next game: Saturday, April 15th, game time 1:00PM Eastern

Nationals record: 6 wins, 4 losses

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Saturday, April 15th Phillies 4, Nationals 2

A disappointing outcome on Jackie Robinson Day at Nationals Park as the Phillies hand their hosts a 4-2 loss. (I do have to admit that the 4-2 score when everyone was wearing the number 42 in honor of Robinson is rather ironic.)

Philadelphia starter Jeremy Hellickson picks up the win, working 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs while walking 1 and striking out 2. The Phillies sent 3 pitchers to the mound with Joaquin Benoit picking up his first save of the season. For the Nationals, starter Tanner Roark's line was almost identical to Hellickson's. He'd work 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 3 with no walks allowed. Joe Blanton is charged with the loss after putting a runner on base when he was hit by a pitch and then surrendering a 2 run home run. Washington would also send 3 pitchers to the mound.

In the extra base department, the Phillies got a double from Odubel Herrera and the 8th inning 2 run homer from Cesar Hernandez that proved to be the game winner. The Nationals got a double from Tanner Roark and a home run from Chris Heisey, his first of the season.

The Nationals pulled off one double play in the game.

The final line: Phillies 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, Nationals 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors

Next game: Easter Sunday, April 16th, game time 1:35PM

Nationals record: 6 wins, 5 losses

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Sunday, April 16th Nationals 6, Phillies 4

With the Nationals down 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th, Bryce Harper's second home run of the game, this time with 2 aboard, lifts the Nationals and their shaky bull pen to a 6-4 Easter Sunday victory. :applaud:

The Nationals' Gio Gonzalez worked 7.1 innings, giving up 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) while walking 3 and striking out 2. The Nationals used 4 pitchers with Shawn Kelley picking up the win after working just .1 of an inning, throwing 3 pitches.

The Nationals entered the 8th inning leading 3-1 but the Phillies fought back, tying the game in the top of the 8th and then taking the lead in the top of the 9th.

For Philadelphia, Jerad Eickhoff got the start, pitching 6 innings, surrendering 8 hits and 3 runs while walking 1 and striking out 5. The Phillies would also use 4 pitchers with Joaquin Benoit being charged with the loss.

In the extra base department, the Phillies got doubles from Cameron Rupp and Aaron Altherr and a home run from Cesar Hernandez, who wore out Nationals pitching in this 3 game set. The Nationals countered with doubles from Adam Eaton, Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy and 2 home runs from Bryce Harper. Harper drove in 5 of Washington's 6 runs.

The final line: Nationals 6 runs, 11 hits, 1 error, Phillies 4 runs, 8 hits, 1 error

Next game: Tuesday, April 18 vs the Atlanta Braves as the Nationals pay their first visit to Atlanta's SunTrust Park. Game time 7:35PM Eastern

Nationals record: 7 wins, 5 losses

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Tuesday, April 18th Washington Nationals 3, Atlanta Braves 1

The Washington Nationals are victorious in their first visit to Atlanta and the new SunTrust Park, however it wasn't without a lot of nail biting and some controversy.

Nationals starter Max Scherzer picks up the win, giving up just 2 hits and no runs while walking 3 and striking out 7. The Nationals used 4 pitchers - Blake Trienen is credited with a hold despite giving up 2 hits, 2 walks and a run in 0.1 innings worked. Trienen, who left spring training as the team's closer, now has an ERA of 7.11. :dismay: It was up to Shawn Kelley to get the final 2 outs with the bases loaded. The final out caused a lot of controversy and criticism of home plate umpire CB Bucknor. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Atlanta batter Chase d' Arnaud swung at a ball that bounced in the dirt. Because the ball had hit the dirt, Bucknor called a foul ball, giving the Braves another chance. D'Arnaud struck out a second time however Bucknor's indecision (Calling the last pitch a foul, then indicating the game was over, then calling it a foul again) raised the ire of the Washington team.

For the Braves, Mike Foltynewicz is charged with the loss. He'd work 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs while walking 4 and striking out 3. Atlanta used 3 pitchers in the game.

Bryce Harper, Matt Weiters and Ryan Zimmerman all doubled for Washington, there were no extra base hits for Atlanta. Both teams would manage 1 double play.

The final line: Washington 3 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors, Atlanta 1 run, 5 hits, 1 error

Next game: Tuesday, April 19th, Nationals vs Braves in Atlanta, game time 7:35PM EDT.

Nationals record: 8 wins, 5 losses