Max Scherzer has theorized that baseball’s new pitch clock will allow pitchers to dictate the pace of games.

Yadier Molina homered twice on a day he paired with St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright to tie the major league record fof 324 starts by a battery in an 11-6 loss to the Washington Nationals.

San Diego and new slugger Juan Soto repeatedly failed to come through in the clutch against his former club, and the last-place Washington Nationals beat the wild-card-chasing Padres 4-3.

Luis Garcia hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the last-place Washington Nationals rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 for their second straight win against the NL West leaders.

Juan Soto’s RBI triple capped a four-run fifth inning and the lowly Washington Nationals defeated the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1.

LeBron James liked the clown nose.

Jazz Chisholm bunted for a single on the first pitch of Stephen Strasburg’s return from a one-year absence, stole second and the Marlins kept on going in a 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals that finished a three-game sweep.

Lane Thomas had a three-homer game for the first time in his career, and Nelson Cruz and Juan Soto also went deep, leading the Washington Nationals to an 8-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Shohei Ohtani hit a tying, two-run double in the ninth inning, Anthony Rendon followed with a game-ending single against his former team and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Washington Nationals 5-4.

Austin Slater smacked a three-run homer as part of a seven-run second inning against struggling Washington starter Patrick Corbin, and the San Francisco Giants cruised past the Nationals 7-1.

Nelson Cruz hit his 450th home run and added a tiebreaking two-run single in three-run eighth inning that lifted the Washington Nationals over the Mets 4-2 and prevented New York from an opening four-game sweep.

Jake Cronenworth hit for his first career cycle, Wil Myers had two homers including a grand slam, and the San Diego Padres blew out the Washington Nationals 24-8.

Kyle Schwarber led off the first inning with his 12th home run in 10 games, and the Washington Nationals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 to move above.

Washington’s Kyle Schwarber led off the first inning against Tampa Bay with his 12th home run in 10 games, tying Albert Belle in 1995 for the most over that span since at least 1901.

In a bizarre scene, stadium workers using tractors scrambled to hoist the protective netting behind home plate after it suddenly collapsed Sunday, interrupting the Philadelphia Phillies’ 12-6 win over the Washington Nationals.

Dansby Swanson continued his power surge by hitting a two-run homer in Atlanta’s four-run sixth inning and the Braves beat Patrick Corbin and the Washington Nationals 5-1.

Stephen Strasburg pitched into the sixth inning in his return from the injured list, allowing just one hit as the Washington Nationals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-2.

Gleyber Torres’ tying single in the ninth inning and a winning infield single in the 11th helped the New York Yankees overcame Max Scherzer’s commanding 14-strikeout performance to beat the Washington Nationals 4-3.

Huascar Ynoa hit a grand slam and pitched seven stress-free innings in a dominant two-way performance, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Max Scherzer pitched a five-hitter, Ryan Zimmerman hit a three-run homer and the Washington Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins 3-1.

Kyle Schwarber doubled in a run in his delayed Nationals debut, Andrew Stevenson had a pinch-hit homer and Washington beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.

Left fielder Kyle Schwarber, first baseman Josh Bell and infielder Josh Harrison have been reinstated from the injured list by the Washington Nationals.

Justin Turner homered in the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their World Series championship ring ceremony day with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Juan Soto drove in the winning run with a single on a 3-0 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the coronavirus-depleted Washington Nationals to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Atlanta Braves after waiting five days to start their season.

The Washington Nationals are finally set to start their season, hosting the Atlanta Braves after their three-game series against the New York Mets was postponed by a coronavirus outbreak.

The Washington Nationals have held a workout at their stadium as they prepare to finally start their season.

He was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three spring starts, including allowing six earned runs against Cincinnati on Friday. Alec Bohm had two hits, including his fourth double. AdFreddie Freeman had two hits, including a double and his first homer — a two-run shot in the sixth. Victor Robles had three hits, including his sixth double, with an RBI, and Kyle Schwarber doubled and walked three times. Adalberto Mondesi singled and homered and Jorge Soler had two hits, including a double.

The reigning World Series champions already had a pair of Cy Young Award winners in Clayton Kershaw and David Price. Darvish has twice finished runner-up for a Cy Young Award, including last season when he was 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts. Lester is a three-time World Series champion, winning twice with Boston and once with the Cubs. He’s part of a rotation led by three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and lefty Patrick Corbin. Bradley was a Gold Glove winner in 2018 when the Red Sox won the World Series.

I look forward to getting back to work in the next several days.”LESTER SURGERYWashington Nationals left-hander Jon Lester is leaving spring training camp to have surgery for the removal of his thyroid gland. He underwent chemotherapy treatments and returned to the Red Sox at spring training before the following season. Soto’s spring training start was delayed because he fouled a ball off his right foot in live batting practice Sunday. Martinez had two hits for a second straight game, driving in his first two runs of spring training. Jarred Kelenic, Seattle’s top prospect, hit a two-run homer and Taylor Trammell hit a solo homer.

Soto and Howie Kendrick hit back-to-back homers in Washington's five-run third inning, and Max Scherzer struck out 11 to lead the Nationals to a 10-2 victory over the Red Sox on Friday night. Trea Turner and Victor Robles had three hits apiece for Washington, which handed Scherzer (3-1) a 5-0 lead in the third. The Red Sox scored one in the ninth and loaded the bases before Ryne Harper got the last two outs. The Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak and sent the Red Sox to their fourth loss in five games; it's Boston's worst start since the Great Depression. Red Sox: RHP Chris Mazza (0-1) starts in the second game of the series.

Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer (31) delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in New York. But he also looked healthy all the while a wonderful sign for the Washington Nationals. Scherzer showed no effects of hamstring trouble, navigating heavy traffic early for his first win this season, and Trea Turner hit a record-breaking leadoff homer to help Washington beat the New York Mets 2-1 on Tuesday night. Scherzer lasted six innings and threw only 45 pitches over his final four to finish with 105. The Mets hadn't announced a starter to replace Michael Wacha, who went on the injured list Sunday with shoulder inflammation.

Washington Nationals' Victor Robles celebrates his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Washington. Filling in for Strasburg, Erick Fedde allowed a pair of runs in four innings, including Giancarlo Stantons second homer in two games. With Max Scherzer and other Nationals starting pitchers although not Strasburg sitting somewhat spread out about 10 rows behind home plate, Fedde was followed by four relievers, who gave up three hits across five scoreless innings. The biggest was Robles two-run double. Robles added a two-run homer in the fourth, then singled in the sixth.

People watch from balconies of a building across the street during an exhibition baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 18, 2020, in Washington. Seems like every day theres a challenge, said Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who gave up three-run shots to old friend Bryce Harper and mask-wearing Didi Gregorius in Washingtons 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The energy in the stadium thats usually there, isnt there, per se, Nationals shortstop Trea Turner said. Normally, you pull up and theres a good amount of fans there, Nationals outfielder Michael A. Taylor said after taking pregame batting practice. I got beat around a little bit, but thats good, Scherzer said.

The defending World Series champion Washington Nationals are happy to have their starting center fielder finally in camp and the Detroit Tigers have named their opening day starter. Teams around the league were beginning to make their final preparations Sunday for the start of the abbreviated baseball season. It was definitely very difficult, the fact that I really wasnt able to work much on my swing, Robles said through an interpreter. Pitcher Anthony Bass said Sunday the players have told general manager Ross Atkins theyd prefer to play in a big league stadium if possible. So have Milwaukee first baseman Logan Morrison, Cincinnati pitcher Nate Jones, Tampa Bay pitcher Aaron Loup and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Aviln.

The San Francisco Giants suspended workouts at Oracle Park as they awaited the results of weekend tests for the coronavirus. Rodriguez, who broke out in 2019 as a star, and Red Sox prospect Bobby Dalbec tested positive for the virus. Manager Ron Roenicke said it is just unfortunate the positive test could jeopardize Rodriguezs chances to start on opening day. Also, the Kansas City Royals announced right-hander Brad Keller and first baseman Ryan OHearn had positive tests and gave the team permission to announce the results. Some Washington players did not take part in workouts, including Starlin Castro, Juan Soto, Howie Kendrick and Victor Robles.