Shawn Hill News

Washington Nationals have announced that closer Chad Cordero is expected to make a relief appearance Wednesday night for Class-A Potomac. via NewsChannel 8

Washington Nationals first baseman Dmitri Young went on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of a lower back sprain, and the team will recall catcher Johnny Estrada from his rehab assignment at Triple-A ... via ESPN

“It feels much better right now. We'll see how it goes tomorrow”

Nationals right-hander Shawn Hill is scheduled to pitch in his first rehab assignment start on Tuesday and is expected to go five innings or 80 pitches for Class A Potomac. via Major League Baseball

“And also -- effectiveness. He also has to show over there that he's fine, that he's healthy.”

ST. LOUIS, April 5 -- John Lannan knew he would be pitching Sunday, but until Thursday, he assumed it would be for the Class AAA Columbus Clippers. The parent Washington Nationals, however, had a plan all along -- Lannan would pitch in the majors on Sunday in St. Louis, a solution to a problem that began with right-hander Shawn Hill's season-opening stint on the disabled list.

"I feel great," Lannan said. "Just another opportunity."

Though Lannan, 23, was the Nationals' best starting pitcher in the spring, he lost out to fellow left-hander Matt Chico for a spot on the major league club. Now, there's no telling when -- or if -- he'll get back to the minors. Read more

“But it only lasted for one pitch. After that, you have to go to work. It's cool to have your own park, your fans. It's only half full right now, and it's pretty loud out there.”

On Feb. 15, when the Washington Nationals' pitchers and catchers convened at spring training in Viera, Fla., Odalis PA©rez was still a man without a job. Tonight, he completes an almost unimaginable turnaround: from unemployed, perhaps-spent veteran to Opening Night starter on national television.

'Before I came to Washington,' PA©rez said yesterday, 'I never expected for me to be the number one in the starting rotation.'

A number of planets had to align for this to come to pass. Right-hander Shawn Hill entered the spring in line to start the opener, but he came down with soreness in his right forearm and will begin the season on the disabled list, tentatively scheduled to make his first start April 13. Right-hander John Patterson, last year's starter on Opening Day, struggled to rebuild his arm strength after a series of surgeries to correct nerve problems over the past two years, and he was released. Read more

“The forearm has bothered him off and on the entire spring. I don't have high expectations until I start seeing six innings, seven innings in Triple-A and I can [take him off the DL]. He hasn't gone on a rehab assignment yet.”

Nationals general manager Jim Bowden and manager Manny Acta indicated they don't want right-handers Tim Redding or Jason Bergmann to pitch on four days' rest. via Major League Baseball

“It would have been nice, but I never set my mind to [doing] it. Just so I get 30 starts this season, I'll be fine.”

As far as we are given to know, Walter Johnson wasn't present last night for the official first game at the ballpark that should have been named for him. via Washington Times

“I felt like I was getting better extension, not fighting it really”

Sunday night should have been special for Nationals right-hander Shawn Hill. He was once scheduled to be the Opening Night starter against the Braves, but Odalis Perez took the mound, while Hill watched from ... via Major League Baseball

“Now, we've got guys with big arms that we're going to have to release, guys that we never would've released two years ago. And that's a really good sign.”

JUPITER, Fla., March 23 -- Tim Redding had been perfect through three innings Sunday afternoon, so when he felt a twinge in his back while warming up for the fourth, he paid it no mind. This spring has gone too well, and his season with the Washington Nationals is too promising, to let a little pain get him off the mound. Read more

“Trachsel is what we came here for”

The Orioles scored one run in the first inning today, which did nothing to set the tone for their game against the Washington Nationals .

That's because one run was all they'd get.

Left-hander John Lannan shut them out over the next five innings, and the Washington bullpen threw more blanks in the Nationals' 2-1 win over the Orioles at Space Coast Stadium.

With the score tied, 1-1, in the seventh, Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate hit Ryan Langerhans with two outs. Langerhans moved up on a wild pitch, and he scored the go-ahead run on Jesus Flores' single to left field. Read more

“The first pitch, a lot of pictures, all that kind of stuff. It's a great feeling for me to be able to come to a new franchise and be able to throw the first pitch.”

It's official: The first meaningful pitch thrown in Nationals Park, in front of a national TV audience and thousands of popping flashbulbs, will come from the left arm of a hurler who was working out in the ... via Washington Times

“The pain wasn't as intense as I thought it would be”

Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta missed part of his team's 5-3 exhibition loss to the Detroit Tigers on Monday so he could head over to the minor league complex and watch right-hander Shawn Hill pitch to ... via Fox Sports

“He's the only one of our staff who has won 15 games before [in 2002]. And he has pitched well in spring training, too.”

VIERA, Fla., March 22 -- In a matter of five weeks, veteran Odalis Perez has gone from an unemployed pitcher to a 'depth' signing for the Washington Nationals on a minor league contract to the designated Opening Day starter when the team opens its new ballpark on March 30 in Washington -- a decision announced Saturday. Read more

“I didn't feel good all day today”

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 16 -- Washington Nationals right-hander John Patterson, trying to build arm strength after a season in which he made only seven starts, allowed six runs in four innings in an 11-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles and said his entire body felt 'tight' afterward. Read more

“It was just a little tight getting loose, but once I got loose it felt fine”

VIERA, Fla., March 19 -- The wind howled across the Washington Nationals' minor league complex during the major league club's one day off of the spring. But in Shawn Hill's road back to health, it doesn't matter the schedule for the rest of the team or the conditions on the field. If he feels healthy, he must pitch, so that's what he did Wednesday. Read more

“Regardless of who makes it, last year some of those guys were big time question marks up until the last day of spring training. They went out last year and pitched well for us. This is a totally different feeling for me.”

Manny Acta didn't provide the answer, but he did provide a hint: The Washington Nationals manager will reveal his opening day starter next week. via FloridaToday

“To me, it's out of the question right now.”

Craig Heist , WTOP Sports VIERA, Fla. -- Oliver Perez threw shutout ball, striking out five over five innings as the Mets downed the Nationals, 7-3. David Wright drove in two runs with a single in a 4-run fifth ... via WTOP-FM Washington

I was going to do this on Sunday, which is two weeks from the opener, but Web traffic is notoriously slow on the weekends, so I figured we'd do it today, which is two weeks before the off day which is the day ... via The Washington Post

“We were willing to play this guy every day in left field, and now he went down. So, it gives an opportunity to somebody else.”

News 'not good' for Pena BY JIM CAWLEY FLORIDA TODAY On the shelf. Washington left fielder Wily Mo Pena is expected to miss one month after an MRI revealed a Grade 2 strain of his left oblique muscle Friday. via Floridatoday.com

“He's going to start playing for us on the 15th”

Vieras, Fla. --- Night baseball here at Space Coast Stadium as they honor the hot dog tonight. via WTOP-FM Washington