Bell is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.
Bell, who slugged his 16th home run of the season in Wednesday's victory over New York, will get a routine day off for the series finale. James Wood will occupy the designated-hitter spot and Andres Chaparro will start at first base Thursday.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Bell is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
The absence ends a run of eight consecutive starts for Bell, who had a .940 OPS with two doubles and two homers during that span. Paul DeJong is picking up a start at first base Sunday for Washington.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Stays hot with 15th homer
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Monday's loss to the Royals.
The streaky slugger took Bailey Falter deep in the first inning, but the Nationals couldn't hold onto that early lead. Bell has four extra-base hits -- two doubles and two homers -- in the last three games, and over 18 contests since the All-Star break he's slashing .311/.440/.557 with four of his 15 long balls on the season.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Taking seat against southpaw
Rotowire
Bell is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
The switch-hitting Bell has been far more productive versus right-handed pitching (116 wRC+, .336 wOBA in 301 plate appearances) than left-handed pitching (32 wRC+, .215 wOBA in 83 plate appearances) this season, so the Nationals will likely continue to be selective with his usage against southpaws moving forward. With lefty Jacob Lopez on the hill for the Athletics, Bell will bow out of the starting nine to open up the designated-hitter spot for James Wood in the series finale.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Three hits against Twins
Rotowire
Bell went 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI in Sunday's win over Minnesota.
The veteran first baseman might be on the trade block, and if so, Bell's doing his best to increase his value to a contender. Over 19 games in July, he's slashing .348/.434/.515 with five doubles, two homers, eight runs and nine RBI.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Day off Wednesday
Rotowire
Bell is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Reds.
Bell hit home runs in both of the first two games of the series and sports a 1.018 OPS so far in July, but he will receive a routine day off in Wednesday's matinee. Amed Rosario will fill in at designated hitter and bat third in the series finale.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Homers again
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-3 with a solo home run during Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Reds.
Bell went 16 games without a round tripper before launching a solo homer in Monday's win, and the first baseman went yard again Tuesday with a solo shot off Chase Burns in the fourth inning. In his last 15 games, Bell is 19-for-52 (.365) with six RBI, six runs scored and a 7:10 BB:K. He's slashing .224/.314/.393 on the season.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Slugs first July homer
Rotowire
Bell went 2-for-5 with a walk, double and a solo home run during Monday's 10-8 win over the Reds.
Bell went deep for the first time in July, and 12th time this season, to start a three-run third inning for the Nationals. Combined with his double, it's the sixth time that the 32-year-old has had multiple hits in a game this July, despite not having a home run. Regardless, it's been a great slashing month for the slugger so far, featuring season-high's across the board of .356/.442/.444 to go along with five doubles and six RBI.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Beginning on bench Sunday
Rotowire
Bell is out of the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Padres.
Bell went 2-for-7 over the first two games of the series, but he'll get a rest in the finale. James Wood is getting a day off his feet with a start at DH.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Three hits in Saturday's loss
Rotowire
Bell went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Saturday's loss to the Red Sox.
The veteran switch hitter is digging his way out of an early-season hole at the plate. The three-hit performance was Bell's second in the last four games, and over his last 16 contests he's slashing .327/.377/.491 with three doubles, two homers, five runs and 11 RBI.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Drives in three in nightcap
Rotowire
Bell went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Tigers.
Bell was productive throughout the contest, driving in runs in the first, third and eighth innings. Over his past 10 games, the 32-year-old has hit safely seven times while collecting four extra-base hits and 10 RBI. For the season, he's slashing just .204/.292/.365 with 11 home runs, 35 RBI and 26 runs scored across 288 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Sitting for first game of twin bill
Rotowire
Bell is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader versus the Tigers.
The switch-hitting Bell will open the first game of the twin bill on the bench while the Tigers send lefty Tyler Holton to begin the contest. Bell has been far more productive against righties (92 wRC+ in 229 plate appearance) than lefties (26 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances) this season, so the Nationals could look to use him as more of a platoon player moving forward.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Slugs homer in win
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run, an additional RBI, two walks and three total runs scored in Friday's 15-9 win over the Angels.
Bell was one of two Nationals limited to one hit, but he made it count, opening the scoring with a second-inning homer. He also tied the game with an RBI groundout in the fifth. The 32-year-old is 13-for-49 (.265) with four extra-base hits and eight RBI over his last 14 games. For the season, he's maintained a mediocre .194/.282/.355 slash line with 11 homers, 31 RBI, 26 runs scored, four doubles and one triple across 70 contests.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Idle for series finale
Rotowire
Bell is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
The switch-hitting Bell has received most of his days off against left-handed pitching of late, but he'll head to the bench Wednesday against a right-hander (Nick Pivetta) as the Nationals open up a spot on the lineup for Alex Call. Bell had started in each of the Nationals' last four games, going 5-for-16 with a home run to bring his OPS up to .624 for the season.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Belts 10th long ball
Rotowire
Bell went 2-for-4 with a home run and three total RBI in a 10-6 victory versus San Diego on Monday.
Bell was one of three former Padres to shine against San Diego on Monday, joining CJ Abrams (3-for-5, three runs) and James Wood (3-for-5, homer, four RBI). Bell's contributions included a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, a run-scoring single in the fifth and a solo home run in the ninth. He's still batting a meager .197 on the campaign, but Bell hasn't been entirely unproductive, as he ranks fourth on the team in both homers (10) and RBI (28).
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: On bench against southpaw
Rotowire
Bell is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rockies.
Though the switch-hitting Bell started in two of the Nationals' previous three matchups with left-handed hurlers, he'll hit the bench Monday as the Rockies send southpaw Carson Palmquist to the hill. James Wood will get a day off from playing the outfield and will assume Bell's usual duties as Washington's designated hitter.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Not in Wednesday's lineup
Rotowire
Bell is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.
Andres Chaparro is in the designated hitter spot versus lefty David Peterson and could cut into Bell's playing time against southpaws moving forward. The switch-hitting Bell is just 2-for-39 at the dish versus left-handed pitching this season.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Getting night off
Rotowire
Bell is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.
Bell will get a breather Friday after making nine consecutive starts, as he cedes DH duties to Alex Call while Nathaniel Lowe starts at first base. During his nine-game starting streak, Bell went 11-for-33 (.333) with three homers and a 4:2 BB:K.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Homers again Friday
Rotowire
Bell went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in Friday's 9-7 win over the Diamondbacks.
After failing to record a multi-hit effort in any of his first 45 games this season, Bell has gone 7-for-14 with three homers and seven RBI over the last three contests. The 32-year-old put the Nationals ahead briefly in the third inning with his blast Friday. He's up to nine homers, 22 RBI, 18 runs scored and a .181/.277/.361 slash line. He's added just one double and one triple this season after recording at least 20 doubles in each of the previous seven full-length campaigns, so he still has work to do in the power department, though that should come naturally if he can continue hitting at a higher level.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Josh Bell: Belts extra-inning homer
Rotowire
Bell went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in Thursday's extra-inning win over the Mariners.
The long ball wasn't exactly clutch, as it closed the books on a seven-run 10th inning for the Nationals that blew open a 2-2 tie, but it's another encouraging sign that Bell is coming out of his early season swoon. The 32-year-old has gone yard in back-to-back games, racking up five hits over those contests, and over his last 14 games he sports a .277/.370/.489 slash line with three of his eight homers on the year.
![[object Object] Logo](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2020/04/22/e9ceb731-8b3f-4c60-98fe-090ab66a2997/screen-shot-2020-04-22-at-11-04-56-am.png)
