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Washington Nationals news & notes: Keibert Ruiz still building; GM Mike Rizzo on 1-0 every day; + more…

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Washington Nationals news & notes: Keibert Ruiz still building; GM Mike Rizzo on 1-0 every day; + more…


KEIBERT RUIZ STILL BUILDING:

Going into the second of two with the Baltimore Orioles in D.C. on Wednesday, Keibert Ruiz was 3 for 40 (.075/.119/.150) with one home run, a walk, and six Ks in 10 games and 42 plate appearances since he returned from a prolonged IL stint.

Ruiz, 25, dealt with a rough bout of influenza, and, as he told reporters, eventually lost 18-20 lbs. over the course of the illness, but after two rehab games he returned to the majors.

“He played two games and it’s good to have him back,” Davey Martinez said on the day Ruiz returned.

“He’s back around the boys. I saw him earlier today, he’s excited to be back.”

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Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” the manager added. “He was pretty sick, and like I said, he lost a lot of weight, so we’ll keep an eye on him.”

Ten games later, Wednesday afternoon, Martinez talked about Ruiz’s struggles at the plate since coming off the IL, and why he decided continuing to send the catcher out there was the best plan to get him back where they want him.

“When you get sick like that and miss 15 days, your timing is going to be off,” the manager explained. “And like I said, he lost a lot of weight. He’s really working his way back. The only way he’s going to get his timing is by going out there and playing. He’s got to play. So, the one thing that’s good about it — he wants to contribute, but he’s taking it about as best as you could take it. He wants to really do well, but he knows where we’re at. And we’ve had conversations with him, ‘Hey, it’s going to come. Don’t force it. Just get yourself ready. Get your timing ready.’ But he’s doing a better job catching, which is great, but we just have to take some time to get him going.”

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The good news, Ruiz is healthy and still working his way back to full strength.

Toronto Blue Jays v Washington Nationals

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Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

“He’s doing fine in that respect,” Martinez said.

“I ask him every day, and he says his body feels good. He’s going to get there. Yesterday he hit a ball hard. It’s just going to take him a little time to get his timing right.”

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Meanwhile, as Martinez said, Ruiz is doing well defensively.

“He’s doing well. He’s still blocking balls, calling a good game, as we can see. So he’s definitely doing well.

“Like I said, I know for him it’s a little frustrating, because he wanted to get off to a good start.

“But when you’re that sick, and you miss that much time, it’s going to take him a minute.”

Ruiz singled in each of his first two PAs on Wednesday, going 2 for 5 overall in the extra-innings loss to the Orioles in Nationals Park.

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1-0 EVERY DAY = WAY OF LIFE:

With Tuesday’s win, Washington briefly went over .500 (18-17; now 18-18 after the loss on Wednesday night), but for one brief, shining moment, for the first time since July of 2021, the Nationals went over .500.

Did Davey Martinez have any thoughts about the club finally going even a game over?

“We did?” he asked. “I didn’t even know. I go one game at a time, buddy. I don’t look at the record. I just worry about going 1-0, I really do. It’s nice though. It’s nice.

“Look, we’re playing well. We got a long way to go, so we’ve got to keep playing the way we’re playing. We’re pitching really well. We’re playing good defense. The baserunning’s good. And we’re starting to hit the ball.”

But seriously: Did he really not know the club went over .500? The “first time since ‘21 part” might have been more of a fun sort of media-driven narrative, but surely he was aware of the team’s record … right?

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GM and President of Baseball ops in D.C. Mike Rizzo was asked that question in his weekly visit with Audacy’s Sports Junkies on 106.7 the FAN on Wednesday morning.

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Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images

“I think that he probably knows the vicinity of where we’re at,” Rizzo said.

“I don’t know standings and stuff like that at this time of the year, it’s kind of meaningless, but I think the focus is on preparing to play a good game tonight and to go 1-0.

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“I believe that. When I look back I knew we were at .500 and then above .500 because it feels good to be there.”

“It’s always good to play productive, clean baseball like last night,” he added. “The record is the record, but it’s always good to beat a good team, to compete against the best, and it was a fun game last night, and I think it will be another good one tonight.”

He was right about that, though the Nats lost the game and fell back to .500.

MORE FROM RIZZO ON THE SPORTS JUNKIES:

ALSO THIS:

QUICK MITCHELL PARKER BIT:

With the late-game theatrics on a long night on Wednesday in the nation’s capital, Mitchell Parker’s start against the O’s got a bit lost in the shuffle, with the left-hander giving up two runs, on two solo home runs, in a 73-pitch, 55-strike start in what ended up a 7-6 loss.

The homers were the first two Parker allowed in the majors, after he kept the ball in the yard in his first four starts, but he said he wasn’t too surprised to see a couple clear the fence.

“These guys are known to hit the ball out of the ballpark, you know, but I thought he pitched really well, I really did,” Martinez told reporters.

“Again, what was it, 5 23, 77 pitches, that’s a pretty good outing.”

Parker threw fewer curveballs than he did in previous starts (12%; vs. an average of 26.8% so far in his big league outings), and he leaned on his slider a bit more (16%; up from 5.8%). He didn’t have a feel for his slider his manger said, so he went with what he had working.

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“Yeah, he didn’t really have the command of the curveball, so he went to his slider a little bit more. He got a couple strikeouts with it, he left a couple out over the plate, those two home runs were not meant to be there, but he felt more comfortable throwing his slider today.”

Through five starts, the 2020 5th Round pick now has a 2.67 ERA, a 3.05 FIP, 1.67 BB/9, 7.33 K/9, and a .240/.271/.340 line against in 27 IP.

Before he made his fifth start on Wednesday night, GM Mike Rizzo talked with 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Sports Junkies on Wednesday morning about what Parker has done since he got to the majors.

“Parker has been — he’s been an interesting test case for us,” Rizzo explained. “We’ve done a lot of development work with him. When we drafted him this guy was just a hard-throwing guy from junior college, striking out 16 per nine in junior college and walking eight per nine or something like that*, and he really refined his delivery, calmed it down, and he’s throwing way more strikes now.

“He’s got a really good breaking pitch along with a 92-94 MPH fastball, and what [Minor League Pitching Coordinator] Sammy Naron, and [Pitching Coach Jim] Hickey, and our pitching people have done with him is they really refined and developed his third pitch which is a changeup or a split, whatever grip he uses, but it’s a really useable nasty pitch. And again, with our pitchers, when they pound the strike zone and they’re aggressive with the hitters and they mix and match their pitches within the strike zone, he’s got a good chance to win.”

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[ed. note “To be fair to Parker, and acknowledging Rizzo was speaking extemporaneously about stats from Parker’s JUCO days, the southpaw did strike out 15.52 per 9 in 2019 at San Jacinto, and 18.98 K/9 in 2020), but he only walked 6.30 per 9 in ‘19, and 5.34 BB/9 in ‘20, for an average of 5.99 BB/9, slightly less than “eight per nine” … and so far in the majors, it has been 1.67 BB/9).”]





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The Church of Jesus Christ has announced its 384th temple

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The Church of Jesus Christ has announced its 384th temple


The state of Washington is getting a seventh temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Marysville Washington Temple was announced Sunday night during a devotional in the Marysville Washington Stake by Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy in the church’s United States West Area Presidency.

“We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Marysville, Washington,” the First Presidency said in a statement. “The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord.”

The other temples in Washington are the Columbia River, Moses Lake, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver temples.

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The church has 214 temples in operation. Plans for another 170 temples have been announced; many of those temples are in various stages of planning and construction.

Sunday’s temple announcement follows the new practice of the church’s First Presidency, which determines where temples will be built — and when and how they will be announced.

The First Presidency directed a General Authority Seventy to announce the first temple in Maine at a fireside there in December.

In January, church President Dallin H. Oaks said the Maine announcement set the pattern for future temple announcements.

“The best place to announce a temple is in that temple district,” he told the Deseret News.

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The First Presidency will continue to decide where future temples will be built. It then will “assign someone else to make the announcement in the place where the temple will be built,” he said.

This pattern came to him as a strong impression after he assumed leadership of the church in October, following the death of his friend, President Russell M. Nelson.

This came as a strong impression to him shortly after he assumed the leadership of the church, President Oaks said.

The church remains in the midst of an aggressive temple-building era. President Nelson announced 200 new temples from 2018 to 2025. All but one were announced at general conference.

Five dozen temples are now under construction.

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President Oaks now has overseen the announcement of two temples, neither at a general conference.

At the October conference he said that “with the large number of temples now in the very earliest phases of planning and construction, it is appropriate that we slow down the announcement of new temples.”

Ten new temples are scheduled to be dedicated in the next six months.

  • May 3: Davao Philippines Temple.
  • May 3: Lindon Utah Temple.
  • May 31: Bacolod Philippines Temple.
  • June 7: Yorba Linda California Temple.
  • June 7: Willamette Valley Oregon Temple.
  • Aug. 16: Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple.
  • Aug. 16: Cleveland Ohio Temple.
  • Aug. 30: Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple.
  • Oct. 11: Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.
  • Oct. 18: Managua Nicaragua Temple.

Two-thirds of the 170 temples still to be built are outside the United States.

Temples are distinct from the meetinghouses where Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ each Sunday. Temples are closed on Sundays, but they open during the week as sanctuaries where church members go to find peace, make covenants with God and perform proxy ordinances for deceased relatives.



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Washington football displays depth, talent at first spring scrimmage

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Washington football displays depth, talent at first spring scrimmage


On a perfect day in Seattle for football, Washington took the field inside Husky Stadium for its first scrimmage of spring practice, and ahead of his third season at the helm, Jedd Fisch seemed pleased with the results.

“Guys played and competed their ass off,” he said after the Huskies ran 120 plays. “That’s the type of day we want to have…We have a lot to work on, but we’re excited that today gave us this opportunity.”

The 120 plays had a little bit of everything, but the biggest thing the Huskies showed during the day was that, despite the inexperience that Fisch’s coaching staff is looking to lean on at several positions, there’s plenty of talent littering the roster. The best example of that is sophomore safety Paul Mencke Jr., who had his best practice in a Husky uniform after Fisch announced on Saturday that senior CJ Christian is out for the year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during Tuesday’s practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

“Paul’s done a great job of competing and being physical and playing fast, and you could see over these three years, he’s really grown into understanding now the system, and what’s asked of him as a safety,” Fisch said. “I think there’s a lot of in him that he wants to be like (safeties coach Taylor) Mays. He sees himself as a tall, linear, big hitter. So when you have your coach that is known for that type of play, I think Paul has done a great job.”

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Mencke was all over the field. Not only did he lay some big hits, just like his safeties coach did during his time at USC, but the former four-star recruit also tallied a pair of pass breakups, an interception in a 7-on-7 period, and multiple strong tackles to hold ball carriers to limited yards.

While the defense did a good job getting pressure throughout the day and making the quarterbacks hold the ball with different looks on the back end, with safety Alex McLaughlin, linebacker Donovan Robinson, and edge rusher Logan George all among the players credited for a sack, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. got an opportunity to show off how he’s improved ahead of his junior year.

Early on, he showed off his well-known speed and athleticism, making the correct decision on a read option, pulling the ball and scampering for a 25-yard gain before displaying his touch. Throughout the day, his favorite target was junior receiver Rashid Williams, whom he found on several layered throws of 15-plus yards in the various scrimmage periods of practice.

On a day when every able-bodied member of the team was able to get several reps of live action, here are some of the other noteworthy plays from the day.

Spring practice notebook

  • Freshman cornerback Jeron Jones was unable to participate in the scrimmage and was spotted working off to the side with the rest of the players rehabbing their injuries.
  • The running backs delivered a pair of big blows on the day. First, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley was on the receiving end of a big hit from redshirt freshman Quaid Carr before the former three-star recruit ripped off a 13-yard touchdown run on the next play. Later on, every player on offense had a lot of fun cheering on freshman Ansu Sanoe after he leveled Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, letting the sophomore linebacker hear all about it when the play was whistled dead.
  • Sophomore wide receiver Justice Williams put together a strong day with several contested catches, showing off his strong hands and 6-foot-4 frame, including a 25-yard catch and run off a drag route from backup quarterback Elijah Brown.
  • Of all the tackles for a loss the Huskies were able to rack up throughout the day, two stood out. First, junior defensive tackle Elinneus Davis burst through the middle of the line to wrap up freshman running back Brian Bonner. Later on, freshman outside linebacker Ramzak Fruean wasn’t even touched as he shot through a gap in the offensive line to track down a play from behind, letting the entire offensive sideline know about the play on his way back to his own bench.
  • The Huskies experimented with several defensive line combinations on Saturday, and for the first time this spring, it felt like freshman Derek Colman-Brusa took the majority of his reps alongside someone other than Davis, who he said has taken on an older brother role to help mentor the top-ranked in-state prospect in the 2026 class.

“Elinneus is a phenomenal guy. Great work ethic. He’s kind of taken on that older brother mentor for me. He’s been a great help just to learn plays and learn the scheme. Can’t say enough good things about the guy.”

  • Ball State transfer Darin Conley took a handful of reps with the first team, while rotating with Colman-Brusa, who got a lot of work in alongside Sacramento State transfer DeSean Watts.



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Sioux Falls art teachers show ‘incredible’ work at Washington Pavilion

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Sioux Falls art teachers show ‘incredible’ work at Washington Pavilion


Twenty Sioux Falls School District art teachers have their own original pieces on display at the Washington Pavilion’s University Gallery now through May 31.

The “Teachers as Artists” exhibit showcases their work not just as educators, but as artists inside and outside of the classroom, and highlights how art education builds critical thinking, creative problem-solving and self-expression skills.

Edison Middle School art teacher Meagan Turbak-Fogarty said she dreamt of such a showcase since her first year teaching.

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She and Kathy Dang, an art teacher at Marcella LeBeau Elementary School who also serves on the city’s Visual Arts Committee, partnered with the city and Washington Pavilion to bring the showcase to life.

Turbak-Fogarty has taught at Edison for five years and said her passion for art is “instantly felt” on her classroom walls, but that students have asked where they could see her art in the classroom, or what kind of art she creates in her own time.

“I always felt the feeling that I stand in front of all these kids every single day and preach about how much I love art, and how art has changed my life,” Turbak-Fogarty said. “That got me thinking, ‘I want to show them.’”

Some of her works on display at the Pavilion include art she created in her first year teaching, including a large Cheetos bag she created as an example for her eighth grade classroom when they were working on a large chip bag project. Turbak-Fogarty said she loves painting, working with acrylics and unconventional materials.

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“I wanted to show my students that art can be anything,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be hanging up in a museum to be considered art.”

Continuing to do her own art while teaching the subject helps keep her inspired, Turbak-Fogarty explained, adding that it helps her push her own creativity when it comes to projects she works on with students.

Samantha Levisay, an art teacher at John Harris Elementary School, showed three pieces in the show — “Moments in Time,” “Midnight Butterfly Garden” and “Whimsy” — with the same mixed media, watercolor and printmaking skills that she teaches in different units at every elementary grade.

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Levisay educates her students that “art is everywhere.” She said her favorite memories as an art teacher are “moments when I show students a lesson, and they take it even further.”

“Kids are so creative; I marvel at them all the time,” she said. “They inspire me every day with their endless creativity and imagination.”

Roosevelt High School art teacher Ruth Hillman showed two pieces in the show: “The Potato on the Wall,” a mixed media work, and a collection of her handmade clay charms in a shadow box.

She also wore some of her art — miniature potato earrings made of clay.

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Hillman is in her third year at RHS. When she’s not teaching art, she’s also making art, and sells her charms at shows like the Art Collective.

Washington High School art teacher Mollie Potter displayed a three-part painting series at the show that she said were inspired by her English language learner students’ stories, and how teachers help students “take flight,” as represented by balloons, parachutes and kites in her work.

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Porter said she is often inspired by her students’ art in the classroom; for example, one former student was obsessed with swans, and Porter said she later created a painting inspired by one of the student’s stories about swans.

At an April 17 reception, Mayor Paul TenHaken emphasized the arts as an “important economic driver in the community,” and said the show honored educators “who are artists in and of themselves,” but who might not have had a chance to display their art outside the classroom before.

“This is a way for us to honor them and show their incredible work,” TenHaken said.

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