Stephen Strasburg will always be a National legend!

Strasburg debut first pitch. All fans on their feet. Photo by Steve Mears for TalkNats

Exactly a baker’s dozen years ago, were you one of the lucky 40,315 fans in a sold-out Nationals Park to witness the “debut”? Is there a true Nats fan who could forget June 8, 2010 when Stephen Strasburg made his MLB debut for the Washington Nationals? It was electric at near 1.21 gigawatts. Fans stood and cheered for a team that never had a winning season because Strasburg represented winning in the future, and we all know he delivered on that as the World Series MVP in 2019.

For a team that looked like they were destined to lose 100-games every year before Stras arrived, hope came with him the day he was drafted. It took 3,431 days after his sparkling 14K debut for Stras to hoist up his MVP trophy as a World Series champion. His manager, Dave Martinez, might describe his ace’s road in his career as a bumpy one. Right now, the stories circulating is whether Strasburg’s nerve damage issues will affect his daily living. Sometimes, baseball takes a back-seat to real life. Last year, Strasburg had extensive surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). It might have allievated some of his pain, but not enough per reports. There are rumors circulating that Strasburg’s arm could be amputated or that he will never be able to lift his kids up.

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Game #61 Patrick Corbin faces his old team in the role of stopper

The Washington Nationals are mired in a 3-game losing streak. Another winnable game yesterday was lost in the bullpen, and the Diamondbacks won the game last night and took sole possession of first place in the NL West.

Tonight, Patrick Corbin will face his old team, and securing a win is the goal here for a vintage Corbin start and to be the stopper. Arizona has Zach Davies on the mound.

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Two veteran relievers were DFA’d after consecutive games!

Generally veteran relievers get more rope from Washington Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo — but not this week. Even Trevor Rosenthal and his 22.74 ERA in 2019 lasted longer with Rizzo than Erasmo Ramirez and Andres Machado did this season. Both gone by the first week of June. Rosenthal stayed on the team until his DFA on June 23, and that came in a year that the Nats were competing for the playoffs. One source described Rizzo as “extremely disappointed” in the results from his bullpen.

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Game #60 Diamondbacks are in D.C.

The Washington Nationals were feeling good after their series opening win against the Phillies on Friday night. But they fell flat on Saturday and Sunday, and had a scheduled day-off yesterday for some much needed rest, and take on a Diamondbacks team that is playing well. Arizona comes into this series with a tie for first place in the NL West alongside the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers. The DBacks manager, Torey Lovullo, just got an extension through the 2024 season. The are led by rookie Corbin Carroll, and a good pitching staff.

After this series ends on Thursday, there will be less than 100-games remaining in this 2023 regular season. The Nats need to get back to winning series to have any chance of getting back on that pace the team found through May.

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Series preview: Nationals vs Diamondbacks

The Nationals will host the Diamondbacks for a three-game set as Washington prepares for their second and final series against Arizona this season. The Nationals need a good series, as they’ve only gone 4-6 in their last 10-games. The offense has been hot lately, led by catcher Keibert Ruiz, who has three homers in his previous four games and recorded 15 RBIs last month. Ruiz has posted a .686 OPS this season and a .232 average. Washington has scored 23 runs in their four games, but their pitching could have been better, and frankly the bullpen has been a mess. It was so bad that after Sunday’s game, Andres Machado was seen packing his bags, and TalkNats broke the news that the team would call-up RHP Jordan Weems from Triple-A. This afternoon, the Nats made all of that official. The 40-man roster now stands at 39-players, and many believe that spot will be held for Sean Doolittle who is now on a rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg.

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A glimpse into the future is getting clearer for the Nats!

The name on the front of the jersey belongs to a Minor League affiliate while the patch on their sleeves are emblazoned with the Curly W logo signifying that these players are part of the Washington Nationals organization. There are no names on the back of these jerseys, and just numbers that might as well be their Top-Prospect rankings in all of baseball. James Wood is going places and he is jersey No. 4. Robert Hassell III, No. 21, just needs to get that full feeling back after his hamate surgery late last year. Wood went bonkers on the Orioles’ Double-A pitchers this weekend for two booming homers, two doubles, and a lot of hope for the Nats’ future.

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Game #59 Nats can win the series today!

Baseball is a strange game. The Phillies threw a bullpen game yesterday, and shut down the Nats offense to a total of two runs. The series is even at 1-1, and the Washington Nationals can take this series with a win today.

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Game #58 will be a mover in the standings!

It was not a walk-off win last night, but it was an 8th inning shocker win from the Washington Nationals. The Nats and Phillies enter this game with identical W/L records, and after the conclusion of this game — one team will have sole possession of 4th place and the other team will occupy last place in the NL East. Today marks the first time since April 10, that the Nats have not be in 5th place.

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Another blown save ≠ doesn’t turn into a loss!

Coming into this week, the Washington Nationals had 11 blown saves and 11 bullpen losses. In the past two games, the team’s blown saves have shot up to 13 — but the bullpen losses remained at 11. In back-to-back games, the bullpen bent but didn’t break, and in the process, secured two signature wins among some craziness if you watched the games. The Nats are now tied with the Phillies for 4th place in the NL East.

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Game #57 Back home for first series against the Phillies

A happy flight home from LAX on Wednesday with an early Thursday arrival in Washington, D.C. was followed by a much-needed day off work. Today is the first game of 2023 against the rival Phillies, and separated by just 1.0 game in the standings.

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