Going Deep with The Nats

The Washington Nationals have been in this spot four times in their team history to find themselves in a “win or go home” NLDS elimination game, and today is their fifth. It is not necessarily as dark and ominous as it sounds because if the Nats win, they would force a “winner take all”  game on Wednesday back in Los Angeles in a game five where the winner would advance to the NLCS. In the Nationals brief fifteen year history, they have played in three NLDS series that have gone to a game five. The Nats give the ball to Max Scherzer tonight to breathe life back into the Nats season. Continue reading →

Victor Robles plays hard on every play and now has a tweaked hamstring, but will avoid the IL; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

In a series tied 1-1 in this NLDS, the third game becomes the pivotal game that will move one team to a 2-1 advantage, and the other to the brink of elimination at a 1-2 deficit. The Washington Nationals clearly want to be the former and not the latter. A five game series makes each game so key in a short series.  Anibal Sanchez is now officially the starter today, and we await the status of Victor Robles who tweaked his hamstring on Friday. Continue reading →

The Washington Nationals are still very much alive in this 2019 NLDS series contrary to what many say. But tonight is basically a must win game because few have survived being down 0-2 in a five game series. If the Nats can deliver a win, all of a sudden they will be sitting pretty with a 1-1 record, and home field advantage. Five hours before the first pitch yesterday, Nats manager Dave Martinez named Stephen Strasburg as his starter for today. Stras was a very efficient 11.33-pitches per inning in his 3-inning scoreless relief appearance, and he is back on the mound on two days rest. Maybe this is risky, but at this point, you might as well go with your best. Continue reading →

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

In the off-season, there was one clear pitching prize available in free agency once Patrick Corbin declined his Q.O. (qualified offer), and the Washington Nationals stepped up and grabbed that prize. They spent $140 million on a six-year deal that shocked the baseball world who had him going to the Yankees or the Phillies after their owner declared he was willing to spend “stupid money” in free agency. Corbin valued the entire package the Nats offered plus the opportunity to work with Yan Gomes who the Nats had just traded for. Today, that investment into Patrick Corbin could pay dividends worth its weight in gold if he can deliver a win in this first game of the NLDS against the Dodgers. Continue reading →

Only ten teams make the MLB postseason, and this year the Washington Nationals made it for their fifth time since 2012. This season, the Nats enter as a Wild Card, and that is a winner take all game with the winner punching their ticket to the NLDS to face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, October 3rd. The Nationals are going with Max Scherzer as their starter, and the Milwaukee Brewers are going the route of Brandon Woodruff as their opener. Woodruff had been a starter for the Brewers, but after an injury he was brought back in September and only pitched in two games in which he threw only 2.0 innings each. How long Woodruff lasts in this game is unknown, and it is the job of the Nats offense to make it difficult on Woodruff and the other Brewers pitchers.  Continue reading →