Game #26 when one winning streak ends, another winning streak can begin!

Erick Fedde; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

In a Major League season, winning streaks come and go. The Washington Nationals four game winning streak ended last night essentially at the point when the opposing pitcher turned a 2-0 deficit into a 6-0 hole with a grand slam on a grooved fastball by Tanner Rainey.

A potentially good start by Joe Ross that could have been a 1-0 game, was erased, when his one inherited runner scored, and the Braves turned it into a five run 6th inning which changed the entire game in an instant. While it was frustrating to watch, it had to be tougher for manager Dave Martinez to see his reliever fall apart on the mound again. The bullpen had been so good in the past two weeks until last night. Rainey exited with an ERA of 10.00. His slider was not working and his once electric fastball felt more like a flickering bulb.  Continue reading

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Game #25 has the Nats with Joe Ross and waiting on the status of Juan Soto!

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

The Washington Nationals have another series with the Atlanta Braves. The first time they faced each other in 2021, the game ended on a Juan Soto walk-off single in a slugfest. Now we wait for the news on Soto as to if the team will allow him to be activated for tonight’s game. We do know that Joe Ross is scheduled to start this game after the Nats gave him a few more rest days between starts. The Nats did not have a game yesterday and woke up to find themselves in sole possession of first place for the first time in the regular season since May 30 of 2018. Continue reading

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Early Days: But April’s NL East Competitivity Can Last a Season

Winner’s Circle; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

April can always throw up surprises and false narratives for baseball, and it’s always best to take some of what we see with a pinch of salt. For example, did anyone expect the Red Sox to have the best record in MLB at the end of the first month? But while Boston has done much better than expected, few believe that it can keep it up throughout the season, but we play the games for a reason.  Continue reading

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Lessons learned in a long season; The parallels of 2019 to 2021

There are many lessons learned in a marathon baseball season. Lesson No. 1 is that slow and steady usually wins the race. Of course you need talent and everyone rowing in the same direction to win enough games to get into the winner’s circle, but those who over-react early in a season are usually proven wrong. Continue reading

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A fan’s view of how to make money on playing daily fantasy baseball at Draft Kings

Keep an open mind, I know many people here are opposed to gambling, and this is how you can spend less than a cup of coffee as an entrance fee into daily fantasy baseball. And if you’re good, you can make money back at it. My total investment on this night was $5.25.  This is my new hobby in retirement to put my baseball knowledge on the line to have some fun and even win back a few dollars. Now that Fan Duel and Draft Kings have become sponsors in professional sports, more people are participating. Some people are unaware of how to play the daily fantasy draft of players so here is how I plan my day.  Continue reading

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Who are the Nationals’ biggest rivals?

The National League East could be called the most competitive division in baseball with at least 3 NL East teams that have a genuine chance to make the playoffs, while the other 2 could get there with a little luck and ingenuity. In such a talented division, the typical division rivalries are bound to be legendary, but who are the Nationals’ greatest rival? Today, I will break down some top candidates for the team most worthy of the title. Continue reading

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It only took one big swing and one ace outing to extend the Nats winning streak to four!

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

The Washington Nationals are back to .500 and guaranteed to be in a two-team tie atop the NL East at the end of play tonight. This 4-game winning streak came on one swing off the bat by Ryan Zimmerman who crushed a Trevor Rogers fastball for all of the Nats scoring, and Max Scherzer went the route of legends with a complete game 106 pitch outing with a 3-1 final score to sweep their first series of the season. Continue reading

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Game #24 Do you know where your Washington Nationals are?

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

It’s the morning of May 2nd. Do you know where your Washington Nationals are? [Looks at the NL East standings….] uh, first place. Some were counting the Nats out just two weeks ago as the media were talking seriously about trading Max Scherzer. it just shows how foolish you look today if you were seriously pushing that as a story. Continue reading

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Nats have a winning streak!

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

The Washington Nationals have finally won three games in a row as Patrick Corbin delivered and pitched the team to 7.0 innings with a 7-2 lead behind the bat of Josh Bell who cashed in for 4 runs, and Yan Gomes delivered two via a home run. Continue reading

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Game #23 needs Patrick Corbin to be aces!

Ryan Zimmerman was ready; Kyle Schwarber took care of business! Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

Last night’s game had the original Mr. Walk-Off, Ryan Zimmerman, ready to pinch-hit for Alex Avila. But Kyle Schwarber made sure that nobody else had to bat in that game. He took care of business and has to be Mr. Walk-Off 2021 after he put the final stamp on last night’s game for his second walk-off homer of this young season. But the Nats need to find a way to less drama, and more of those easy wins like they had on Wednesday in Dunedin. Continue reading

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