by Andrew Lang
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stan4Nats
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Andrew Lang
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
With the new MLB rules that have limited teams to only one trade deadline on July 31st this year, general managers will be at the ready to make deals sooner than later. Last year, Nationals’ general manager was the early bird when he acquired Kelvin Herrera in mid-June from the Royals. What is Mike Rizzo waiting for? The Nationals have a greater need than they did last year for bullpen help as they are still last in the Majors at a 6.30 ERA. Continue reading
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Forget the broken nose and the black eye, the June transformation of Max Scherzer went from a disappointing losing record through May to a legend in June. The team was an horrific 2-10 in Scherzer starts through the end of May, and in June, Scherzer has controlled his own fate as much as a pitcher can — and he has now factored into every decision in June going a perfect 6-0. Continue reading
The All-Star Selection show did their dramatic reveal of the pitchers and reserves who will be part of the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday July 9th in Cleveland. The Nationals ended up with just two players on the team including first-timer Anthony Rendon and of course Max Scherzer made the team for the seventh time in his career. Unfortunately, Juan Soto who is 11th in OPS in the National League is an All-Star snub at the moment. He could still be added as players drop-out due to injuries and other reasons. Not an obvious snub, but Howie Kendrick had the numbers to impress but is still considered by many as a platoon player. This season, you noticed the new selection process with an initial fan vote followed by a runoff vote from the top three players at each infield, catcher and designated hitter position, and the top nine for the outfield to determine the starters. Continue reading
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
This game lived up to the hype in this pitcher’s duel between former teammates Max Scherzer and Jordan Zimmermann with the Washington Nationals’ ace coming out on top with a 2-1 win in Detroit. With this triumph, Scherzer has now won 6-games in a row, and Sean Doolittle saved his 100th game in his career. The winning margin in the game was courtesy of Anthony Rendon on an opposite field home run. Continue reading
This afternoon marks the first time Max Scherzer has been on the Comerica Park mound since September 25th of 2014 in the 6th inning against the former Washington Senators (Minnesota Twins). Scherzer of course was a pending free agent that season, and a year removed from winning his first Cy Young award. Scherzer’s hopes for postseason success that season with Detroit was short-lived as the Tigers were bounced from the postseason in a 3-game sweep, and Max never got to pitch again in Comerica for the Tigers. Scherzer’s pro success began in Detroit after the Diamondbacks traded the struggling second year starter in a blockbuster three-team trade. In Scherzer’s age 28 season, he became an ace which led him back to general manager Mike Rizzo who scouted him when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks. After signing his $30 million per year, $210 million contract, with the Nationals, Scherzer perhaps is having his best season ever after he fixed his curveball and changeup at the end of May. Is there anyone better about self-improvement than Max Scherzer? Continue reading
On Sunday afternoon after the Washington Nationals have finished their game, you will want to tune into ESPN at 5:30 pm ET for the All-Star Selection show for the dramatic reveal of the pitchers and reserves. Every team will have at least one player represented on the roster to play in the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday July 9th in Cleveland. This season, you noticed the new selection process with an initial fan vote followed by a runoff vote from the top three players at each infield, catcher and designated hitter position, and the top nine for the outfield to determine the starters. Continue reading
Tanner Rainey (Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats)
Lead-off walks will usually kill you, and giving up two walks to start an inning followed by a hit is usually a recipe for a disaster. Tanner Rainey was the guilty party here in the seventh inning of this game. He took the loss after he entered with a two-run lead and gave up three runs. Wander Suero gave up another and that all added up to a 7-5 loss. Starting pitcher Austin Voth only went 4 1/3 innings, and he hit the wall in the fourth inning. Manager Davey Martinez left Voth in a couple of batters too late, but maybe it did not matter as the bullpen arms other than Jonny Venters were not good. The Nationals four game winning streak came to an end. Continue reading
Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
When the Nationals depth chart for starting pitchers was projected for the season, Austin Voth was not even in the top eight players. He was behind Joe Ross, Erick Fedde, and Kyle McGowin. Because of rainouts and the decision to use Ross in a relief role on Saturday, Voth got his callup and shined in his 2019 debut. He impressed so much against the Braves that general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez named him the fifth starter in this vaunted rotation, and the team sent Fedde packing. There is only one way to stay as they say and that is to continue to impress. Voth will have to show today that his debut game was not a fluke. The righthander was pitching on four days of extra rest in his start on Sunday. Today, Voth pitches on one day of extra rest. Continue reading
Fernando Rodney (Photo by Tom Cicotello @42skidoo for TalkNats)
The Nationals closed-out the mathematical first half of the season on a winning note with a 3-1 win on the arm of Anibal Sanchez and a well-executed save by Fernando Rodney. With this win, the Nationals extended their winning streak to four games, and improved their record to 41-40. The sleep deprived Nationals offense only put together three runs which came via a Juan Soto 418-foot blast to the upper reaches of Comerica Park’s rightfield, and the other RBIs came from Adam Eaton and Howie Kendrick. This is the first time the Nationals have seen their record above .500 since April 18th, and since May 24th, the team is now 22-9. Continue reading
Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats
Here we are at the halfway point in the 162 game marathon that they call a baseball season. Anibal Sanchez gets the rock tonight in his old stomping grounds in Detroit. As expected, Ryan Zimmerman joins the team in Motown while Michael A. Taylor was removed from the roster as expected to make room for Zim. For Taylor, he will meet up with Double-A Harrisburg, and it would be to nobody’s surprise if he demands a trade. Continue reading
