The odds-makers have these NLDS Game Fives as a coin flip!

Strasburg gets the K in Game 2; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

At this point, all you can ask for in the postseason is a chance in each series to win and pop champagne. The Nationals have that opportunity in a game that is scheduled to start in about 20 hours. It was just about five hours ago that the Nats plane landed in California, and it was two years ago that Nats manager Dave Martinez was the bench coach watching Stephen Strasburg dominate his ex-team in Game #4 of the 2017 NLDS. If the Nats won that next game in 2017 and beat the Cubs in that NLDS, the irony is that Martinez probably would never be the manager of the Nats as his predecessor, Dusty Baker, most likely would have remained the manager. There is a divine line of destiny in Martinez’s life that has brought him to this point to take the Washington Nationals to a level they have never achieved.  Continue reading

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The Nats needed Cy Max and he delivered, and so did Zim!

The Nats needed the best version of Max Scherzer, and he showed up as Cy Max at the right time going 7.0 innings of one run baseball for a huge 6-1 win to stave off elimination and send this back to Los Angeles for a “winner take all” game. Continue reading

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Game #4 NLDS is a Nats win or go home game!

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

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The Dodgers ride a 7 run inning to a 10-4 win.

The final touchups have been made to the NLDS logo

When Anibal Sanchez exited with a 2-1 lead after the 5th inning, the bullpen needed to keep it close, and once again that did not happen. They clobbered Patrick Corbin who came in as a bullpen piece then they smashed Wander Suero, and Hunter Strickland to win this game 10-4, and take a 2-1 lead in this series. The Nationals have to win tomorrow or it’s a go home situation, and they will look to Max Scherzer to deliver a win to force a game 5. Continue reading

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Game #3 NLDS A team will be up 2-1 after tonight’s game, and that’s a Captain Obvious fact!

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

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Strasburg joins the pantheon of postseason greats; Hudson gets the big boy save!

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

You cannot stress enough how key it was for the Nationals to win this game, and Stephen Strasburg and his teammates delivered a 4-2 victory as the team will fly back to Washington, D.C. tomorrow with the split in the first two games. With this win, Strasburg inserted his name with some of the greatest playoff starters of the last sixty years like Sandy Koufax and Madison Bumgarner.  The Nationals now return with home field advantage as they have games on Sunday and Monday at Nats Park. This game was as close to a “must win” as you can have as you absolutely had to avoid an 0-2 hole which would have made Sunday’s game an elimination game.  Continue reading

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Game #2 NLDS Yes, the Nats are in the NLDS; It is a “must win” game!

    Photo by Lynn G for TalkNats

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

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You won’t win a game if you score zero runs; The Nats score zero…

Fortunately, this is just one ugly game, and the Nats can win tomorrow and even up this best-of-five NLDS series. The Nats had as many hits as they had errors in this game, and this was actually a 2-0 deficit into the top of the 7th inning until the Nats bullpen imploded. Patrick Corbin walked four batters in the first inning, but then settled down and kept the game at 1-0 until Howie Kendrick‘s second error of the game made it a 2-0 game. Corbin went 6.0 innings and gave up 3 hits and five walks and one earnie, and he struck out 9 batters. It was the bullpen that changed things quickly, but the Nats could not score any runs even with their opportunities going 0-5 with RISP including a bases loaded situation.  Continue reading

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Game #1 NLDS Patrick Corbin gets the start!

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

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The NLDS rosters are set; Game 1 is today!

The Washington Nationals NLDS roster is due to MLB this morning by 10 am. This roster is different from what you saw for the Wild Card game. The Washington Nationals are in Los Angeles for Game 1 with a first pitch of 8:37pm. They arrived mid-afternoon (2:30 pm local time) at the Bob Hope airport in Burbank and worked-out a few hours later at Dodgers Stadium at 7pm PDT and a short media session before that with Davey Martinez,  Anthony Rendon,  and Patrick Corbin. The starting pitchers have only been announced for Game 1. It will be Patrick Corbin against Walker BuehlerContinue reading

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