by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
The Washington Nationals rested Victor Robles tonight and inserted Gerardo Parra into the lineup, and all he did was go 3-3 with 4 RBIs to lead the Nats along with Austin Voth who pitched 6.0 innings of two-run baseball. This was another night that the Nationals bullpen threw up zeros to make this 8-2 win a no-drama win. Continue reading
Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
The schedule makers set the last series of the season for the Nationals to host the Cleveland Indians, and they created a meaningful series for the 160th game. The Indians are in third place for the Wild Card in the American League, and they need to win. If the Indians lose one game this weekend and the Tampa Bay Rays win just one — the Indians season will end as their Tragic # is 2. The Nats are fighting for Home Field Advantage in the Wild Card game and control their own destiny because they have a 1.0 game lead over the Brewers. Earlier today, the Nats made it official and named Max Scherzer as their starter for the Tuesday winner-take-all game. Continue reading
On Davey Martinez’s 55th birthday, the Nats won their 90th game!
The Nationals have been able to accomplish all goals in this series which started with winning at least four games to clinch the Wild Card and they did that with their third win of the series on Tuesday because the Cubs obliged with a loss leading to an earlier clinch. The Nats kept rolling and swept the Phillies in a 5-game series which is a rare feat. It is the first time the Nats have done that in franchise history. By sweeping the Phillies, they pushed them to a 79-80 losing record, and for the season, the Nationals record in head-to-head games against the Phillies is 14-5 which is incredible when you ponder how their first meeting went on April 2nd. All of this added up to the Nats 90th win of the season as the Nats are now 21 games above .500 and they did this on manager Dave Martinez’s 55th birthday. Continue reading
Mike Rizzo prior to his Hot Stove Q&A; Photo by Andrew Lang
There are so many numbers wrapped up in today’s outcome of the 19th and final meeting between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies this season. If the Nationals are fortunate enough to win their 90th game today, they would simultaneously push the Phillies below the .500 mark, and the Nats would notch the 48th time since 1961 that a team swept a 5-game series (h/t Steve Robison) which is a rare feat in the salaried controlled era of baseball as there have only been 5 five-game since 2015 and only one sweep so these are rare indeed. Continue reading
Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats.
Few Nationals fans can forget how the 2019 season series with the Phillies began on April 2nd as their rivals and their fans won the first game of the 19 games they would face each other, and the Phillies faithful were gloating like they won the World Series. There were taunts from the Broad Street Bullies of “We Got Harper” and yes, there were fights in the stands on that evening. Fast forward 17 games, the Nats are now up 13-5 in games this season against the Phillies. Their last game against the Phillies will be tomorrow afternoon. Continue reading
The players all talked about some of the reasons for the Nats miraculous comeback in the season and overwhelmingly they said that the philosophy of “Let’s go One-and-O every day” that was the 2019 mantra of manager Dave Martinez resonated with them and made the difference in how they approached each day. The sports cliché is to take it one game at a time, and they did. The cohesive clubhouse and the belief in the next man up is something we have never seen in this team that greatly missed the departure of Jayson Werth after the 2017 season as the team leader. The team went more veteran this year while promoting one rookie, Victor Robles, onto the Opening Day roster, and he learned on the job and improved all season into the best defensive centerfielder in baseball. The additions in-season of Gerardo Parra, Fernando Rodney, and Asdrubal Cabrera who all arrived as virtual freebies via DFA’s from their previous teams, changed the vibe with a Latino flair that seemed to raise the energy level while also helping this team win games. Continue reading
It took a come-from-behind grand slam by Trea Turner to put his team up 6-4 at the same time the Pittsburgh Pirates went from a no-hitter to a beatdown on the Cubs to turn the Magic number to ZERO. The Nats now know they are going to the postseason as a Wild Card team which is unfamiliar territory for this team, but as Sean Doolittle said it does not matter as it is still a way into the dance. The Nats were behind in this game by a score of 4-0 then chipped away and won it on the Turner grand slam. Max Scherzer gave up a 3-run home run in the first inning and a solo home run, but you had the feeling the Nats could comeback and they did. When Turner’s grand slam ball entered the Phillies’ bullpen, it simultaneously turned Scherzer’s night from a potential loss to a potential win that became a reality three innings later. Continue reading
Opening Night of Spring Training against the Astros with Max Scherzer on the mound; Photo by Andy Ward for TalkNats
What started during Spring Training as a mission, a postseason berth could become a reality for the Washington Nationals tonight if Max Scherzer gets the win and the Cubs lose in their game in Pittsburgh. While the Nats can only control their own destiny, they have their ace on the mound to accomplish the Nats part of ratcheting down the Magic number that is currently at 2. If the Cubs do not lose tonight, clinching a postseason spot will move to tomorrow. Continue reading
Photo from Nationals Instagram
The Nationals just officially ended the Phillies season while turning a scary bases loaded jam in the first inning into the Phillies only threat of the game. In fact the Nats shutout the Phillies in the final eight inning of which the bullpen pitched a 5.0 inning perfect game in relief of “spot” starter Joe Ross. With a final score of 4-1, this win ratcheted the Nats “Magic” number to 2. Continue reading
Photo by Kevin Nibley for TalkNats
There seemed to be a tight-lipped nature as to the ongoing status of pitcher Joe Ross who last pitched on September 2nd and was shutdown for what was reported to be forearm pain he experienced in a bullpen session before his next scheduled start. Ross was replaced by Austin Voth in the rotation then there was little news on Ross, and maybe that was more of a function that the media rarely asked about him or saw him pitching in a bullpen session. All of a sudden and out of virtually nowhere, Ross was announced in the pre-game as the starter in the first game of this doubleheader. Continue reading
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
We recently upgraded our comment system to improve reliability, performance, and long-term control, and we’re currently running both systems during the transition. This shift moves us away from an external service to a system we run and control directly—meaning we own the content and can continue improving it over time. We’ve also reduced the comment refresh delay from about 30 seconds to 10 seconds, making it much closer to real-time.
We understand there have been frustrations and increased feedback, and we’re actively working to improve things. What we ask is simple: use the system and give it a fair shot. If you run into issues, please submit them through the support form so we can track and fix them properly. Repeated complaints without details don’t help us solve problems—we appreciate your patience as we continue refining the experience.
If you’d like a full side-by-side comparison of the platforms and the reasons behind this decision, please refer to the chart below. This change is being made with the long-term benefit of the entire community in mind.