The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

When Max Scherzer was born in St. Louis in 1984, the Cardinals were two years removed from a World Series win. As Scherzer grew up in the area, the Cardinals went through those gut-punch years of 8 exits from the postseason and three series lost in the World Series as he was growing up. He endured a lot of tough losses as a fan. Finally when Scherzer turned 21 and was in College, the Cardinals returned to glory with a World Series win. Out of Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, Missouri, his hometown Cardinals drafted him in the 43rd round in 2003. Scherzer wisely decided to go pitch at the University of Missouri where he was scouted by Mike Rizzo who was with the Diamondbacks at that time, and they drafted him in the first round. Scherzer now has the chance to strike a blow on his hometown team if he can help his Nationals win today.  Continue reading →

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

There are all of the baseball clichés of taking it one game at a time. Literally taken, that is how a team has to do it. You cannot start a winning streak until you win that first game. Patrick Corbin has a score to settle with the Cardinals. Back in April, he faced the Cardinals as an unbeaten pitcher. There was an error at shortstop in the 4th inning that seemed to throw Corbin’s game off kilter, and the next batter ended Corbin’s no-hitter.  In the fifth inning with a 3-0 lead, Corbin was cruising in the game then some unlucky BABIP bit him hard. Maybe it is the fact that the Nats injuries put Howie Kendrick at third base, and Carter Kieboom at shortstop and balls were finding holes. Maybe Corbin did not trust the defense behind him. Today’s game is a second chance for Corbin to finish what he started back in April.  Continue reading →

Photo courtesy of Kelly Collis for TalkNats

As a person, you have to love Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez, and while he has his critics, the respect starts for Martinez as to who he is. Yesterday afternoon, he left the dugout and was taken to the hospital with chest pains which required a cardiac catheterization. The procedure went well according to General Manager Mike Rizzo who spoke to Martinez and said he was “upbeat.” Martinez will remain in Washington, D.C., and in St. Louis, Chip Hale will be taking over as manager, Tim Bogar as his bench coach, and Joe Dillon as the first base coach. Our sincerest thoughts and prayers to Davey on a speedy recovery. Continue reading →

Where have the bats gone? Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

For weeks this team has been out of balance; starting pitching, the offense, and the bullpen have rarely been clicking together. Yesterday, the Nationals got 5 2/3 innings from spot starter Austin Voth, and he departed with a 1-0 lead. In the final 3 1/3 innings, the bullpen gave up 10-runs, and the Nationals never scored any more runs. In this series, the Nats scored all of one run in the first two games against the Braves in their final games of the 2019 regular season. The Braves have already punched their ticket to the postseason while the Nats are clinging to their diminished lead in the Wild Card race.  Continue reading →

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

This is one of those games that the Washington Nationals find themselves as underdogs on the betting lines, and it is understandable as the Nats have the inexperienced Austin Voth starting today. Last night the Braves clinched the season series 10-7. There was a point where it looked like the Nats had the Braves number. The Nats took the first three games in their head-to-head matchups, and since that point, the Braves have dominated. Continue reading →