The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

Photo by Lynn G for TalkNats

Every win that Stephen Strasburg tallies is another for the Washington Nationals as well as a new high in his illustrious career. He is tied for the lead in the NL with 16 wins with Max Fried, and with a win tonight, Stras would be the leader in wins at 17 plus he would lead the NL in innings pitched ahead of Madison Bumgarner, Aaron Nola, Jacob deGrom, and his teammate Patrick Corbin.  While innings pitched is not an awards category, it does show a lot about the pitcher as an iron man, and once Strasburg throws his 56th pitch tonight, he will take the NL lead in pitches thrown too. Stras is coming off of a season high 115-pitches thrown six days ago in his start on Thursday against the Braves.  Continue reading →

Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats

We have seen the many sides to Anibal Sanchez this year and how good he can be. In April he had a 5.91 ERA and landed on the 10-day IL in May. He came back and was aces in June with a 2.76 ERA in five games, and he has been an impactful part of this post-May 23rd success until recently. On August 23rd, Sanchez was spinning a gem in Chicago and his manager, Dave Martinez, gave him the ball in a 9-0 shellacking to go for a complete game even though the 35½ year old had not pitched past the 7th inning this year. Sanchez would stumble and be pulled after two runs scored and a 112 pitch count which was a new high for him this year. Since that start, Sanchez has pitched to an 8.10 ERA which included a blowout loss against the Mets. Last year in Atlanta, Sanchez had a governor on him and he only pitched once beyond 100 pitches — and this year in a Nats’ uniform he has done that four times already. Continue reading →

From @Nationals Instagram

There are times when your team is tested, and the Washington Nationals have looked ordinary for the last four games. The clutch hits have been few and far between, the bullpen has been spotty, the starting rotation has been inconsistent, and that is how you end up with a four game losing streak. Call on Max Scherzer as the stopper today with the hopes that he is up to the task. Nothing is easy as the Braves have their rookie sensation, Mike Soroka, on the mound this afternoon.  Continue reading →

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

Yesterday, we learned that Joe Ross was scratched from today’s start with forearm discomfort and replaced by Austin Voth. The Nats are dealing with many injury issues as well as some players in deep slumps. The timing could not be worse as Ross, Roenis Elias and Adam Eaton (in the lineup tonight) are all dealing with injuries plus Matt Adams and Gerardo Parra are scuffling. Adams is batting .050 with a .224 OPS the last two weeks, and Parra is batting .104 with a .314 OPS in the last month. On top of all of that, closer Sean Doolittle does not look like the top closer he was at the beginning of the season as he is struggling to get his fastball to 94 mph. The Nationals have lost four of their previous five games, and they are playing sloppy baseball and not taking advantage of golden opportunities on offense. Continue reading →

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

In the off-season, two of the biggest names in the starting pitching free agent pool were Patrick Corbin and Dallas Keuchel. It was Corbin who signed the largest deal of any pitcher in the off-season, and he surprised everyone when he chose the Washington Nationals over the Yankees and Phillies. It was Keuchel who went unsigned until the season was nearly to the halfway point on a bargain one year deal with the Braves. Tonight, they face-off against each other in a game of the dueling lefties at SunTrust Park in Atlanta. For the Nationals, Corbin must be the stopper and put an end to this two game slide and get his team back in the win column. Continue reading →