The Nats put a blown save on the Braves but lose it in extras; A Henley “Sendley” proves costly!

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Bob Henley and Adam Eaton; Photo by Jim Osborn for TalkNats

The Nationals have been the team that never gives up, and they came back from a 4-1 deficit to tie it up in the 9th inning and hang a blown save on the Braves bullpen. But Sean Doolittle gave up a home run to Josh Donaldson in the 10th inning, and the Nats had two runners on in the bottom of the 10th inning and could not push across any runs. Rewind back to the 6th inning when pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick walked and Trea Turner laced a double into the gap with no outs — but for some reason, third base coach Bob Henley windmilled Kendrick home and he was easily thrown out for the first out of the inning and the Nationals did not score in that inning. What was Henley thinking sending Kendrick who was recovering this year from an achilles injury and a hamstring injury. Howie is not the speedster he once was, and with Adam Eaton, Anthony Rendon, and Juan Soto behind them in the order — you move the line!  Continue reading →

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Game #108 A getaway noon game before the rain, and the 4pm trade deadline!

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats

This Washington Nationals series with the Braves wraps up today tied 1-to-1. Last week, the Nationals had Patrick Corbin, Max Scherzer, and Anibal Sanchez lined-up for this series which was hailed as an advantage for the Nationals in this key series. But the best laid plans soon became a disaster in real-time when Scherzer was scratched and placed on the 10-day IL again with Erick Fedde replacing Scherzer en route to being crushed last night yielding nine earned runs. Scherzer has now missed three starts which unsurprisingly was booked as three losses, and Scherzer was lined up for this Sunday in Arizona and will miss that start too. Where do the Nationals go with Corbin, Sanchez, and Stephen Strasburg as the only reliable starting pitchers for manager Dave Martinez. Continue reading →

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The Nats trailed 9-0 and made it interesting at 11-8

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

Every Nats starter had a hit in this game, but clawing back from a 9-run hole courtesy of Nats starter Erick Fedde proved to be too deep of a hole as the Nationals lost 11-8. It was good to see Howie Kendrick once again pummeling the ball as he went 3-5 in the game, and Trea Turner, Yan Gomes, and Juan Soto each added home runs. There is no way to put a positive spin on Fedde’s night as he was pulled at 3 2/3 innings and gave up 9-runs on 9-hits with four walks. If there is any good news, manager Dave Martinez only used his “B” bullpen and saved all of his back-end arms thanks to Javy Guerra who mopped up 3 1/3 innings while Michael Blazek and Tony Sipp closed out the game. Continue reading →

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Game #107 The Nats look to Fedde for tonight in place of Scherzer!

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

When Erick Fedde was optioned to the Minor Leagues after the doubleheader last Wednesday, he was told that it was a strategic move to bolster the lineup since the Nats would not need a 5th starter until Tuesday August 6th if they kept everyone else on regular rest. Best laid plans do not always work to the script and with Max Scherzer‘s rhomboid injury and 10-day IL move, Fedde is back sooner than later. The Braves have never faced Fedde before, and Braves manager Brian Snitker will almost certainly stack his lineup with lefties like Ender Inciarte, Brian McCann, and of course Freddie Freeman will be there. Along with those three, the Braves have two switch-hitters in Johan Camargo and Ozzie Albies. Of course Snitker could start Matt Joyce if he wanted to go as lefty as possible but then maybe Nats manager Dave Martinez could go the route of an “opener” again with Matt Grace to thwart this? The issue is that Fedde struggles against left-handed batters who hit him at .310 compared to righties at .191. The strategy for Fedde is you can bend but don’t break. Continue reading →

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Corbin solid; Soto save; Rendon slamming; Bullpen shutdown!

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

When Patrick Corbin needed some more run support, Anthony Rendon took the 2-2 tie and in an instant made it 6-2 with a 412 foot grand slam that left his bat as a no-doubter at 105 mph into the leftfield stands in Section 105 of Nationals Park among the Nats faithful. Corbin who exited after he completed the top of the 6th inning in a tied game needed some runs in the bottom of the 6th to have a chance at a win otherwise it would have been a no-decision, and Rendon obliged. Corbin’s teammates came through as the Nats defeated the Braves to cut their lead in the NL East to 4.5 games. Continue reading →

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Game #106 Lefties on the mound as Nats take on the Braves!

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Navy Yard Nats for TalkNats

A week ago it looked like the Nationals were lining up their number one ace, Max Scherzer, for a start in this Braves series to be bookended by Patrick Corbin today and Anibal Sanchez on Wednesday. Now it looks all but certain that Scherzer’s spot on Tuesday will go to Erick Fedde if there is a 10-day IL move which will be needed to bring Fedde back since he has not been ten days on his option back to the Minors. Continue reading →

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Strasburg 14W Gem; Dozier offense, Davey’s ejection, and the replacement players!

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats

Once again, Stephen Strasburg was the “stopper” for the Washington Nationals and led them to a victory with a gem while putting an end to a three-game losing streak. His manager, Dave Martinez, and starting rightfielder, Adam Eaton, both had to watch the game from the clubhouse after they were ejected in the first inning. All the offense Stras would need was Brian Dozier‘s 2-run oppo home run, and for good measure, Strasburg once again swung the bat and added a RISP RBI hit to help his own cause. Sure, the Dodgers added some meaningless runs in the 9th inning in this 11-4 Nats blow-out win, but they were stymied all day by Strasburg who was throwing a perfect game until midway in the 5th inning. His final line was 7.0 IP 1 ER 2 H 0 BB 9 K for his 14th win of the season which leads the Majors, and his ERA is now 3.26.  Continue reading →

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Game #105 The Nats need to do something they have not done since Wednesday: WIN

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

The Nationals have not been in a 3-game losing streak since the end of May before the team got red-hot. The combination of bad pitching and “cold” bats has been rearing its ugly heads again. With Joe Ross technically in yesterday’s game as a reliever, the Nationals lost their last three games in the bullpen, but most of the poor pitching seemed highly predictable due to pitching on exhaustion (Fernando Rodney), levels of not doing their job (Tony Sipp and Kyle Barraclough) and a pitcher who is lost (Ross). But the lack of hitting also needs to be exposed, and it is three of the Nats best players: Juan Soto, Victor Robles and Howie Kendrick. In the last two weeks, Soto is batting .186 (8-43), Robles .178 (8-45), and Kendrick .042 (1-24). The good news is that the Nationals are in a three-way tie for the Wild Card with the Cubs and the Brewers. The other good news is that Stephen Strasburg is starting this afternoon for the Nationals. Continue reading →

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The Nats give Matt Grace the “Opener” a 2-run lead but Joe Ross just lost it!

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nationals just stumbled into a three game losing streak and the 5th starter spot continues to be a black hole along with a few key players who are scuffling at the plate. The game started with Matt Grace as the “opener” and he threw a two-inning shutout, and Joe Ross entered in the third inning and gave up a home run to the first batter he faced en route to a 6 earned run outing to push the game out of reach in a game that ended with a 9-3 loss. Continue reading →

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Game #104 Same strategy as yesterday but with the “A” bullpen

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

Yesterday, the strategy to beat an ace like Hyun-Jin Ryu was to “small ball”  him and wear him down, and the Nationals did that to knock him out of the game at 6 2/3 innings in a 1-1 tie. The Nationals hit into some tough luck, and Alex Verdugo had two Web Gems yesterday as the Nationals hit into some tough defense too. The Dodgers are one of the worst fielding teams, and we made a point of putting balls in play to stress their defense and eventually it worked as Justin Turner booted a ball and Corey Seager could not make a play. It worked for the most part although it is still a head-scratcher why Howie Kendrick earlier in the game was trying to bunt with two men on-base and no outs. Kendrick popped-up a bunt essentially killing that potential rally. Ryu was fortunate to exit the game tied at 1-1. Anibal Sanchez did go toe-to-toe with Ryu and out-pitched him. Some people hate to hear it, but it was another time that an umpire (Brian O’Nora) blew some big calls in a game with playoff implications. Continue reading →

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