Game #83 Max Scherzer returns to the scene of his first Cy Young

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

This afternoon marks the first time Max Scherzer has been on the Comerica Park mound since September 25th of 2014 in the 6th inning against the former Washington Senators (Minnesota Twins). Scherzer of course was a pending free agent that season, and a year removed from winning his first Cy Young award. Scherzer’s hopes for postseason success that season with Detroit was short-lived as the Tigers were bounced from the postseason in a 3-game sweep, and Max never got to pitch again in Comerica for the Tigers. Scherzer’s pro success began in Detroit after the Diamondbacks traded the struggling second year starter in a blockbuster three-team trade. In Scherzer’s age 28 season, he became an ace which led him back to general manager Mike Rizzo who scouted him when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks. After signing his $30 million per year, $210 million contract, with the Nationals, Scherzer perhaps is having his best season ever after he fixed his curveball and changeup at the end of May. Is there anyone better about self-improvement than Max Scherzer? Continue reading →

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All-Star rosters to be revealed on ESPN Selection show on Sunday!

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

On Sunday afternoon after the Washington Nationals have finished their game, you will want to tune into ESPN at 5:30 pm ET for the All-Star Selection show for the dramatic reveal of the pitchers and reserves. Every team will have at least one player represented on the roster to play in the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday July 9th in Cleveland. This season, you noticed the new selection process with an initial fan vote followed by a runoff vote from the top three players at each infield, catcher and designated hitter position, and the top nine for the outfield to determine the starters. Continue reading →

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The bullpen bent and broke giving up a two run lead to lose by two.

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

Tanner Rainey (Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats)

Lead-off walks will usually kill you, and giving up two walks to start an inning followed by a hit is usually a recipe for a disaster. Tanner Rainey was the guilty party here in the seventh inning of this game. He took the loss after he entered with a two-run lead and gave up three runs. Wander Suero gave up another and that all added up to a 7-5 loss. Starting pitcher Austin Voth only went 4 1/3 innings, and he hit the wall in the fourth inning. Manager Davey Martinez left Voth in a couple of batters too late, but maybe it did not matter as the bullpen arms other than Jonny Venters were not good. The Nationals four game winning streak came to an end. Continue reading →

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Game #82 Austin Voth wants to show he belongs

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

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

When the Nationals depth chart for starting pitchers was projected for the season, Austin Voth was not even in the top eight players. He was behind Joe Ross, Erick Fedde, and Kyle McGowin. Because of rainouts and the decision to use Ross in a relief role on Saturday, Voth got his callup and shined in his 2019 debut. He impressed so much against the Braves that general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez named him the fifth starter in this vaunted rotation, and the team sent Fedde packing. There is only one way to stay as they say and that is to continue to impress. Voth will have to show today that his debut game was not a fluke. The righthander was pitching on four days of extra rest in his start on Sunday. Today, Voth pitches on one day of extra rest. Continue reading →

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An Anibal Sanchez gem with a Fernando Rodney save to move over .500!

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

Fernando Rodney (Photo by Tom Cicotello @42skidoo for TalkNats)

The Nationals closed-out the mathematical first half of the season on a winning note with a 3-1 win on the arm of Anibal Sanchez and a well-executed save by Fernando Rodney. With this win, the Nationals extended their winning streak to four games, and improved their record to 41-40. The sleep deprived Nationals offense only put together three runs which came via a Juan Soto 418-foot blast to the upper reaches of Comerica Park’s rightfield, and the other RBIs came from Adam Eaton and Howie Kendrick. This is the first time the Nationals have seen their record above .500 since April 18th, and since May 24th, the team is now 22-9. Continue reading →

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Game #81 Anibal Sanchez takes us to the halfway mark!

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

Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats

Here we are at the halfway point in the 162 game marathon that they call a baseball season. Anibal Sanchez gets the rock tonight in his old stomping grounds in Detroit. As expected, Ryan Zimmerman joins the team in Motown while Michael A. Taylor was removed from the roster as expected to make room for Zim. For Taylor, he will meet up with Double-A Harrisburg, and it would be to nobody’s surprise if he demands a trade. Continue reading →

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The Washington Nationals will be sellers buyers in July!

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

Graphic by MASN

In one of the most dramatic turns in baseball, the Washington Nationals just pulled off the dirty dozen trick. They just went from a dozen games below .500 and then back to even before the calendar got to July 1st. No sleight of hand was needed here to make the glimmer of hope reappear. There was no David Blaine magic for this trick rather the team returning to playing good baseball and getting healthy. How much have they needed Trea Turner who has played in almost exactly half the team’s innings this season and sealed the Nats first win of 2019 with a walk-off home run and added another walk-off blast after he returned from the “injured list” with a broken finger that was not 100% healed. The heart and soul of this team in 2019 could be defined by this core of walking wounded players like Max Scherzer playing with a broken nose, Turner with nine fingers, Victor Robles bruised chin, and the improbable return of Howie Kendrick from a blown achilles tendon.  Continue reading →

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Nats sweep and get back to .500 on another Matt Adams 3-run HR and Robles 2-run blast!

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

Photo by John Caulfield for TalkNats

It has been a long way to claw back to the .500 mark for these Washington Nationals pulling off the rare feat of going from 12-games under .500 back to the even mark before the All-Star break. The last time the Nats saw .500 before this game was on April 23rd. For the second straight game, Matt Adams hit a 3-run home run to get his team back into the game. Adams connected in the 6th inning with 2-outs with his team trailing 4-1. Two batters after the Adams’ home run it was Victor Robles blasting the game winning two run home run. Continue reading →

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Game #80 Stephen Strasburg’s turn in Miami

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

Photo by Lynn G for TalkNats

This three game series in Miami finishes up tonight in the Nationals first half of this road trip before the Nats travel home for the July 4th series which is held each year in D.C. Stephen Strasburg takes the mound in this game and just needs to follow what Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin did on the mound. Continue reading →

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The #Nats have a big decision after this game on who flies to Detroit!

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

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