The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

Unfortunately, this is not a Back To The Future episode of Opening Day 2019, but those starters are back on the mound tonight as the Mets try to win this series up 2-games-to-0. The only two men who have won the NL Cy Young awards the last three years are on the mound tonight, and it is the premiere marquee matchup. When they met last, it was Jacob deGrom throwing the knockout blow on the Nats in a 2-0 shutout. Scherzer was good in that game, but deGrom was better. That has been the problem with Scherzer most of the season — he has been very good but not the dominant Scherzer we have seen in year’s past. Continue reading →

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

When Erick Fedde was called up as a fill-in for the beleaguered bullpen, he adjusted well to his new role on the team. He said that he found success in the bullpen because he was aggressive in the strike zone, and his 0.00 gave some hope that maybe he found something that was working for him. As soon as you believed that the 26-year-old had found the magic elixir, he was called upon to relieve the injured Anibal Sanchez just five days ago and Fedde stumbled giving up 4-runs in 2 2/3 innings. He lacked the putaway pitch on left-handers that plagued him before. Fedde had previously had a 0.00 ERA in 8.0 innings of work before last week’s issues. His ERA today is 3.38. He will face this same Mets team tonight that he faced 5-days ago. The big difference today is that if the Nationals lose they would fall an unthinkable 10-games below .500.  The last time this team was 10-games below .500 was on September 11, 2011. Continue reading →

The rumors are swirling that the Mets could be making a change in managers before the opening to the 4-game series between their team and the Nationals that begins tonight. The Mets have not scored a run in 19 innings and only 3 hits over their last 18 innings. The Mets were swept by the Marlins who did not even pitch their ace, Caleb Smith, in that series while the Mets lost with Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, and Noah Syndergaard.  Based on current standings, the Mets are slightly ahead of the Nationals at 20-25 while the Nationals are at 19-27. If the Nationals were to win this series, they would emerge ahead of the Mets in the standings.  Continue reading →

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

This game wraps up the D.C. series with the Cubs, and this third game matches up the crafty soft-tossers of Kyle Hendricks and Jeremy Hellickson. The birthday boy, Victor Robles, also returns to the line-up as we reported last night that he was feeling well enough to play after being plunked on the wrist on Friday night. The 22-year-old will be back in his ninth spot in the batting order after Hellickson. Continue reading →

Photo by Lynn G for TalkNats

Yesterday, all the past troubles seemed so far away were not the exact lyrics of The Beatles, but it seemed like the Nationals were ready to turn a corner and put their past troubles behind. It was not the case as the bullpen meltdown hit a high for the season with 5 home runs surrendered and 11 runs. They did not get the gem they wanted by Max Scherzer, and they did not get the early offense they had received in their two previous wins. The Nationals are playing on the national FOX broadcast tonight, and they send Stephen Strasburg to the mound.  Continue reading →