Congratulations to the Nationals on 95 wins and Max Scherzer on 20 wins: Postgame

Spencer Kieboom finishes the season with a 1.000 OBP and OPS, and he is among the many Nats like Wilson Ramos, Daniel Murphy, Trea Turner, Wilmer Difo, Brian Goodwin, Pedro Severino, Tanner Roark, Max Scherzer and Mark Melancon who finished with some fine looking stats. There of course is others who we could add to that list, and we will as we do compilations of the final regular season statistics. The most important stats of course is 95 team wins, and a 1st Place finish in the NL East.

The post-season statistics will be the numbers we will care most about as there will be a new ledger, and a new set of standards. Continue reading

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #162 Meaningless to most except for Scherzer and the Nats!: Postgame

Dusty Baker says he wants to get Max Scherzer his 20th win which has always been considered a great pitching mileston. A 20th win for Scherzer would be a fitting finale to the 2016 regular season; however, the bigger picture is a nice and easy outing for Max Scherzer who will be starting in just 5 days the Game #1 of the NLDS in Washington, D.C. We can only hope that a 20th win and nice and easy can be done together as one.

Here is what the NL pitching charts (below) look like and while Clayton Kershaw won’t qualify on the ERA charts because he did not reach 162 innings this year, Kershaw and Jacob deGrom are all still eligible for Cy Young voting.  Tanner Roark yesterday lowered his ERA from 2.86 to 2.83. Roark has to be in the Cy discussion. Continue reading

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Nats win behind Turner and Tanner and clinch HFA: Postgame

It was the Turner and Tanner show to secure the Nats 94th win. The Nationals actually secured home field advantage in the NLDS before the Nationals won this game due to the Dodgers loss earlier in the afternoon.

The Nationals ended up winning 2-1 on the two runs scored by Trea Turner. The first run came after Turner singled to lead-off the game. He stole 2nd base for his 32nd steal of the season. Bryce Harper then singled in Turner for the quick 1-0 lead.

Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen settled down, but in the 5th inning Turner hit a solo HR into the visitor’s bullpen in leftfield to make the score 2-0. Continue reading

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #161 Tanner Roark will try to clinch HFA: Game Thread

Don’t expect the Nationals to pour champagne if they win today and clinch home field advantage for the NLDS. Tanner Roark needs to finish the regular season with a strong outing, and the Nationals could use a win today to relax tomorrow for the final game of the regular season.

The Marlins starter is lefty Wei-Yin Chen which could give Dusty the opportunity to go with a righty line-up. Continue reading

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Sloppy play along with bullpen failures equals a loss: Postgame

The Nationals lost 7-4 and in the 4th inning the Nats took a 4 run deficit and tied the game up, but the Nats bullpen couldn’t keep it close while the Nats offense did nothing after the 4th inning.

The Marlins scored 2 runs in the 3rd inning both on unearned runs from an error on the middle infielders as neither seemed to call for a popup and then Lobaton had a passed ball. Continue reading

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #160 The regular season final weekend: Game Thread

Tonight begins the final three games of the regular season for both the Marlins and Nationals. This game does have some post-season implications. The Nationals control their own destiny in securing home field advantage for the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers which makes this an important game for the Nationals. The Nationals Magic Number for home field advantage is 2 which would mean any combination of a Nationals win or a Dodgers loss reduces that Magic Number.

For the Marlins, tonight’s game is still in the shadows of the passing of Jose Fernandez which happened less than a week ago, and his funeral was just yesterday. Continue reading

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Assembling the post-season roster! Who do you have?

You must be a TalkNats Subscriber to access this content. Subscribers have access to exclusive content on the TalkNats website and can engage in discussions with other Nats fans.

Click here to become a subscriber.

First two weeks are free and then you will be billed $3.99/month. Cancel anytime. Secure payments using Stripe.

If you are already a subscriber, simply log in using the form below.

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

Taking care of business. Nats win game #93: Postgame

For another game this week, Dusty Baker pieced together a line-up of regulars and September call-ups, and it turned into another Curly W! This was win number 93 on the season for the Nationals, and the Magic Number for the home field advantage for the NLDS is now at 2. The Nationals will face the Dodgers in the NLDS, and the Dodgers play the Padres tonight then they have three games this weekend to finish the season against the Giants. The Nationals have three games this weekend with the Marlins to finish the regular season.

Of the Nationals five RBIs, four of them were delivered by a combination of September call-ups which included Michael Taylor, Wilmer Difo, and Pedro Severino. Taylor had three hits in the game including a two-run single while Difo and Severino both delivered on solo home runs. Continue reading

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #159 Joe Ross with another start: Game Thread

This afternoon, the rain could cooperate to get this game in. It is Joe Ross against ex-Nat farmhand Robbie Ray. The Nationals faced Ray and his big heater in Arizona in early August, and it was Wilson Ramos who hit the big three-run home run with 2 outs in just another of his clutch hits in 2016.

Robbie Ray is a lefty which has given Dusty Baker the opportunity to sit Bryce Harper again and insert a line-up with all players who will start the game batting right-handed.

The Nationals will get a further look at Wilmer Difo as they had been with Brian Goodwin who stepped up again last night and raised his batting average to .308 with a .803 OPS. Difo enters the game with a .292 batting average. Continue reading

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Home Field Advantage?

You must be a TalkNats Subscriber to access this content. Subscribers have access to exclusive content on the TalkNats website and can engage in discussions with other Nats fans.

Click here to become a subscriber.

First two weeks are free and then you will be billed $3.99/month. Cancel anytime. Secure payments using Stripe.

If you are already a subscriber, simply log in using the form below.

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment