7th 18-gamer: Up and Down, but Reason for Hope

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Section222

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At one time this game was tied by a Werth single in the bottom of the 9th: Postgame

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The game started with a nice pitcher’s dual by the starters who both left the game giving up 3 runs each. A.J. Cole had 2 outs with 2 runners on and was asked to issue an intentional walks. Unfortunately, Cole threw a wild pitch which scored a run making the score 2-0 and a single made it 3-0. The Nationals clawed back into the game and scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning to tie the game.

The Rockies scored a run in the 7th inning off of  Marc Rzepczynski, and the score stayed tied until the bottom of the 9th inning as Ben Revere walked and stole 2nd base. Jayson Werth in a 2 strike count served a single into leftfield to tie the game. It was a blown save for Adam Ottavino who had been on a long 0.00 ERA streak.

In extra inning Mark Melancon threw a scoreless 10th inning and in the bottom of the 10th inning Bryce Harper got ejected from the game after a borderline strikeout call as he tossed his helmet in front of home plate umpire Mike Winters. It was unfortunate as the Nationals had the momentum going and only one bench player remaining.

In the top of the 11th inning, the first batter hit a grounder that Anthony Rendon made a great diving stop on but he threw the ball wide for a two-base error. The Rockies took advantage in quick-strike fashion as Charlie Blackmon hit a two-run home run off of Yusmeiro Petit. The Rockies would add on three more runs in the inning including another two-run home run by Carlos Gonzalez.

One of those games -if- only. Nats lose in 11 innings 9-4.

Here is the chart on the Harper 10th inning strikeout:

mcgee on harper

 

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Game #129 A.J. Cole earns another start: Game Thread

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nationals have a rare early afternoon start today, and A.J. Cole gets the mound today in Nationals Park.

Bryce Harper in the 2 weeks since coming back from neck (not shoulder) injury: .400/.492/.660/1.152, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 8 XBH, 9 BB, 8 K. The prodigious long-ball power is not there like it was in April, but the overall results are impressive.

Here is Trea Turner‘s hot August night’s splits. The most impressive number might be his RBI and Runs Scoring figures which is incredible that Turner is averaging 1.14 per game. Yes, Turner leads the Majors in Runs Scored in August.

trea run scored for August 26

Bryce Harper on Trea Turner’s contributions to the team, “I was thinking tonight, imagine if he was up in May, June, or July…We might’ve already ran away with this thing.”

Many people probably agree with Bryce as Trea Turner is the hottest leadoff man certainly East of the Mississippi and probably East of the Pacific Ocean if not for a debate about Charlie Blackmon.

Continue reading →

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Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Murphy reach milestones while Trea Turner reaches havoc overload: Postgame

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Andrew Lang

It took a few times, but Gio Gonzalez got his 100th win, and Daniel Murphy got his 500th RBI in his career, and the Nationals got their 75th win of the season.

While Jayson Werth homered again tonight and so did Daniel Murphy, Trea Turner was the sparkplug and havoc wreaker tonight. He personally caused 3 errors on the Rockies tonight and went 2-5 with 2 runs scored. Werth, Murphy and Harper each had 2 RBIs each as the offense really got it going. Continue reading →

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Game #128 A look to the past with Frank Howard and Gio versus the rookie: Game Thread

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Frank Howard gets enshrined into the “Ring of Honor” tonight at Nationals Park. A fitting tribute for one of the greatest Washington Senators of their final team before owner Robert Short would rob z Washington D.C. fans of hopes and dreams generations of D.C. baseball fans that spanned for over 3 decades. Frank Howard kept his permanent home in Washington D.C. area in rural Virginia.

The memories of Hondo and Zim closing RFK Stadium to baseball in 2007 will always be a great memory of passing the torch. Let us hope that tonight is just as special as we have some more glimpses of Frank “Hondo” Howard with Ryan Zimmerman as we always thought of them as the  “Faces of the Washington Franchises”. The picture (to the right) was actually produced by our own Allstars_S2 back in 2007 for a tribute piece to them. Congratulations Frank Howard!

The Nationals players, coaches, Dusty Baker, and Mike Rizzo must have finally slept well. Poorly played games can sometimes keep you up at night. Max Scherzer had one of the most important wins of the season for this Nationals team as they widened their lead back up to 8.0 games in the NL East with 35 left to play, but more importantly split this mini 2 game series and got off of the four game losing streak.

The fight in this team was shown on Wednesday night that they don’t give up even when behind by 7 runs in the final half inning of a game. That was also evident in their play on Thursday. Continue reading →

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Scherzer proves once again that great pitching beats good hitting: Postgame

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

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Game #127 Scherzer must be Aces: Game Thread

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nats losing streak is at 4 games, and while that is disappointing, the Nationals still maintain a healthy 7.0 game lead in the NL East. Tonight the Nationals send Max Scherzer to the mound as their starter and Ace. The Orioles placed Chris Tillman on the DL and will go back to the struggling Ubaldo Jimenez as their starter.

The Nationals offense came alive last night mounting a comeback that was almost of historical proportions as the Nats were down 10-3 in the 9th and scored 5 runs with the tying runs on base and the winning run in the batter’s box with only 1 out. Ryan Zimmerman grounded into a game ending doubleplay, and while Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos continue to struggle, Trea Turner and others are getting it done. Continue reading →

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The bandwagon is on the Trea Turner bullet Trea-n

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

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BREAKING: Nats trade for lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski for Max Schrock

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

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So close but yet so far: Postgame

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Washington Nationals didn’t throw in the towel and gave it all they had as the score was a 10-3 deficit in the bottom of the 9th inning as Danny Espinosa got on base with an infield hit followed by a Clint Robinson single. Jayson Werth walked to load the bases for Daniel Murphy who hit a no-doubter grand slam which was the first of his career. That made the score 10-7.

Buck Showalter went to his closer Zach Britton, and Bryce Harper singled off him followed by an Anthony Rendon RBI double. It was the first RBI that Britton had given up since May. Wilson Ramos stepped into the batter’s box representing the tying run, and he hit a comebacker to Britton who tried to get Rendon leaning off of 2nd base, and he was safe. Luckily Ramos was hustling down the line and was safe giving the Nats the winning run stepping into the batter’s box. Ryan Zimmerman had a chance to be the hero, and redemption to make his season right with one swing for history. Zimmerman went first pitch swinging and grounded into a 4-6-3 game ending doubleplay.

The Nationals lost 10-8. A heartbreaking finish.

 

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