CHICAGO - The postponement of Game 4 of the National League Division Series appeared to favor the Nationals, who suddenly had the option of sending Stephen Strasburg back to the mound for a must-win game on normal rest.
But when manager Dusty Baker entered the makeshift press conference room at Wrigley Field this evening to provide what seemed like an obvious answer to a simple question, he wound up creating confusion and dissatisfaction among many with his eight-word reply: "We're going to...
CHICAGO - With rain approaching the area and expected to arrive sometime late this afternoon or early this evening, the start of Game 4 of the National League Division Series has been delayed.
There's been no decision made yet on a full postponement of the game, but the general managers and managers from both the Nationals and Cubs met with Major League Baseball officials including chief baseball officer Joe Torre a short while ago to discuss the possibilities. They are scheduled to meet again...
CHICAGO - And so the Nationals' season has come down to this: They need to win Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Wrigley Field and force a winner-take-all Game 5 at Nationals Park on Thursday night.
All of this, of course, is assuming they're able to play today. Your early-afternoon weather update: It's not raining yet, but the rain is on the way, and it's going to hit sometime later this afternoon. It's just a question of whether the rain is significant enough to prevent...
CHICAGO - A lot happened in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Seriously, for a 2-1 ballgame, there were enough significant moments, great plays, terrible plays and key decisions to warrant a week's worth of discussion.
We don't have that much time, of course, to discuss it all. Game 4 is coming up later this afternoon. (If you missed it, Major League Baseball announced late last night that, no matter the outcome of the other NLDS, the game will be played at 5:38 p.m. EDT in an...
CHICAGO - Oliver Pérez liked the pitch coming out of his hand, and he liked it coming off Anthony Rizzo's bat. It was a first-pitch fastball, in, and he managed to jam Rizzo and force the Cubs slugger to hit a little blooper toward shallow left-center field.
And then, as Pérez turned around and saw how much ground three of his teammates were trying to cover to get to the ball in time, well, that's when the Nationals reliever realized this might be trouble.
"I saw he didn't hit it that...
CHICAGO - The margin between success and failure in the postseason is razor-thin. A batter can hit a frozen rope but hit it right at somebody. Another can barely bloop a ball into shallow left-center field and watch it fall between three defenders and drive home the winning run.
The Nationals experienced it all today during an agonizing 2-1 loss to the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. They had a couple of chances to score early, but watched as Chicago's outfielders...
CHICAGO - Whatever urge there may have been to alter his lineup for Game 3 of the National League Division Series, Dusty Baker ultimately decided continuity was more important than playing matchups against an opponent they've never faced.
With left-hander José Quintana on the mound for the Cubs this afternoon, the Nationals are going up against an unknown entity. Only three members of their NLDS roster have ever faced him before: Howie Kendrick (5-for-10), Adam Lind (2-for-9) and Matt...
CHICAGO - It's October at Wrigley Field, but the sun is shining bright, temperatures are in the upper 70s and there's very little breeze to speak of. This is not what you expect from postseason baseball here. But this is what we'll have today for Game 3 of the National League Division Series between the Nationals and Cubs, a pivotal game that will move one of these two clubs one step away from the National League Championship Series.
The Nationals at long last have Max Scherzer on the mound,...
CHICAGO - Unless something really unexpected happens today, Tanner Roark will start Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday. No matter what happens between now and then, Stephen Strasburg will not be starting that game.
The Nationals revealed their rotation plans for the remainder of their series against the Cubs, and it's exactly what was expected to be the case all along, with Roark serving as the club's fourth starter and Strasburg held back from returning to pitch again...
CHICAGO - Max Scherzer made his way out to the right field grass at Wrigley Field, set up shop 60 feet away from bullpen catcher Octavio Martinez and proceeded to throw a baseball off flat ground for the next 10-15 minutes, just like he would any other day before he starts a game.
When he was done, Scherzer gave Martinez a high five, then started skipping around the outfield. OK, that was actually part of his regular exercise routine, but the image nonetheless conveyed what everyone here with...
He had watched this lineup score runs in bunches all season long, overcoming injuries and ever-changing configurations to produce as well as just about any lineup in the majors. But 16 innings into the National League Division Series, Dusty Baker's Nationals had done nothing at the plate against the Cubs.
Nothing. Nada. Squat. Bupkis.
Yes, Anthony Rendon had homered in the bottom of the first in Game 2, but that opposite-field shot looked like a lazy fly ball off the bat and somehow got caught...
For nine innings Friday night and for seven more innings tonight, they pleaded with every batter who stepped to the plate wearing a curly W helmet to deliver a big hit, just one big hit, to turn not only this National League Division Series around but at least give this franchise an opportunity to turn around nearly six seasons of failures on the big stage.
And just when they were ready to give up on their forlorn ballclub, two of the most important players in Nationals history delivered those...
Bryce Harper's left leg is healthy, at least as healthy as it's going to be before he has an entire winter of rest. Everything the star right fielder has done during his six games back from the disabled list suggests he's not physically limited and can play the way he normally plays.
But is Harper actually performing the way he normally performs? That question has been tougher to answer.
"I think it could get better," the 24-year-old said today as he prepared for Game 2 of the National...
There was the play down the third base line Anthony Rendon couldn't make, resulting in his first error in 76 days. There was Bryce Harper's ill-advised, too-high throw that allowed a runner to take second base and ultimately score minutes later. There were pitches called strikes that didn't jibe well with batters. And there was the debatable decision not to bring in a left-hander to face Anthony Rizzo in a key, two-out spot with first base open.
The Nationals had to confront all of that...
For five innings, a crowd of 43,898 - more than 90 percent clad in red - became believers. Stephen Strasburg was on the mound, posting nothing but zeros, and those in attendance were on their feet every time he got to two strikes, fully buying into the notion that things would be different this time.
And then came the top of the sixth, with a couple of hits and a couple of misplays, and suddenly all the energy inside Nationals Park had transformed from unbridled enthusiasm to the kind of...
In assembling the final spots for their National League Division Series roster, the Nationals had two priorities in mind: speed and defense on their bench, and a bunch of lefties in their bullpen.
Manager Dusty Baker explained why, after several days of deliberations, the club's decision-makers settled on rookies Brian Goodwin and Victor Robles as backup outfielders, and Oliver Pérez, Sammy SolÃs and Enny Romero as left-handed members of their seven-man bullpen.
The Nationals became...
What had previously been clear but not announced was made official by Dusty Baker this afternoon: Gio Gonzalez will start Game 2 of the National League Division Series for the Nats, with Max Scherzer starting Game 3.
That decision was made by the Nationals earlier in the week, but was held back for public consumption until they were confident Scherzer would be ready to pitch Monday's Game 3 at Wrigley Field.
They were finally ready to make the announcement today, with Scherzer completing a...
It feels like we've been waiting around for this postseason for an extraordinarily long time. The Nationals clinched their division title way back on Sept. 10, but truth be told, they knew a lot earlier than that they were going to win the National League East and make the postseason. And they've known for most of that time they almost certainly were going to face the Cubs in the National League Division Series.
Well, at long last the day has come. It's Oct. 6, and a highly anticipated...
The Nationals are carrying four left-handed relievers and an extra bench player for the National League Division Series, ultimately choosing to take a chance on young players like Brian Goodwin, Victor Robles and Enny Romero over veterans or a long reliever.
The Nationals will have a seven-man bullpen for their best-of-five series against the Cubs. Closer Sean Doolittle is joined by right-handed setup men Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler and Matt Albers, plus a trio of lefties who can be used to...
They took over first place in the National League East Division for good on April 18. They led by at least five games every day since May 3, by at least 10 games every day since July 17, by at least 15 games every day since Aug. 30. And they clinched the division title on Sept. 10, a full 26 days before they'll take the field tonight for their postseason opener.
The Nationals, through no fault of their own, have not had to play a truly meaningful game in quite some time, and barely had to play...