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...
The Nationals coaching staff and front office are meeting this afternoon for a final discussion of their 25-man roster for the National League Division Series, with several tough decisions still on the table.
The lingering uncertainty over Max Scherzer's right hamstring has complicated matters, with the Nationals left wondering if they need to carry an extra pitcher as insurance for their ace right-hander, who is now targeting Game 3 at Wrigley Field to make his one and only start in the...
Stephen Strasburg will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series. And Max Scherzer will not start start Game 2.
Manager Dusty Baker made the official announcement of Strasburg as his starter for Friday night's opener against the Cubs this morning, minutes before his club took the field for its final workout in preparation for the series.
The choice of Strasburg wasn't a surprise, not in the wake of Scherzer's attempts in the last few days to recover from a tweaked right hamstring...
The Athletics have finished last in the American League West each of the last three seasons, never winning more than 75 games. Last week, they gave manager Bob Melvin a contract extension through 2019.
The Pirates, following three straight seasons reaching the National League wild card game, have fallen back under the .500 mark each of the last two seasons. Last month, they gave manager Clint Hurdle a four-year contract extension that keeps him in Pittsburgh through 2021.
The Nationals just won...
If you were hoping for clarity today on Max Scherzer's status and the defined order of the Nationals rotation for the National League Division Series, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
Though the Cubs formally announced their entire rotation plan for the series, the Nats have not yet even confirmed who is starting Game 1 on Friday night and certainly not any plans beyond that.
There are, essentially, two possible reasons for the holdup: 1) They're showing some gamesmanship with the...
The Nationals have until Friday morning to set their 25-man roster for the National League Division Series. And given some of the down-to-the-wire decisions they need to make, they might just use every remaining minute available to them before submitting that roster to Major League Baseball.
First and foremost, of course, is the state of Max Scherzer's right hamstring. The ace insists he'll be pitching in this series, but the Nationals won't know for sure when he'll pitch until after he...
The Nationals aren't making any official declarations about their rotation order for the National League Division Series yet. But plenty of tea leaves were thrown out there today for the masses to read, and the most logical interpretation of those leaves says the club is planning to start Stephen Strasburg in Game 1 and then Max Scherzer in Game 2 ... with one important caveat.
The key scene during today's workout at Nationals Park - the first of three the club will hold before finally...
A dominant September by both Stephen Strasburg and Sean Doolittle has earned each Nationals pitcher recognition for their efforts.
Strasburg today was named National League Pitcher of the Month, with Doolittle named NL Reliever of the Month, further confirmation of the lights-out work put forth by each staff member during the final stretch of the regular season.
Strasburg was nearly impossible to score off of in September, going 4-0 with an 0.83 ERA in five starts. The right-hander did not...
The Nationals' season is far from over. If anything, the last six months were nothing but a big tease for what is still to come over at least the next week, possibly more.
But the regular season has concluded, and that means it's time to revisit all those predictions all of us on the Nats beat made way back on opening day. This always leads to embarrassment for us (though traditionally some more than others) but I have to say the crew did a pretty good job overall this year, with a couple of...
It looked like it had been set in stone for weeks. The Nationals' postseason rotation? That was simple: Max Scherzer in Game 1, with Stephen Strasburg in Game 2 and then Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark taking the mound after that.
But then Strasburg dominated in September. And then Gonzalez and Roark had ragged regular season finales. And then - and this was the biggest development of all - Scherzer tweaked his right hamstring throwing a pitch in the top of the fourth Saturday night against the...
The Cubs are the biggest national television draw in baseball right now, so it stood to reason the Nationals would find themselves playing in primetime throughout their first-round postseason showdown with the defending World Series champs.
That will be true for Game 1 of the National League Division Series, but the presence of the West Coast's biggest draw in the other half of the bracket is going to lead to an early-evening start on South Capitol Street for Game 2.
Major League Baseball...
The result didn't matter. The Nationals had locked up a division title three weeks ago, had locked up home-field advantage for the National League Division Series a week ago. There was a chance to match the franchise record with win No. 98, but that team pursuit took a backseat today.
Unless there's something larger at stake, Game 162 is usually about individual over team. And so this afternoon's contest on South Capitol Street - an 11-8 loss to the Pirates that required a record 4 hours, 22...
Max Scherzer is confident the hamstring injury he suffered Saturday night is "nothing major," but the Nationals ace couldn't go so far this morning as to declare himself good to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday.
"That's tough to say right now," Scherzer said. "We're not even 24 hours out. We're still trying to get all the doctors to take a look at this and make sure that we have the absolute correct diagnosis. But we have a really, really good idea of what...