Nats hope more relaxed Turner will make difference in Game 2

Nats hope more relaxed Turner will make difference in Game 2
Trea Turner's importance to the Nationals' chances this postseason is a given at this point. The Dodgers know it. Everybody knows it. Which means the Nationals' chances of winning Game 2 of the best-of-five National League Division Series this afternoon go up considerably if Turner is able to produce atop the lineup and have the kind of impact he did throughout the season's second half. Turner's postseason debut Friday night was a mixed bag. He drove in one of the Nats' three runs with a...
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NLDS Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

NLDS Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers
It's a gray, dreary afternoon in the District, perhaps appropriate given the mood around here after last night's frustrating 4-3 loss in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. The Nationals are basically in must-win territory today in Game 2, not a position they want to be in, but the position they find themselves in regardless. Tanner Roark, though, is a good person to have on the mound for a situation like this. You know Roark isn't going to let the pressure get to him. And you...
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Nationals lament missed opportunity to beat vulnerable Kershaw

Nationals lament missed opportunity to beat vulnerable Kershaw
There were two ways for the Nationals to look at their offensive performance in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. The glass-half-full way: They put pressure on Clayton Kershaw all night, with nine men reaching base against the Dodgers ace, who was pulled after only five innings. And they kept that pressure up against the Los Angeles bullpen, ultimately giving themselves 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position during the course of a game they initially trailed by four runs. The...
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Clutch hit eludes Nats once again in Game 1 loss to Dodgers

Clutch hit eludes Nats once again in Game 1 loss to Dodgers
The pessimistic view of Game 1 of the National League Division Series will suggest that this looked awfully familiar. The Nationals ace didn't live up to the hype, surrendering a couple of big blows. The lineup gave itself countless opportunities with men in scoring position and couldn't deliver. The end result: a one-run loss that leaves this club facing an uphill battle in this best-of-five series. Tonight's 4-3 loss to the Dodgers bore plenty of resemblance to the Nationals' three losses...
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Strasburg throws off bullpen mound for first time since injury

Strasburg throws off bullpen mound for first time since injury
Whatever hope Stephen Strasburg has of pitching for the Nationals again this season got a boost today when the right-hander threw off a bullpen mound for the first time since he injured his elbow against the Braves on Sept. 7. The bullpen session was brief, roughly 25 pitches over perhaps 10 minutes, but it did represent a significant step for Strasburg in his longshot attempt to return in time to help the Nationals this postseason. The Nationals did not include Strasburg on their 25-man roster...
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Dusty Baker explains final NLDS roster decisions

Dusty Baker explains final NLDS roster decisions
The Nationals' decision to carry only seven relievers with a six-man bench for the National League Division Series boiled down their opponent for this first round of the playoffs and the fact that several of their position players are still dealing with nagging ailments. Manager Dusty Baker said the Dodgers' left-handed-laden lineup necessitated the carrying of three lefties in his NLDS bullpen. And with Daniel Murphy (buttocks), Bryce Harper (thumb), Jayson Werth (back), Ryan Zimmerman...
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NLDS Game 1 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

NLDS Game 1 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers
The day has come at last. It's been a long wait since the Nationals clinched the National League East title 13 days ago. But this afternoon, the postseason begins in D.C. It's Game 1 of the National League Division Series, and it's as good a pitching matchup as you can get: Max Scherzer vs. Clayton Kershaw. The two aces will take center stage and draw most of the attention in the buildup to the game, but there are other storylines to this one as well. Such as the significant presence of...
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Nats go with seven relievers for NLDS (Roark starting Game 2)

Nats go with seven relievers for NLDS (Roark starting Game 2)
The Nationals' finalized roster for the National League Division Series includes only seven relievers but six bench players, not to mention several notable names left out altogether. For their best-of-five series with the Dodgers, the Nationals opted to carry only 11 total pitchers. That leaves a seven-man bullpen of closer Mark Melancon; right-handers Shawn Kelley, Blake Treinen and Reynaldo Lopez; and left-handers Marc Rzepczynski, Sammy Solis and Oliver Perez. Among those left out of the...
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Scherzer vs. Kershaw: "I don't expect for it to be a blowout"

Scherzer vs. Kershaw: "I don't expect for it to be a blowout"
Sometimes a postseason series matchup doesn't have to be hyped up any more than with a simple mention of last names. Schilling vs. Clemens. Halladay vs. Carpenter. Bumgarner vs. Syndergaard. And now ... Scherzer vs. Kershaw. It would be difficult to conjure up a better pitching showdown for Game 1 of the National League Division Series than the one that will be on display later this afternoon at Nationals Park. Clayton Kershaw is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, an MVP and just put together...
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Difo makes roster, three lefties in 'pen, no Game 2 starter yet

Difo makes roster, three lefties in 'pen, no Game 2 starter yet
The Nationals' roster for the National League Division Series will include Wilmer Difo on the bench and three lefties in the bullpen. It probably won't include both Clint Robinson and Ben Revere, though, with room only for one of those reserves. Dusty Baker revealed some aspects of his club's roster for the NLDS against the Dodgers during today's news conference at Nationals Park, but the manager couldn't reveal everything. Baker also acknowledged some decisions have yet to be made,...
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Nats have many factors to weigh on final NLDS roster decisions

Nats have many factors to weigh on final NLDS roster decisions
The Nationals have until 10 a.m. Friday to submit and announce their roster for the National League Division Series. Don't be surprised if they take every last minute available to them before finalizing which 25 players will take the field against the Dodgers. These decisions are easier said than done, and Dusty Baker, Mike Rizzo and everyone else involved in the process have some legitimately tough decisions to make. "Do you keep some veterans?" Baker asked rhetorically on Wednesday. "Do...
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Nats add live BP to workout, Murphy passes running test

Nats add live BP to workout, Murphy passes running test
The Nationals added another element to today's pre-playoffs workout: live batting practice. And Daniel Murphy added more elements to his personal workout in an attempt to return from injury and start Game 1 of the National League Division Series: hard running in both the outfield and on the bases. By all accounts, both went according to plan, leaving everybody as ready as they could reasonably expect to be at this point for Friday's series opener against the Dodgers. All of the Nationals'...
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Spotlight will shine on Nationals lefties during NLDS

Spotlight will shine on Nationals lefties during NLDS
The Dodgers do many things well. They pitch well. They hit for power. They play good defense. There is, however, one thing they really don't do well: hit left-handed pitchers. No team in baseball was less productive against lefties than the Dodgers, whose .213 batting average was 21 points worse than anybody else in the majors, and whose .622 OPS was 55 points worse than anybody else in the sport. And so the spotlight will shine brightly on few during the National League Division Series more...
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Murphy on track for Game 1, Scherzer officially named starter

Murphy on track for Game 1, Scherzer officially named starter
For most of the Nationals roster, which still stands at 40 for now until final decisions are made before Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, today's workout was an exercise in the routine and mundane. Pitchers fielded bunts. Infielders took grounders. Everybody took batting practice. For Daniel Murphy, more was at stake. The Nationals second baseman and MVP candidate hasn't done anything other than pinch-hit since straining a buttocks muscle 2 1/2 weeks ago, but today he...
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Turner earns another NL Rookie of the Month honor

Turner earns another NL Rookie of the Month honor
Trea Turner's odds of winning National League Rookie of the Year are nearly nonexistent, not because of his performance, but because he spent less than half of the season in the big leagues while Corey Seager played the entire year for the Dodgers and posted dynamic numbers across the board. Turner, though, can take solace knowing he clearly was the league's best rookie through the season's final two months. Having previously won NL Rookie of the Month honors for August, Turner today was...
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Starting times for NLDS Games 1 and 2 announced

Starting times for NLDS Games 1 and 2 announced
The Nationals and Dodgers will be battling not only aces on the mound, but possibly late-afternoon shadows and the emergence of the Sun Monster when they open the National League Division Series with a pair of contests later this week. Game 1 of the best-of-five series will start at 5:38 p.m. Friday, Major League Baseball announced today. First pitch for Game 2 is slated for 4:08 p.m. Saturday. Starting times for the remainder of the series (Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles and a potential Game 5...
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Revisiting those opening day media predictions

Revisiting those opening day media predictions
As sportswriters, the most important thing we ask of the athletes and coaches we cover is accountability. It's easy to do interviews after you hit a game-winning homer. It's not nearly as easy to do them after you give up a game-winning homer. But it's part of the job, and so we ask them to stand up and take the heat when they lose. But it would be entirely unfair of us to ask those we cover to be accountable for their mistakes if we are not willing to be accountable for our own mistakes. Of...
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Nationals now face long wait til NLDS opens Friday

Nationals now face long wait til NLDS opens Friday
Baseball is a sport played every day. Or almost every day. Yet here are the Nationals and Dodgers, champions of their respective divisions, ready to do battle in their best-of-five National League Division Series ... and they're forced to take the next four days off before finally returning to the field. It's an unfortunate, but necessary, part of the modern postseason schedule. With the two wild card games set to be played Tuesday and Wednesday, the Division Series can't commence until...
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With 20th win in the books, Scherzer now looks to postseason

With 20th win in the books, Scherzer now looks to postseason
Twenty wins means different things to different people. And its meaning has changed significantly throughout the course of baseball history, with most around the sport now fully acknowledging how many better ways there are to evaluate a pitcher's season than mere wins and losses that are so dependent on the performances of others. But 20 wins does still mean something to those who wear the uniform. And if you doubt that, just go back and watch the reactions in the Nationals dugout during each...
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Could Murphy pinch-hit and win batting title? (Nationals win 10-7)

Could Murphy pinch-hit and win batting title? (Nationals win 10-7)
Daniel Murphy has taken only two at-bats in the last two weeks, with the Nationals trying to give their MVP candidate as much time as possible to recover from a strained buttocks muscle and be ready for Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday. Murphy, though, might have good reason to try for one at-bat at some point in today's series finale. Murphy enters the day with a batting average of .3472, narrowly behind the Rockies' D.J. LeMahieu's .3478 for the NL lead. LeMahieu...
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