The Dodgers wasted no time revealing their planned rotation for the National League Division Series, announcing Tuesday afternoon that ace Clayton Kershaw will start Game 1 against the Nationals, with fellow left-hander Rich Hill in Game 2, right-hander Kenta Maeda in Game 3 and possibly rookie left-hander Julio Urias in Game 4.
The Nationals, who clinched their berth in the NLDS a day before the club they'll be facing next week, won't be making such an announcement yet.
"No, just cause they...
So, here are the answers to the two questions on everyone's mind right now: 1) It's going to rain this evening. Hard. And it's not supposed to stop until Friday morning. 2) According to a Major League Baseball official, any postponed games that could impact home field advantage for the National League Division Series must be played before the postseason begins.
What that means: The Nationals, who currently lead the Dodgers by two games with five to play (but would lose a tiebreaker based on...
Sammy Solis hadn't faced a big league hitter in 43 days, so the left-hander was perhaps a bit jittery when he took the mound in the seventh inning at Nationals Park last night and promptly threw a first-pitch fastball to the Diamondbacks' Socrates Brito that sailed more than a foot over the top of the strike zone.
"I would say a few butterflies in there," Solis admitted afterward. "But once I got past the first pitch, it was all good. Right back to the comfort zone of being on the...
Max Scherzer was cruising. After a shaky start to his night that included a leadoff homer in the first and a pair of doubles off the center field wall in the third, the Nationals ace had retired 11 of the last 13 Diamondbacks batters he'd faced, eight of them via strikeout.
But with the Nats trailing by two runs in the bottom of the sixth and the pitcher's spot due up, Dusty Baker did what he had to do: He pulled Scherzer back and sent Wilmer Difo to the plate as a pinch-hitter, despite some...
Major League Baseball has suspended A.J. Cole five games for intentionally throwing at Jung Ho Kang's head during the Nationals game Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Cole, who also was fined an undisclosed amount, has appealed the suspension, so he remains on the Nationals active roster until a hearing can be held and ruled upon. He's tentatively lined up to start Friday night against the Marlins, his final outing of the regular season.
The five-game suspension is a fairly standard punishment for...
The reaction among everyone in the Nationals dugout Monday night when Wilson Ramos crumpled to the ground and motioned for a trainer suggested an immediate recognition of the severity of what had just happened.
Confirmation, though, came this afternoon when an MRI of Ramos' right knee indeed revealed a torn ACL, a crushing blow for the All-Star catcher, who suddenly will enter free agency coming off the second reconstructive surgery of his career, and for the Nationals, who suddenly have to...
We just got word just yet on Wilson Ramos' MRI, and it's not good: He has torn the ACL in his right knee and will have surgery sometime in the next week, ending his season (and potentially his Nationals career, since he's going to be a free agent). Plenty more coming on that, but in the meantime the club has called up Spencer Kieboom from Double-A Harrisburg, giving them three healthy catchers (along with Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino) and incredibly a full 40-man active roster. (Kieboom...
Dusty Baker faces a tricky challenge over the next week.
His Nationals have already clinched the National League East title, and some key regulars are dealing with nagging injuries and could use some rest. (And that was true even before Wilson Ramos suffered a potentially serious knee injury last night.)
Yet his team needs a strong week to hold off the Dodgers and secure home field advantage for itsupcoming National League Division Series.
How does a manager find the right balance?
"One...
The Nationals don't yet have test results on Bryce Harper's left thumb, but the sense around the club remains that the right fielder's injury isn't serious.
Harper is out of the lineup for tonight's series opener against the Diamondbacks, and the Nationals may take the precautionary route and give him more time to heal before putting him back on the field, given the fact they've already clinched the National League East title.
The 23-year-old admitted Sunday he initially was worried he...
And so we have reached the final week of the regular season, and thus the final homestand of the regular season. Way back when, we probably figured these would be meaningful games, with the Nationals engaged in a tense pennant race down to the wire. In reality, their run to the National League East title was much easier than that, and they clinched Saturday night in Pittsburgh.
There is, of course, still something on the line this week: Home field advantage for what is now officially an...
PITTSBURGH - The events of the third inning - Jung Ho Kang's fake tag, Bryce Harper's awkward slide and injured left thumb as a result, A.J. Cole's fastball behind Kang's back and the benches-clearing skirmish that ensued - stole the spotlight yesterday at PNC Park.
Perhaps lost in that, however, was a fairly remarkable 10-7 victory by the Nationals over the Pirates. Which shouldn't be lost.
In the wake of their National League East clincher Saturday night, Dusty Baker rested most of his...
PITTSBURGH - As he slid awkwardly into third base, jamming his left thumb in the process, Bryce Harper immediately thought the worst.
He tore the ligament in that same thumb on a similar play two years ago, and if he had just done it again, Harper knew that was the end of his season. No playoffs in 2016. All because of a fake tag by Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang, who never even had the ball on the key third-inning play during what wound up a 10-7 Nationals victory at PNC Park.
"The first...
PITTSBURGH - This was supposed to be a low-key, low-stress, quick Sunday at the ballpark for the Nationals, who after clinching the National League East title last night rested most of their regulars and essentially acknowledged they would get back to serious work Monday when they return home for the final week of the regular season.
Turns out this was anything but a low-key, low-stress game. And it sure wasn't quick.
The Nationals lost Bryce Harper to a left thumb injury suffered when he slid...
PITTSBURGH - Bryce Harper left today's series finale in the third inning after suffering an apparent left hand injury during an awkward slide into third base prompted by a fake tag from Jung Ho Kang that eventually prompted a benches-clearing scuffle between the Nationals and Pirates.
Harper led off the top of the third with a hit down the right field line, then tried to stretch it into a triple. The throw from right fielder Josh Bell missed the cutoff man and sailed well wide of third base,...
PITTSBURGH - The joy of the Nationals' division-clinching celebration last night came to a screeching halt this morning as players learned the news that stunned the entire baseball world: Jose Fernandez's death from a boating accident in Miami.
The Marlins ace was a well-known figure throughout the Nationals clubhouse, mostly as one of the toughest competitors they had to face on a regular basis, including as recently as Tuesday night.
This morning's news stopped players in their...
PITTSBURGH - After clinching their third National League East title in five seasons last night, the Nationals will rest a fair amount of their regulars for today's finale of a three-game series against the Pirates.
But make no mistake, there is still something to play for: home field advantage in the National League Division Series, which the Nats would prefer to open at home against, in all likelihood, the Dodgers on Oct. 7.
With 90 victories, the Nationals currently have one more victory...
PITTSBURGH - It's easy to forget now, after 90 wins, a division title and all the praise heaped upon him, but Dusty Baker was out of baseball the last two years.
Fired by the Reds after losing the 2013 National League wild card game to the Pirates, the manager of two decades and key baseball figure of more than four decades was suddenly on the outside looking in. And he didn't know if he'd ever get a chance to return.
"Well, they were tough," he said of the last two years. "But they were...
PITTSBURGH - Max Scherzer stood off to one side of the now-trashed visitors clubhouse at PNC Park, soaked in champagne and beer, puffing on a cigar, a man enjoying every moment of this celebration.
The right-hander has been a division champion before, five times in the last six years, to be exact. It's that one exception to the rule, though, that lingered with him. Just as it lingered for everyone associated with a 2015 Nationals club that saw a season of so much promise go up in flames.
And...
PITTSBURGH - The 2016 Nationals won the National League East without drama, without wild pendulum swings, without the kind of indelible memories (both good and bad) that so often define championship seasons.
No, this was a methodical march to a division title by a ballclub that simply was very good throughout and wore down its opponents along the way.
And now, at last, these guys can celebrate their achievement.
The Nationals officially clinched the NL East crown tonight, beating the Pirates...
PITTSBURGH - The Nationals are trying to take care of business early tonight. So are the Phillies. And that could result in a very satisfying conclusion to the evening for everybody dressed in red at PNC Park.
The Nats burst out of the gates, scoring three runs in the top of the first to take a quick lead on the Pirates. Meanwhile in New York, the Phillies scored five runs in the top of the first and then added another in the top of the second, opening up a commanding 6-0 lead on the Mets.
Josh...
