Zimmerman on his offensive resurgence: "It's no fun not helping"

Zimmerman on his offensive resurgence: "It's no fun not helping"
LOS ANGELES - Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman had another stellar performance in the National League Division Series Monday as his club dropped the Dodgers 8-3 in Game 3. Zimmerman went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. He is hitting 5-for-11 (.455) in the series after hitting just .218 during the season. Zimmerman actually fell below .200 in June, July and August before slightly rebounding in September and early October to .222. But this series, he looks more like...

Nationals offense flexes muscles in 8-3 win over Dodgers

Nationals offense flexes muscles in 8-3 win over Dodgers
LOS ANGELES - The Nationals offense exploded with two big innings in their 8-3 series-altering victory over the Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Monday. Jayson Werth, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman each contributed two RBIs as the Nationals scored four runs in the third and ninth innings. They were the biggest innings the Nationals had ever enjoyed in a postseason game since their return to D.C. in 2005. The four-run ninth inning blew open a tense 4-3 contest for...

Rendon's big blast leads rally (Nats win 8-3, lead series 2-1)

Rendon's big blast leads rally (Nats win 8-3, lead series 2-1)
LOS ANGELES - The Nationals made Kenta Maeda work in the top of the first but were unable to tally a run to begin Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Jayson Werth singled, and Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon forced walks. With two outs and the bases loaded, Ryan Zimmerman struck out. The Dodgers' Corey Seager gave his club the lead in his first at-bat for the third straight game on the series. Justin Turner walked against lefty Gio Gonzalez with one out in the bottom of the...

Nats ride early offense, then bullpen to 8-3 victory in Game 3

Nats ride early offense, then bullpen to 8-3 victory in Game 3
LOS ANGELES - They played a four-hour game Sunday afternoon in cold, windy D.C., then flew across the country, then woke up and played another four-hour game Monday afternoon in warm, sun-baked L.A. But this is the postseason, and you do whatever is required of you this time of the year, physical and mental toll and sleep patterns cast aside for the moment. And right now, the Nationals are doing whatever is asked of them in an attempt to win the first playoff series in club history. Score four...

Baker not giving up on Espinosa just yet

Baker not giving up on Espinosa just yet
LOS ANGELES - Shortstop Danny Espinosa has struggled to get on track in the National League Division Series. He is 0-for-5 with a run scored in the first two games of the series. In Game 1, he struck out his first three times up and then popped up to third base. In Game 2, Espinosa was hit by a pitch in each of his first two plate appearances, but then struck out in the sixth and eighth innings. So with five strikeouts in the first two games of the NLDS, manager Dusty Baker was asked if he...

Game 4 starters still undecided by both clubs

Game 4 starters still undecided by both clubs
LOS ANGELES - They of course still need to play Game 3 this afternoon, but the Nationals know that no matter the outcome they will be playing Game 4 of the National League Division Series here at Dodger Stadium sometime Tuesday (either 5 p.m. or 8 p.m. EDT, depending on the status of the Cubs-Giants series). So the Nationals will need a starting pitcher for Game 4. They just haven't revealed the identity of that person yet. Conventional wisdom says Joe Ross would get the nod, as originally...

NLDS Game 3 lineups: Nats at Dodgers

NLDS Game 3 lineups: Nats at Dodgers
LOS ANGELES - Greetings from Chavez Ravine, where it is an absolutely perfect day for postseason baseball in Southern California. It is expected to be 83 degrees at first pitch at Dodger Stadium. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez is 0-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three playoff starts. In his last matchup against the Giants in 2014, Gonzalez tossed four innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout. He made it known Saturday he doesn't want to look back to his up-and-down...

Gonzalez not looking back, focused on Game 3 start

Gonzalez not looking back, focused on Game 3 start
LOS ANGELES - In Game 1 of the National League Division Series, when Max Scherzer lost to left-hander Clayton Kershaw by a single run, and the Nats rebounded in Game 2, the responsibility for the Nationals to go ahead in the series with the Dodgers turned to southpaw Gio Gonzalez this afternoon. It has not been Gonzalez's best season, but if he can come through with a solid start today in Game 3, all those shaky outings of 2016 will fade away. Gonzalez looks to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead in...

With surprise homer, Lobaton gets monkey off Nationals' backs

With surprise homer, Lobaton gets monkey off Nationals' backs
The reaction the moment Jose Lobaton made contact wasn't joyous. There was no instantaneous celebration in the Nationals dugout, nor in the batter's box when Lobaton connected with Rich Hill's 1-1 curveball in the bottom of the fourth inning and sent it soaring toward left field. Any other day, the Nationals would have been jumping up and down and Lobaton would have been flipping his bat before a triumphant trip around the bases. But with a persistent 25 mph wind blowing in from left field...

Baker makes deft use of bullpen to get 14 outs, even series

Baker makes deft use of bullpen to get 14 outs, even series
The Nationals finally had the lead, courtesy of Jose Lobaton's three-run homer in the fourth inning, and manager Dusty Baker didn't want to take any chances when starting pitcher Tanner Roark started scuffling in the fifth. With his pitch count mounting and the Dodgers locking in on the right-hander, Baker made the call to the bullpen. Well, the first of many calls. Baker asked his relief corps to get the final 14 outs of a game and prevent the Nationals from going into an 0-2 hole in the...

Marty Niland: Lobaton's homer was no October surprise to Baker

Marty Niland: Lobaton's homer was no October surprise to Baker
The National League Division Series between the Nationals and Dodgers may be knotted at one game apiece, bit when it comes to drama and momentum, the Nats are clearly ahead after Sunday's 5-2 victory And while fans are rightly cheering backup catcher Jose Lobaton as the unlikely hero the team needed to even the series, let's not overlook one clear advantage the Nats have in this series that made his momentous fourth-inning swing possible: manager Dusty Baker. It's easy to criticize a...

Lobaton's blast, bullpen's dominance help Nats win Game 2

Lobaton's blast, bullpen's dominance help Nats win Game 2
It had to come eventually. The Nationals simply couldn't keep squandering every single scoring opportunity they had in the postseason, right? No, there actually is enough talent in this lineup to deliver big hits in big spots. But who in their wildest dreams expected the guy to deliver the biggest hit of them all to be Jose Lobaton? The longtime backup catcher, pressed into a high-profile role after teammate Wilson Ramos tore his ACL during the final week of the regular season, indeed came...

Baker on Nationals' "upside-down" pitching options

Baker on Nationals' "upside-down" pitching options
The skies have cleared - apparently, all of those gusty winds are good for something - and there will be baseball today at Nationals Park. But there's little clarity in the Nationals' postseason rotation past left-hander Gio Gonzalez's start in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Monday at Dodger Stadium. Manager Dusty Baker said during his Sunday morning media briefing that the Nationals remain undecided who will start Games 4 and 5 of the NLDS, and that how the Nationals...

Hill laments Dodgers leaving D.C. with only a split in NLDS

Hill laments Dodgers leaving D.C. with only a split in NLDS
Pitcher Rich Hill knows that a 1-1 split is a good road series in October. But he also knows that the Dodgers had a chance for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five National League Division Series with the Nationals. "I'm disappointed because if I execute, our team is in a good position," Hill said after the Dodgers lost 5-2 to the Nationals in Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday. But it wasn't all Hill. The Dodgers couldn't hit with runners in scoring position. They left 12 runners on base. Through...

Lobaton's homer gives Nats first lead (Nationals win 5-2)

Lobaton's homer gives Nats first lead (Nationals win 5-2)
Well, it didn't take long for the Dodgers to take a lead in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. And they followed a familiar script. Corey Seager, the second batter of the game, blasted a 93 mph 3-0 fastball from Tanner Roark over the wall in right-center for a 1-0 lead. Seager did the same in Friday's series opener, connecting off Max Scherzer. This time, he went deep three pitches after Roark sailed an uh-oh pitch over his helmet. The wind didn't really aid Seager's shot, but...

NLDS Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers (take two)

NLDS Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers (take two)
The good news: There's no rain in sight today. (Not that there turned out to be much of it yesterday after Major League Baseball postponed Game 2 of the National League Division Series.) The bad news: It's cold. And it's windy. There's a stiff wind blowing from left field to right field, and it's supposed to stay that way all afternoon. That wouldn't seem to benefit a right-handed-heavy lineup like the Nationals have, but potentially benefit a left-handed-heavy lineup like the Dodgers...

Sunday morning notes before rescheduled Game 2

Sunday morning notes before rescheduled Game 2
Some Sunday morning leftovers to get you warmed up before Game 2 of the National League Division Series finally is played at 1:08 p.m. ... * There were plenty of discouraging aspects of the Nationals' 4-3 loss in Game 1 on Friday night, but here was a particularly encouraging thing that happened: Ryan Zimmerman had two hits. After a season full of strikeouts and hard-hit balls right at defenders, Zimmerman looked like a completely different guy at the plate in this game. He went 2-for-4, with...

Baker says slumping Harper needs to counteract game plans being used against him

Baker says slumping Harper needs to counteract game plans being used against him
If there's any stress jockeying with Bryce Harper's confidence heading into Game 2 of the National League Division Series, the usually upbeat Nationals slugger isn't showing it. He arrived at Nationals Park shortly before noon, cruising down the hallway toward the home clubhouse on a Hoverboard, joking with a teammate as he maneuvered the craft on a concrete path. It's business as usual for Harper, even if the Nats need to win today to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole in the best-of-five...

NLDS Game 2 postponed until Sunday at 1:08 p.m. (updated)

NLDS Game 2 postponed until Sunday at 1:08 p.m. (updated)
Major League Baseball calls all the shots when it comes to postseason games. So when the time came this afternoon to decide whether Game 2 of the National League Division Series should proceed as planned, be delayed or postponed, all eyes turned to Rob Manfred, who already was on the premises for a pre-planned appearance at Nationals Park. The commissioner's verdict: We'll see you back here Sunday afternoon. With rain falling and predicted to continue falling well into the evening, Manfred...

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...