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 - 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...
The Nats made a dramatic comeback in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, thanks to home runs by Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman, to beat the Cubs 6-3.
The series is even at game apiece.
But to really get the offense going in these playoffs, the Nationals have to figure out what is going on with shortstop Trea Turner, who has yet to register a base hit in the first two games.
He is 0-for-8 at the plate with four strikeouts. That is correct, the Nats' leadoff man, who stole 46 bases...
So about last night ...
That was an incredible game of baseball between the Nationals and Cubs. From the home runs to the relief pitching to the dramatic comeback, Game 2 of this National League Division Series provided the best of what postseason baseball has to offer.
Anthony Rendon started the scoring with a solo home run in the first. Gio Gonzalez gave manager Dusty Baker a solid start. Matt Albers, Sammy SolÃs, Ryan Madson, Oliver Pérez and Sean Doolittle combined for four shutout...
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...
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...
It takes the offense, pitching and defense to win a playoff game. In Game 1 of the National League Division Series, the Nationals got the starting pitching they needed, but the offense and defense didn't have a great game in a 3-0 loss to the Cubs.
In Game 2, Nats starter Gio Gonzalez allowed three runs in five innings of work. In order for the club to have a chance to come back, they needed the bullpen to step up. Five hurlers did just that, never allowing the Cubs a chance to add on...
It's a new game on a new day. After the Nationals dropped Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday night, they will look to get even with the Cubs this afternoon on South Capitol Street.
While technically not a must-win game, the Nats really can't afford to go to Chicago down 2-0. And so a lot of pressure falls on Gio Gonzalez, who takes the mound today for Game 2. Gonzalez had one of his best seasons with the Nationals this year, going 15-9 with a 2.96 ERA.
Though there may be...
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...
With one out and pinch-runner Victor Robles on first base in the eighth inning, the Nationals' Bryce Harper was at the plate against Cubs right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. Never mind that lefty Mike Montgomery was ready in the Cubs bullpen.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon played the percentages. He left the lefty in the bullpen.
Maddon wanted Edwards to face Harper, a left-handed batter, even though a lefty reliever would be a more traditional approach, but this is why Maddon liked the matchup:
Edwards...
The National League Division Series Game 2 scoring began with Anthony Rendon crushing a 1-1 offering from Jon Lester just inside the right field foul pole in the bottom of the first to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.
It was the first run and first lead in the series for the Nats.
Willson Contreras countered with a solo homer off of Gio Gonzalez over the left field wall to begin the second inning.
We're tied 1-1 heading to the bottom of the second.
Update: In the fourth, Kris Bryant doubled and...
Losing the first game of a five-game National League Division Series on their home field puts the Nationals in a very difficult position. But it is not insurmountable.
In 2016, the Nats fell in their first game of the series at home to the Dodgers in the NLDS. They went on to win the next two games to go up two games to one. Obviously, the Dodgers came back to win the next two games. But the Nats have shown a resiliency in the past to come back.
This season the Nats recorded 41 come-from-behind...
The Nationals will go with the same lineup - save for starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez - as they employed Friday night this afternoon when they try to square the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Cubs at a game apiece.
Today's key matchup: Nats speedster Trea Turner against Cubs left-hander Jon Lester.
Lester is notorious for his inability to throw to first base, which gives teams with base-stealing threats an advantage. Turner stole two bases against Lester on June 29 at...
Left-hander Gio Gonzalez gets the nod as the Game 2 starter for the National League Division Series between the Nationals and the Cubs.
The Cubs will counter with southpaw Jon Lester, who went 13-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 32 starts this season.
Gonzalez went 15-9 with a 2.96 ERA in 32 starts. He struck out 188 in 201 innings. The 15 wins were the most in a regular season for Gonzalez since his career-high 21 victories in 2012.
Gonzalez appeared to be positively influenced by the arrival of veteran...
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...
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg came out early and set the tone for Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
In the first five innings, the Cubs mustered zero runs on no hits. They had one baserunner - a walk to Addison Russell in the second - to show for 16 at-bats.
Strasburg racked up eight strikeouts to set a new franchise postseason single-game record. He finished with 10 strikeouts.
But Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks matched Strasburg, surrendering just two early base hits but...
It's finally here. Postseason baseball is back in our nation's capital as the Nationals welcome the defending World Series champion Cubs for the National League Division Series.
There's no way to understate the importance of Game 1 in a playoff series, especially in a five-game set. The winner of the series' first game advances 72 percent of the time. And just look at the Nationals' postseason history: Obviously, they have lost all three of their previous playoff series, but they have only...
The Nationals lineup is set for Game 1 of the National League Division Series and right-fielder Bryce Harper remains in the two-hole. For most of the season, Harper hit third.
Harper returned last week after missing 42 games due to a hyperextended knee and strained calf. Baker decided to ease Harper back in the lineup by placing him in the No. 2 spot because he wasn't going to play nine innings. He was looking to get the right fielder as many at-bats in the shortest amount of time. Those...
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg looked unhittable for five innings Friday night. Then the Chicago Cubs came to bat in the sixth inning.
That's when everything changed.
The Cubs scored twice against the Nationals starter, who had a 0.86 ERA after the All-Star break as well as a streak of 35 consecutive scoreless innings, on their way to a 3-0 win against the Nationals in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Nationals Park.
The Cubs' Javier Báez reached on a high chopper that...