CHICAGO - And so the Nationals' season has come down to this: They need to win Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Wrigley Field and force a winner-take-all Game 5 at Nationals Park on Thursday night.
All of this, of course, is assuming they're able to play today. Your early-afternoon weather update: It's not raining yet, but the rain is on the way, and it's going to hit sometime later this afternoon. It's just a question of whether the rain is significant enough to prevent...
CHICAGO - The margin between success and failure in the postseason is razor-thin. A batter can hit a frozen rope but hit it right at somebody. Another can barely bloop a ball into shallow left-center field and watch it fall between three defenders and drive home the winning run.
The Nationals experienced it all today during an agonizing 2-1 loss to the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. They had a couple of chances to score early, but watched as Chicago's outfielders...
CHICAGO - Oliver Pérez liked the pitch coming out of his hand, and he liked it coming off Anthony Rizzo's bat. It was a first-pitch fastball, in, and he managed to jam Rizzo and force the Cubs slugger to hit a little blooper toward shallow left-center field.
And then, as Pérez turned around and saw how much ground three of his teammates were trying to cover to get to the ball in time, well, that's when the Nationals reliever realized this might be trouble.
"I saw he didn't hit it that...
CHICAGO - It's not often that a team leaves its best starting pitcher for Game 3 of a postseason series, especially a best-of-five series. But the Nationals kept ace Max Scherzer off the mound for the first two games of the National League Division Series out of necessity.
Scherzer tweaked his right hamstring in his final regular season start of the season, casting his playoff future in doubt. Nine games removed from that start against the Pirates, the 2016 National League Cy Young award...
Four innings into Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Wrigley Field and the Nationals are still searching for their first run.
They've had a couple of chances, but have been unable to get to Cubs lefty José Quintana when they've had runners in scoring position.
In the second, Michael A. Taylor led off with a single and went to second when Quintana's pickoff attempt sailed wide of first base. But Max Scherzer couldn't get a bunt down, striking out out swinging. After Trea...
CHICAGO - Whatever urge there may have been to alter his lineup for Game 3 of the National League Division Series, Dusty Baker ultimately decided continuity was more important than playing matchups against an opponent they've never faced.
With left-hander José Quintana on the mound for the Cubs this afternoon, the Nationals are going up against an unknown entity. Only three members of their NLDS roster have ever faced him before: Howie Kendrick (5-for-10), Adam Lind (2-for-9) and Matt...
CHICAGO - Unless something really unexpected happens today, Tanner Roark will start Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday. No matter what happens between now and then, Stephen Strasburg will not be starting that game.
The Nationals revealed their rotation plans for the remainder of their series against the Cubs, and it's exactly what was expected to be the case all along, with Roark serving as the club's fourth starter and Strasburg held back from returning to pitch again...
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...
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'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 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...