-1745819772711.png){kind=logo}
ST. LOUIS - Another day, another no-hit bid by a member of the Big Four rotation. And thanks to those dynamite performances, plus a couple of clutch hits and more lights-out work from the back end of the bullpen, the Nationals are heading home in complete control of the National League Championship Series.
If they win two of their next five games, they're going to the World Series.
As closer Daniel Hudson put it earlier today - on a completely different, and far more important, matter: "Hey,...
ST. LOUIS - Victor Robles strained his right hamstring eight days ago, way back in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. He still hasn't seen action since.
Robles was out of the Nationals lineup for the fifth straight game this afternoon with an injury that has been described as "mild" but apparently not mild enough to risk taking the field for a postseason game.
"For me, it's just about Victor's health and getting him healthy," manager Davey Martinez said. "I don't want him...
While Anthony Santander passed his summer audition with the Orioles and made himself a piece of the rebuilding process moving forward, he certainly has more work to do over the winter and in spring training. There's room for improvement.
It had to come up in his exit interview.
Santander had 20 doubles and 20 home runs over 93 games and gained manager Brandon Hyde's trust in the outfield. He was comfortable going back for the ball and making catches against the fence and led the club with...
ST. LOUIS - Daniel Hudson boarded a flight in Phoenix at 6 a.m. Mountain time today, landing in St. Louis at 10:30 a.m. Central time. By 12:45 p.m., the Nationals closer was holding a press conference at Busch Stadium, detailing his whirlwind 48 hours that began with a Game 5 National League Division Series clinch in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, including the birth of his daughter, Millie, in Phoenix on Friday and now a chance to pitch in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series later this...
ST. LOUIS - They got a one-hitter from their No. 4 starter and backup closer to win Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. Now the Nationals send their No. 1 starter to the mound for Game 2, with their closer back in town and available to finish things off if the situation calls for it. Not a bad position to be in.
Max Scherzer gets the ball, his first career postseason start in his hometown. It's hardly his first start in this ballpark, though. He's 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA in five...
ST. LOUIS - When the phone rang in the Nationals bullpen and he was instructed to begin warming up, Sean Doolittle didn't really have time to think about the significance of what was now happening.
Yes, Doolittle knew what was going on. AnÃbal Sánchez had not yet allowed a hit to the Cardinals. Through 7 2/3 innings. Of Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
Chances are, if Davey Martinez came out of the dugout and signaled for him, the no-hitter was no longer intact. Or...
ST. LOUIS - AnÃbal Sánchez is not Max Scherzer. He's not Stephen Strasburg. And he's not Patrick Corbin. The rest of baseball may overlook him because of that, but the Nationals most definitely do not.
Who cares if Sánchez doesn't have Strasburg's dominant stuff or Scherzer's adrenaline or Corbin's wipeout slider? He's got 14 years of big league experience, a vast repertoire of pitches few else in this sport can match, and the smarts and guts to use every one of them in any...
It was a year when Orioles minor league outfielder Yusniel Diaz dealt with some injuries and saw his prospect rankings take a hit. But he ended the year hitting well and there is optimism that the key player acquired in the July 2018 Manny Machado deal could still become a key future player for the Orioles.
The 23-year-old Cuban-born Diaz was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers for $15.5 million in November 2015. A penalty doubled that and the Dodgers' expenditure was $31 million for Diaz.
He...
ST. LOUIS - Neither Kurt Suzuki nor Victor Robles is in the Nationals lineup for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, but both injured players remain on the active roster, suggesting there's reason to believe both will be ready to return soon.
Suzuki, who took a fastball off his wrist and then his face in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday night, was still undergoing tests this afternoon, according to manager Davey Martinez.
"I'll know more in...
ST. LOUIS - When Daniel Hudson left the Nationals in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, he hoped to spend only 24 hours in Phoenix for the birth of his daughter, then fly to St. Louis this morning and be ready to pitch tonight in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
But as anyone who's ever had a baby can attest, Mother Nature doesn't care about best-laid plans. When the baby's ready, the baby's ready. And in this case, the newest member of the Hudson family wasn't ready to...