The Nationals have 21 games left in a difficult season filled with injuries, poor play and the departure of several popular players. This has left many in NatsTown pondering on social media about why they should continue to watch games down the stretch. The obvious answer is that baseball is awesome and once the final pitch is thrown, we must anxiously wait like a dog for its owner to return home for pitchers and catchers to report next February. And with all due respect to my Caps brethren...

No pitcher in baseball has surrendered more home runs this season than Dylan Bundy. In 146 innings, Bundy has allowed 35 longballs, seven more than the next closest starting pitcher. That's 2.16 homers per nine innings, making Bundy the only starter in baseball with more than two. It's probably hard to remember way back to April, but I'll try my best to refresh your memory. At the end of baseball's first month, Bundy was sporting a 2.97 ERA and seemed to be on track to being the Orioles'...

We have seen recent games when Orioles switch-hitting center fielder Cedric Mullins didn't start against a left-handed pitcher. I certainly can understand the club's desire to both rest his cranky hip and/or use that time to get a look at John Andreoli. But I also hope the organization hasn't yet made up it's mind that Mullins will have difficulty continuing to be a switch-hitter. While Mullins hit better in his career on the farm batting left-handed, he made nice strides this year from the...

With left-handers starting for the Cubs the rest of the weekend, Victor Robles is most likely going to get some significant playing time and get his first major league start of the season. We got a taste of the dynamic rookie late during Thursday night's game, though, when he took over in center field as part of a double switch and found himself right in the center of action. Robles pinch-hit in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on first and nobody out. He grounded to third but managed...

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg was able to come within one out of finishing six innings in a no-decision Thursday night against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs won the game with two runs in the 10th frame, 6-4. Strasburg allowed two runs in the third inning on three consecutive hits. Strasburg fired 111 pitches for the Nationals in 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing only three runs, two of them earned. The Cubs managed to string together six hits against him. Strasburg struck out six and walked three...

They battled, just like they always do. They also lost a close game late to the Cubs, which they also have done a few times in the last month. The Nationals' 6-4, 10-inning loss to Chicago tonight felt oh so familiar to anyone who has watched these teams play this summer. Just as they did twice during an agonizing weekend at Wrigley Field in August, the Nats put themselves in position to win. And just as they did then, they could not do the little things necessary to actually win. Up 4-3 in...

After a pair of scoreless frames, the Cubs finally got to Stephen Strasburg in the third inning with three consecutive base hits. With two outs, Javier Báez singled. Anthony Rizzo doubled with Báez scoring all the way from first base. Ben Zobrist followed with a RBI single to score Rizzo. Kris Bryant was hit by pitch but Strasburg struck out Albert Almora, Jr., to end the inning. The Nats managed base hits from Juan Soto in the second and Spencer Kieboom in the third, but have been unable...

Daniel Murphy flew from Milwaukee to Washington late Wednesday night, rode home and slept in his own bed for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks. There was comfort in that routine, to be sure. Then Murphy rode today to Nationals Park and instead of entering the home clubhouse kept walking around the concourse to the visitors' side behind third base, where his No. 3 Cubs jersey was hanging in his locker and his name was listed in the No. 1 lineup slot for tonight's series opener. Yeah, these are...

Nationals manager Davey Martinez said first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is getting a rest day and his absence from the lineup is not because of the slide in last night's game against the Cardinals, a 7-6 setback. "Zim's fine, just getting a day," Martinez said during pregame. "Like I said, we talk a lot and we felt he needed a day today. So, he will be available later." The slide occurred in the seventh frame Wednesday night when the Nats rallied for four runs to get back in the...

A few observations, thoughts and random musings - they tend to have the same characteristics - while waiting for the start of a three-game series at climate-controlled Tropicana Field in the third-to-last road series of 2018: * The Orioles didn't bring back a major haul for second baseman Jonathan Schoop and pitchers Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day at the non-waiver trade deadline. It was more about salary relief, international signing bonus slots and minor league depth. But second baseman...