What had previously been clear but not announced was made official by Dusty Baker this afternoon: Gio Gonzalez will start Game 2 of the National League Division Series for the Nats, with Max Scherzer starting Game 3. That decision was made by the Nationals earlier in the week, but was held back for public consumption until they were confident Scherzer would be ready to pitch Monday's Game 3 at Wrigley Field. They were finally ready to make the announcement today, with Scherzer completing a...

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...

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...

Registration is now underway for the Oct. 28 KidsPeace Trick-of-Treat 5K and one-mile walk at Camden Yards. The Halloween-themed event, held in partnership with the Baltimore Orioles and hosted by Angela and Buck Showalter, benefits KidsPeace Foster Care and Community Programs of Maryland, including its KidsPeace Empowering Youth to Succeed life skills program for young people preparing for independence. The run and walk events take place around Camden Yards, with the races ending on the field...

It feels like we've been waiting around for this postseason for an extraordinarily long time. The Nationals clinched their division title way back on Sept. 10, but truth be told, they knew a lot earlier than that they were going to win the National League East and make the postseason. And they've known for most of that time they almost certainly were going to face the Cubs in the National League Division Series. Well, at long last the day has come. It's Oct. 6, and a highly anticipated...

The Nationals are carrying four left-handed relievers and an extra bench player for the National League Division Series, ultimately choosing to take a chance on young players like Brian Goodwin, Victor Robles and Enny Romero over veterans or a long reliever. The Nationals will have a seven-man bullpen for their best-of-five series against the Cubs. Closer Sean Doolittle is joined by right-handed setup men Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler and Matt Albers, plus a trio of lefties who can be used to...

The Washington Nationals announced their 2017 National League Division Series roster on Friday, in advance of the series' opening game against the Chicago Cubs. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The Nationals' NLDS roster is comprised of 11 pitchers (six right-handed pitchers, five left-handed pitchers), two catchers, six infielders and six outfielders. The Nationals' veteran-laden squad will get a dash of youthful exuberance, but...

Facing the Chicago Cubs in the post season is a big deal for Dusty Baker. But he countered, then again, he has history with a lot of teams the Nationals could play in the 2017 playoffs. Baker managed the Cubs from 2003 to 2006. The first two seasons they won 88 and 89 games. The last season they finished 30 games under .500. "What comes to my mind is how well we started off and how things certainly could have been different," Baker said. "One pitch, one out, one hit, one something. And then...

We have heard it many times before that "good pitching beats good hitting." We have also heard the narrative that home runs "don't play well in the postseason." So far that has not been true. We are talking about a small sample size. In the wild-card games the four starting pitchers were Ervin Santana, Luis Severino, Jon Gray and Zach Greinke. They combined to pitch 7 1/3 innings allowing 20 hits and 15 runs and gave up five home runs. There were nine homers hit in the wild card games. As...

If anyone needs further proof that time passes quickly, consider that Orioles utility infielder Ryan Flaherty is entering free agency. The same Ryan Flaherty who joined the Orioles as a Rule 5 pick at the 2011 Winter Meetings in Dallas. One month after they hired Dan Duquette as executive vice president of baseball operations. The Orioles didn't make a big splash at the meetings. They selected Flaherty and acquired left-hander Dana Eveland from the Dodgers for minor league outfielder Tyler...