It's kind of weird to think that, barring a shocking late comeback, today will mark the last home game at Nationals Park this year.
Seventy-nine home games are in the books. Two remain, both of which will be played today under what looks like clear skies and gorgeous weather, after yesterday's postponement following a nearly four-hour rain delay.
Stephen Strasburg would have started last night's game, and now he'll start the nightcap tonight. I guess it's fitting that the Nationals' ace...
After a rain delay of 3 hours, 45 minutes, it's been announced that tonight's Marlins-Nationals game has been postponed due to rain.
The two teams will play a split doubleheader tomorrow. The first game is scheduled to start at 1:35 p.m., with the nightcap following at 7:05 p.m.
Because it's a split doubleheader, separate admission will be required for each game. The stadium will be cleared in between ballgames.
It will be Dan Haren and Marlins right-hander Tom Koehler (who was scheduled...
Rain continues to fall at Nationals Park, and based on the radar that we're all looking at in the press box, there's no sign of things letting up for a while.
If this was June, it'd be an easy call to bang this one tonight and reschedule the game for later in the season. But in late September, postponements are tough because of scheduling issues. The only possible option other than waiting it out tonight is playing two tomorrow, which is a getaway day for both the Nats and the Marlins....
Stop me if you've heard this one before.
Stephen Strasburg is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Nationals tonight. The skies are dark, it's already raining at Nats Park and the forecast is a more than a little foreboding.
How foreboding? Check the weather radar and you'll discover a huge green blob stretching from slightly north of Ottawa, Ont., to south of New Orleans. Right now, its width is from about Burke in the western suburbs of D.C. to a little east of Charleston, W.Va.
In...
It sure is starting to feel like playoff season, all right.
The Reds and Pirates played a thrilling 10-inning ballgame last night, in which Cincinnati came from two runs down in the ninth to tie the game and then won it in extras on Joey Votto's home run.
The Cardinals and Brewers played a crazy 10-inning game of their own, in which St. Louis scored twice in the top of the ninth to take a 6-4 lead, only to see the Brewers tie it up in the bottom of the ninth with two of their own. The...
The Reds just finished off a 10-inning, comeback win over the Pirates, meaning the Nationals are now five games back of both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the wild card chase with just eight games to go.
The odds decrease.
Jordan Zimmermann's memory doesn't really allow him to give an accurate ranking of how his stuff was tonight compared to his previous 111 big league starts. He's not sure if tonight's two-hit shutout performance, in which he struck out nine (tying a season high) and...
It didn't take Nationals manager Davey Johnson long to get the feeling that Jordan Zimmermann had a special night ahead of him.
"You could tell from the first pitch of the ballgame that Zim wasn't going to be denied," Johnson said.
Zimmermann's first pitch was a 94 mph fastball that Donovan Solano fouled off, and he needed just eight more pitches, seven of which were strikes, to retire the side in the first inning. Zimmermann notched two strikeouts in that first frame, had eight...
The crowd at Nationals Park might have been down for a few minutes after Jordan Zimmermann's no-hit bid was spoiled with two outs in the sixth on Donovan Solano's single to center, but the Nationals lifted their fans' spirits with a huge seven-run bottom half of the inning.
They got seven hits and a walk in the sixth inning alone, batting around and quickly turning what was a scoreless game into a laugher.
Denard Span started the merry-go-round with a leadoff single, giving him a one-game...
Jordan Zimmermann is all kinds of locked in tonight, and he's running through a soft Marlins lineup.
Zimmermann has yet to allow a hit through four innings of work. He's struck out eight. He's thrown 40 of his 54 pitches for strikes.
The fastball is sitting in the mid-90s. The slider has been tight and has touched 89 mph. And the curveball has been sharp.
Zimmermann struck out two in the first inning, including Giancarlo Stanton to end the frame. He struck out the side in the second. And...
After playing catch on flat ground and doing some running this afternoon, a normal day-before-start routine, Stephen Strasburg has been cleared to start tomorrow against the Marlins.
Strasburg has been scratched from scheduled starts twice in the last week due to tightness in his right forearm. The right-hander was originally scheduled to start last Friday against the Phillies, but had that start pushed back to Thursday. When Strasburg had trouble getting loose before a throwing session...
Jordan Zimmermann is seeking his 19th win of the season tonight.
With a victory, the Nationals right-hander would tie the Tigers' Max Scherzer for the major league lead in wins.
The Nats will face Marlins right-hander Jacob Turner, who came to Miami as part of the Anibal Sanchez trade last season.
Turner is 3-7 with a 3.51 ERA this season. He allowed five runs on nine hits over four innings in a loss to the Nats back on Sept. 8.
For the Nationals
CF Denard Span
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Jayson...
A number of Nationals players had kind words to say about Denard Span and his impressive last month after Span's 29-game hitting streak came to an end last night.
Ian Desmond was one of them, noting that it was nice to see Span play the way he knows he can play after a rough start to the season. But Desmond added another interesting angle on to his thoughts about Span's streak ending.
"Obviously you never want to see someone who goes to that extent of a hitting streak have it end but it...
Denard Span's 29-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-for-4 performance tonight in a 3-2 win over the Marlins, but while Span was a little disappointed with the end result, he still was able to reflect on the last month with a smile on his face.
When Span was done with an on-field MASN interview immediately after the game, he walked down the dugout tunnel and saw the entire Nationals team waiting for him at the front of the clubhouse. All his teammates and coaches were there...
Before we get to all the pieces that actually factored into tonight's 3-2 Nationals win, let's get manager Davey Johnson's reaction to Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez hitting Ian Desmond just below the left shoulder on a 3-0 fastball just after Bryce Harper had crushed a three-run homer in the first inning.
Immediately after Desmond was hit, many Nats players jumped up to the top step of the dugout, angered by what they felt was an intentional plunking. Home plate umpire Bill Welke...
We've already had some drama here at Nationals Park tonight, and the game isn't even an inning old.
The Marlins got to Gio Gonzalez for a run in the top of the first when Donovan Solano, who doubled leading off the game, came around on an Ed Lucas RBI single. But things heated up in the bottom of the first, when the Nats took the lead and saw their bench coach get ejected just minutes later.
Bryce Harper smoked a three-run homer to center off Henderson Alvarez, giving the Nats a 3-1...
Prior to Saturday's game against the Marlins, the Nationals are going to hold a special ceremony honoring manager Davey Johnson, whose final homestand as Nats manager is winding down.
There's going to be a video montage on the JumboTron and general manager Mike Rizzo will present Johnson with an award. It sounds like it'll be a nice tribute, but Johnson, who isn't too fond of being the center of attention in such situations, isn't looking forward to it.
"I'm thinking about checking...
After Stephen Strasburg was scratched from tonight's start due to some lingering right forearm tightness, Gio Gonzalez will start on full rest in the first of four games against the Marlins.
The Nationals plan to follow Gonzalez with Jordan Zimmermann tomorrow night, Strasburg on Saturday and Dan Haren on Sunday in the season finale between these two teams.
Gonzalez is 2-0 in two starts against the Marlins this season and has yet to allow a run in 13 innings against Miami.
The Nats will...
The Nationals acquired left-hander Matthew Spann from the Rays today, completing the trade that sent outfielder David DeJesus to Tampa Bay for a player to be named.
Spann, 22, went 4-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 19 games (four starts) for Bowling Green of the Single-A Midwest League this season.
After working primarily as a starter the last two seasons, Spann was moved to the bullpen most of this year, and posted a 2.50 ERA in 15 relief appearances.
The lefty had just 35 strikeouts and 21 walks in...
Over the last month, the Nationals have done well to right the ship and start running off wins.
They've gotten their record back above .500 and slowly chipped away at the massive deficit they had built up behind the wild card leaders.
Unfortunately, as we all know, when you build up such a massive deficit, you need to be close to perfect to overcome your previous struggles. You also need a lot of help.
The Nats have been playing at an incredibly high level for the last five weeks or so, but...
Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from tomorrow's scheduled start after having trouble getting loose when throwing earlier today, manager Davey Johnson said after tonight's 5-2 loss to the Braves.
Strasburg had been scratched from last Friday's start due to right forearm tightness, and the Nationals had pushed him back to Thursday, hoping that some extra time would allow him to get over that forearm discomfort.
Things had been progressing well over the last few days, but when Strasburg...
