It began with a rain delay. It ended after another rain delay. In between, the Nationals played two baseball games with the Cubs, saw Max Scherzer throw a complete game, inducted Jayson Werth into their Ring of Honor, saw Bryce Harper launch a go-ahead home run off the bullpen cart, saw Sean Doolittle become the first pitcher ever to enter Nationals Park via said bullpen cart and saw Greg Holland record the save at 1:42 a.m. in front of perhaps 200 fans.
Oh yeah, the Nationals also swept a...
There will be those who look at Jayson Werth's name on the façade of the upper deck down the first base line at Nationals Park, unveiled tonight and there to stay as long as this stadium lives, and question whether the outfielder was worthy of such an honor.
Those people probably have always scoffed at the $126 million contract the Nationals gave Werth way back in December 2010 and still don't believe it was the right move for the franchise.
But if you watched the ceremony that took place...
This was going to be a long, aggravating day and night at the ballpark no matter what took place on the field. Such is life when you're attempting to play a doubleheader after failing to even complete 1 1/2 innings the previous night due to rain, with more rain certain to fall in different waves during the course of this day and night.
But for all the aggravation, there was at least this bit of consolation for the Nationals and their fans: They were going to get to see Max Scherzer pitch. And...
Hope you didn't stray too far from your TV, cause we're already back for the nightcap of today's doubleheader. Yes, it's starting a little later than planned thanks to the 2-hour, 10-minute rain delay before the opener. And yes, there's a chance for more rain later tonight before this one is completed. But hey, at this point why complain anymore? Nothing any of us can do to change it.
The Nationals had a clear pitching advantage in the opener, with Max Scherzer facing Jaime Garcia, who...
They may have had different reasons for it, but the Nationals and Cubs were united in their displeasure with the end result of Friday night's scheduled game.
For those who missed it (or fell asleep along the way), a recap: The start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 21 minutes due to rain, then started only to be halted after 23 minutes due to more rain. Then after waiting another 2 hours, 54 minutes for the rain to clear out, the game was postponed and rescheduled as a straight doubleheader...
After a long and frustrating Friday night at the ballpark that featured fewer than two innings of baseball, the Nationals and Cubs are going to spend a long Saturday afternoon and night at the ballpark, hopefully playing 18 innings of baseball.
Everything that happened last night is wiped out, officially speaking. They'll start from scratch at 3:05 p.m. today, with Max Scherzer and Jaime Garcia on the mound for their respective clubs. Cole Hamels will pitch the nightcap for Chicago; the Nats...
They waited 1 hour, 21 minutes for the first storm to clear out and then started the game.
They played for 23 minutes, completing the first inning and the first two outs of the second inning, before the second wave of rain became too intense and forced both teams to leave the field.
And then after another 2 hours, 54 minutes spent watching the heavens open up again, then stop, the Nationals' game against the Cubs was finally postponed, some 4 1/2 hours after it was originally scheduled to...
What would Sean Doolittle have thought, the Nationals closer was asked today, if told when he first noticed what felt like a minor left toe injury on July 7 that he wouldn't return for two months?
"I would've said you were crazy," the left-hander said. "I was feeling really good, and I was pitching better than I ever have in my career. If you had told me when I came out of that game that night that I was going to have to wait two months to get to do that again, I would've said you were...
It's been 425 days since Joe Ross last pitched in a major league game. Something didn't look right with the right-hander on July 9, 2017 when he lasted only 3 1/3 innings against the Braves and saw his velocity drop. Turns out he had a torn ligament in his elbow that required Tommy John surgery, and we all know how long it takes to return from that.
Tonight, Ross will take the mound at Nationals Park again, just shy of 14 months later. He'll be facing a tough Cubs lineup, not to mention an...
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...
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...
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...
They just took the official 2018 team photo here at Nationals Park, with players, coaches and club executives all standing out in direct sunlight in the middle of the diamond on a brutally hot day to smile for a few seconds and capture a shot of the team in its entirety. That is, the team in its entirety as it currently exists on September 6. Several players who will have played a key role on this team this season aren't included, because they're no longer part of the team.
That includes...
It is becoming something of a running joke, that no matter how bad they play, no matter the deficit they face, the Nationals always seem to find a way to bring the tying run to the plate late in ballgames. Even though that doesn't always result in victory, it has legitimately become a defining quality of a team that certainly has been a major disappointment this season but rarely has rolled over and conceded defeat.
So it shouldn't have surprised anyone when it happened again tonight, when...
That the question was asked at all is evidence of the disappointment that has been the Nationals' 2018 season. But given the events of the last five months, not to mention the organization's history of changing managers, Mike Rizzo couldn't have been surprised today when he was asked during a wide-ranging scrum on the field at Nationals Park whether Davey Martinez will return in 2019.
Rizzo's reply: "I haven't considered any other scenario."
Skeptics will immediately dig up Rizzo's...
Can the Nationals play well enough tonight to take a three-game series from the Cardinals? Can Tanner Roark continue his second-half surge? Can the lineup continue to produce, right down to the bottom of the ninth? Shoot, can they simply play a nine-inning game in fewer than 3 1/2 hours?
We'll find all of that out when the Nats wrap up their series with St. Louis with Roark on the mound. The right-hander took a bit of a step back in his last start, allowing three homers to the Brewers. But...
The Nationals had 12 pitchers sitting in their bullpen Tuesday night, but that doesn't mean Davey Martinez had an abundance of appealing options when he needed to call down there for an arm.
Of those 12 relievers, only two were on the club's opening day roster: Matt Grace and Sammy SolÃs. Only four of them have pitched in 30 or more games for the Nats this season: Grace and Solis, Justin Miller and Wander Suero.
Tim Collins has made 27 appearances over two stints in Washington. Greg...
In this summer of extremes for the Nationals, tonight's 11-8 loss to the Cardinals somehow felt appropriate.
The Nats pitching staff posted zeros in six different innings during this game, often in impressive fashion. The lineup posted a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth with an impressive rally, then scored three times in the bottom of the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate.
Unfortunately, the top of the second, sixth and ninth also counted in this contest, so the 11 combined...
When Victor Robles arrived in Washington one year ago, he was touted as the Nationals' future star outfielder, the man who would perhaps make Bryce Harper's potential departure less difficult to swallow.
When Robles arrived in Washington today, he found himself with a locker right next to Juan Soto, who over the last 3 1/2 months has taken over the title of Harper's potential replacement and already a star for the Nationals at 19.
Not that Robles has suddenly turned into chump change. His...
It's a disgustingly hot and muggy day here in Miami - wait, this is Washington? Could've fooled me. Step outside, close your eyes and you won't be able to tell the difference. Promise. So much for a September cool down.
Anyway, the Nationals and Cardinals return to action tonight after Monday's 10-inning thriller, the Nats looking to win two straight and get over the .500 mark. They'll do so with Erick Fedde on the mound for the first time in two months. Fedde, who last pitched July 4...
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