The Nationals' decision to carry only seven relievers with a six-man bench for the National League Division Series boiled down their opponent for this first round of the playoffs and the fact that several of their position players are still dealing with nagging ailments.
Manager Dusty Baker said the Dodgers' left-handed-laden lineup necessitated the carrying of three lefties in his NLDS bullpen. And with Daniel Murphy (buttocks), Bryce Harper (thumb), Jayson Werth (back), Ryan Zimmerman...
The day has come at last. It's been a long wait since the Nationals clinched the National League East title 13 days ago. But this afternoon, the postseason begins in D.C. It's Game 1 of the National League Division Series, and it's as good a pitching matchup as you can get: Max Scherzer vs. Clayton Kershaw.
The two aces will take center stage and draw most of the attention in the buildup to the game, but there are other storylines to this one as well. Such as the significant presence of...
The Nationals' finalized roster for the National League Division Series includes only seven relievers but six bench players, not to mention several notable names left out altogether.
For their best-of-five series with the Dodgers, the Nationals opted to carry only 11 total pitchers. That leaves a seven-man bullpen of closer Mark Melancon; right-handers Shawn Kelley, Blake Treinen and Reynaldo Lopez; and left-handers Marc Rzepczynski, Sammy Solis and Oliver Perez.
Among those left out of the...
Sometimes a postseason series matchup doesn't have to be hyped up any more than with a simple mention of last names. Schilling vs. Clemens. Halladay vs. Carpenter. Bumgarner vs. Syndergaard.
And now ... Scherzer vs. Kershaw.
It would be difficult to conjure up a better pitching showdown for Game 1 of the National League Division Series than the one that will be on display later this afternoon at Nationals Park.
Clayton Kershaw is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, an MVP and just put together...
The Nationals' roster for the National League Division Series will include Wilmer Difo on the bench and three lefties in the bullpen. It probably won't include both Clint Robinson and Ben Revere, though, with room only for one of those reserves.
Dusty Baker revealed some aspects of his club's roster for the NLDS against the Dodgers during today's news conference at Nationals Park, but the manager couldn't reveal everything. Baker also acknowledged some decisions have yet to be made,...
The Nationals have until 10 a.m. Friday to submit and announce their roster for the National League Division Series. Don't be surprised if they take every last minute available to them before finalizing which 25 players will take the field against the Dodgers.
These decisions are easier said than done, and Dusty Baker, Mike Rizzo and everyone else involved in the process have some legitimately tough decisions to make.
"Do you keep some veterans?" Baker asked rhetorically on Wednesday. "Do...
The Nationals added another element to today's pre-playoffs workout: live batting practice. And Daniel Murphy added more elements to his personal workout in an attempt to return from injury and start Game 1 of the National League Division Series: hard running in both the outfield and on the bases.
By all accounts, both went according to plan, leaving everybody as ready as they could reasonably expect to be at this point for Friday's series opener against the Dodgers.
All of the Nationals'...
The Dodgers do many things well. They pitch well. They hit for power. They play good defense.
There is, however, one thing they really don't do well: hit left-handed pitchers.
No team in baseball was less productive against lefties than the Dodgers, whose .213 batting average was 21 points worse than anybody else in the majors, and whose .622 OPS was 55 points worse than anybody else in the sport.
And so the spotlight will shine brightly on few during the National League Division Series more...
For most of the Nationals roster, which still stands at 40 for now until final decisions are made before Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, today's workout was an exercise in the routine and mundane. Pitchers fielded bunts. Infielders took grounders. Everybody took batting practice.
For Daniel Murphy, more was at stake.
The Nationals second baseman and MVP candidate hasn't done anything other than pinch-hit since straining a buttocks muscle 2 1/2 weeks ago, but today he...
Trea Turner's odds of winning National League Rookie of the Year are nearly nonexistent, not because of his performance, but because he spent less than half of the season in the big leagues while Corey Seager played the entire year for the Dodgers and posted dynamic numbers across the board.
Turner, though, can take solace knowing he clearly was the league's best rookie through the season's final two months.
Having previously won NL Rookie of the Month honors for August, Turner today was...
The Nationals and Dodgers will be battling not only aces on the mound, but possibly late-afternoon shadows and the emergence of the Sun Monster when they open the National League Division Series with a pair of contests later this week.
Game 1 of the best-of-five series will start at 5:38 p.m. Friday, Major League Baseball announced today. First pitch for Game 2 is slated for 4:08 p.m. Saturday.
Starting times for the remainder of the series (Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles and a potential Game 5...
As sportswriters, the most important thing we ask of the athletes and coaches we cover is accountability. It's easy to do interviews after you hit a game-winning homer. It's not nearly as easy to do them after you give up a game-winning homer. But it's part of the job, and so we ask them to stand up and take the heat when they lose.
But it would be entirely unfair of us to ask those we cover to be accountable for their mistakes if we are not willing to be accountable for our own mistakes. Of...
Baseball is a sport played every day. Or almost every day.
Yet here are the Nationals and Dodgers, champions of their respective divisions, ready to do battle in their best-of-five National League Division Series ... and they're forced to take the next four days off before finally returning to the field.
It's an unfortunate, but necessary, part of the modern postseason schedule. With the two wild card games set to be played Tuesday and Wednesday, the Division Series can't commence until...
Twenty wins means different things to different people. And its meaning has changed significantly throughout the course of baseball history, with most around the sport now fully acknowledging how many better ways there are to evaluate a pitcher's season than mere wins and losses that are so dependent on the performances of others.
But 20 wins does still mean something to those who wear the uniform. And if you doubt that, just go back and watch the reactions in the Nationals dugout during each...
Daniel Murphy has taken only two at-bats in the last two weeks, with the Nationals trying to give their MVP candidate as much time as possible to recover from a strained buttocks muscle and be ready for Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday.
Murphy, though, might have good reason to try for one at-bat at some point in today's series finale.
Murphy enters the day with a batting average of .3472, narrowly behind the Rockies' D.J. LeMahieu's .3478 for the NL lead. LeMahieu...
And so we have reached Game 162, always a big day on the baseball calendar. This, of course, isn't the end of the 2016 season for the Nationals, who have far more important things still to come later this week. But it's officially the day to turn the page from the regular season to the postseason.
What's at stake today: Max Scherzer is going for his 20th win and perhaps one last push for Cy Young Award votes. Daniel Murphy isn't expected to play, but if he does get a pinch-hit appearance,...
There are few roles as defined in baseball as the closer's role. Is your team leading by one, two or three runs entering the ninth inning? OK, you're in.
And the overwhelming majority of the time the last two seasons, Mark Melancon has been used just like that.
So when the right-hander came bounding out of the bullpen yesterday with two outs in the eighth, it certainly raised an eyebrow or two around Nationals Park. Including inside the dugout, where a certain ace right-hander caught Dusty...
The Nationals tried to insist all along that home field advantage for the National League Division Series really didn't matter all that much. They would have liked their chances against the Dodgers just the same had they been forced to open next weekend's series in Los Angeles.
But once it actually was clinched today, once they finished off a 2-1 victory over the Marlins and the Giants beat Clayton Kershaw 3-0 at AT&T Park, the Nationals did admit that, yes, they preferred this scenario...
For the third time in as many trips to the postseason, the Nationals will have home field advantage in the National League Division Series. Now, they just need to prove they can take advantage of it this time around.
Games 1 and 2 (and a potential Game 5) will be played in the District thanks to the Nationals' 2-1 victory over the Marlins this afternoon, though the Dodgers' 3-0 loss to the Giants would have done the trick as well.
It'll be the Dodgers traveling east for Game 1 on Friday at a...
Jayson Werth insisted late Friday night he hadn't suffered any kind of significant injury when he departed the Nationals' game against the Marlins in the eighth inning with what the club termed "tightness in his back."
Werth even went so far as to say: "If I'm not in there tomorrow, I'd be surprised."
Well, he's not in there, but the Nationals are still insisting he's not significantly injured.
"Jayson's OK," manager Dusty Baker said before today's game. "I think. He just came...