#TBT to "Nationals Classics" Offense, pitching and clinchers

As the Nationals prepare to convene in West Palm Beach, Fla., our thoughts turn toward warm nights spent sitting in the stands at Nationals Park and watching baseball. While it'll be a bit before we can actually do that again - dang pandemic! - MASN has you covered with a plethora of "Nationals Classics" from yesteryear.

This week's offerings include pitching prowess, offensive fireworks and some Clinchmas memories.

"Pitchers and catchers report" is the welcome start of another year of baseball memories. While we wait for the real games to start, enjoy these throwbacks to baseball past.

Thursday, Feb. 11 - 7 p.m. - Last Aug. 28, the Nats were in Fenway Park, where Max Scherzer tamed the Red Sox. The right-hander yielded a run on six hits with 11 strikeouts in six innings, benefiting from a trio of homers in a 10-2 romp.

Thursday, Feb. 11 - 11 p.m. - Bryce Harper homered twice and Stephen Strasburg recorded 19 consecutive outs as the Nats beat the Marlins 2-0 on opening day on April 1, 2013.

Saturday, Feb. 13 - 6 p.m. - Anthony Rendon's homer in the eighth tied it and the Nationals went 16 innings before Ryan Zimmerman homered in the 16th for a 4-2 win over the Brewers.

Sunday, Feb. 14 - 11:30 p.m. - Our Valentine's Day remembrance sees the Nats at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on June 22, 2005. Brian Schneider's RBI single in the eighth was the difference-maker in a 5-4 Washington win.

Monday, Feb. 15 - 10:30 a.m. - Grab your grilled cheese and tomato soup and enjoy this July 3, 2005 game that saw the Nats trim the homestanding Cubs 5-4 in 12 innings. The Cubs tallied twice in the last of the ninth to force extras, and each team scored a pair in the 11th before Schneider homered to right field for the margin of victory.

Monday, Feb. 15 - 11:59 p.m. - Just before the stroke of midnight, we've got an offensive explosion from Aug. 10, 2020. The Nats logged 17 hits in a 16-4 rout of the Mets at Citi Field, getting two homers and five RBIs from Asdrúbal Cabrera plus home runs from Trea Turner and Juan Soto.

Tuesday, Feb. 16 - 8:30 a.m. - On May 21, 2018, Soto became the first teenager to homer since Harper when the Nats walloped the Padres 10-2. Soto's three-run blast came in a five-run third. Mark Reynolds went deep twice and Harper also connected.

Tuesday, Feb. 16 - 6 p.m. - Strasburg picked up his 13th win of the season on Sept. 10, 2017, working eight scoreless frames on two hits with 10 whiffs as the Nats clinched their fourth National League East crown in six years with a 3-2 triumph over the Phillies on South Capitol Street. Turner hit a two-run homer to power the offense.

Wednesday, Feb. 17 - 10:30 a.m. - Another clincher, this one from Sept. 24, 2016, saw the Nats claimed the NL East crown with a 6-1 win over the Pirates. Harper and Stephen Drew had two RBIs apiece and Reynaldo López picked up the victory with 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief on three hits.

Wednesday, Feb. 17 - 10 p.m. - A back-and-forth affair against the Cubs on June 15, 2016 saw the Nationals prevail in 12 innings on Jayson Werth's walk-off single to center.