Tag Archives: NL East pennant race

Pitching matchup – game 158

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With just five games left in the regular season, the National League East remains the only division in the league without a clear-cut winner – odd when you consider the fact that the team leading the division is also tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the best record in baseball. But after an Atlanta Braves loss to the New York Mets, which came on a three-run home run from Mets outfielder Lucas Duda, the Washington Nationals’ (95-62) magic number finally fell to two.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals (85-72), who are fighting for the league’s second Wild Card, are looking for some combination of three wins or Los Angeles Dodgers losses to reach a one-game playoff with the Braves.

Both teams hope to take one step closer to clinching their respective playoff spots tonight in the second of a three-game series that will pit Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann against Cardinals right-hander Kyle Lohse in a rematch of their September 1 meeting. Continue reading →

Pitching matchup – game 152

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Apparently, revenge is a dish best served on a warm 78-degree afternoon. And yesterday, the Washington Nationals (92-59), led by left-hander Gio Gonzalez, got their revenge on a Milwaukee Brewers (78-73) team that usurped a win in the ninth inning of Friday night’s four-game series opener.

For Gonzalez, the outing was a perfect response to an earlier July 29 outing in which the Brewers handled his repertoire by belting five runs on five hits and earned seven free passes on five walks and two hit batsmen. The fact that yesterday’s win marked number 20 for Gonzalez, who is the only pitcher to have reached that mark this year, was icing on the cake.

“This is like a dream,” Gonzalez said, “and I feel like I’m still sleeping in it.”

This afternoon, the Nationals will look to ensure, at least, a series split as they take on red-hot right-hander Yovani Gallardo. On the mound for Washington, making just his fifth start of the year is sinkerballer Chien-Ming Wang. Continue reading →

Pitching matchup – game 151

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Though the Washington Nationals (91-59) suffered a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers (78-72) last night after a blown save from Tyler Clippard, the team actually managed to move a step closer towards clinching the National League East. With the Atlanta Braves’ loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Nationals’ lead stood pat at 5 1/2 games while their magic number dropped to seven. And despite a recent string of less-than-stellar performances from Clippard, manager Davey Johnson has no plans to reduce the co-closer’s role in the bullpen.

“He’ll be fine,” Johnson said. “That one just got away. One battle. He’s been pretty awfully good.”

This afternoon, all eyes will be on another Nationals pitcher as left-hander and sole 19-game winner Gio Gonzalez heads to the mound in search of his 20th win. To earn it, he will need to out-pitch Brewers right-hander Wily Peralta, who started his first major league game earlier this month. Continue reading →

Pitching matchup – game 150

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By this point, you have likely already been made aware of the Washington Nationals’ (91-58) series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers last night and the playoff implications surrounding said win. But because this is the first time the nation’s capital has been able to express what follows in 79 years, it bears repeating – the Nationals are officially headed to the postseason.

As exciting as the news is, the Nationals still have some games to win before the real celebration begins. Last night’s win clinched a Wild Card berth and as manager Davey Johnson has made clear on numerous occasions, they will settle for nothing less than a division title.

“That was fun but it’s not what I had my eye on,” Johnson said, “It’s a nice step to get here, but every manager that’s leading a division, that’s the only thing that matters – winning your division.”

The team’s magic number for clinching the National League East still sits at eight. In order to chip away at it they will need to take a few games from the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers during the four-game series that begins tonight when Brewers right-hander Shaun Marcum takes on Nationals right-hander Edwin Jackson. Continue reading →

Werth credits Johnson with Nationals’ turnaround

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There is something to be said of Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson. After all, you do not just luck your way into the playoffs with four different franchises. If you did, there would probably be more than two managers throughout the many years of major league history to have done so. But looking back through the record books, it seems that Billy Martin is the only other to have achieved such a milestone.

No, there is definitely something to be said of Johnson and it seems Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth said it best just minutes after the Nationals clinched the first playoff appearance for a Washington baseball team in nearly eight decades.

“There’s a lot of people around here that you can point fingers at that had a lot to do with the change in direction and everything that goes into that in the ballclub and the organization, but none any bigger than Davey,” Werth said. Continue reading →

Detwiler, Nationals secure their place in history

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There are many things to be said of Ross Detwiler, the Washington Nationals’ power left-hander.

Presumably, you were aware of that juicy tidbit, provided you have watched alongside the rest of the Washington Metropolitan Area as he has developed into a frontline-caliber starter since his selection in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Nationals.

His prowess was on full display last night as he led the Nationals to a series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on six innings of one-run ball, through which he allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out five.

With the victory, he added another talking point to any discussion involving him by notching his 10th win of the season, marking the first time he has reached double digits in the win column as a professional.

Now, on its own, that might not be seen as much of an achievement. But because in doing so, Detwiler became the pitcher of record for the game that clinched the first playoff berth for a Washington baseball team in 79 years and will forever be remembered by Nationals fans. Continue reading →

Pitching matchup – game 149

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After splitting yesterday’s straight doubleheader with the Los Angeles Dodgers (77-72), the Washington Nationals (90-58) will have to play at least one more game before clinching a playoff berth that will mark the first for a D.C. baseball team in 79 long years.

With a win in the first game of the doubleheader, the Nationals ensured that they would live to play more than 162 games this year as they clinched a worst-case scenario that involves a 163rd game – one that would decide the winner of the second National League Wild Card.

Now, with their NL Wild Card magic number sitting at one, they can ensure that the 163rd game never happens by taking tonight’s game – and the series – from the Dodgers.

Still, Nationals manager Davey Johnson is concerned with only one thing.

“The only thing that means anything to me is when we clinch the [division],” Johnson said. “That’s the only thing I’m concerned with.”

To claim their right to October baseball, the team will have to look past last night’s blown call and look forward to Dodgers left-hander Chris Capuano, who will take the hill opposite Nationals lefty Ross Detwiler. Continue reading →

An aside on accountability

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The difference between a five-run shutout and a six-run shutout, the latter of which seemed a definite possibility as the nightcap of last night’s doubleheader between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals entered the bottom of the eighth inning, is insignificant.

The difference between a 6-6 tie and a one-run lead held by the home team heading into the top of the ninth, however, is huge.

After mounting a six-run comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning last night, the Nationals took a tied ballgame – what should have been a one-run lead – into the ninth inning. The Matt Kemp home run that followed should have tied the ballgame, not won it. But because of a blown call in the top of the fourth inning, one that bestowed one of the most unearned-scored-earned runs ever upon the Dodgers, everything that should not have happened did, in fact, happen. Continue reading →

Nationals reeling, but far from falling

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For some reason, there seems to be an air of uneasiness about the Washington Metropolitan Area – uneasiness that is amplified by every passing mention of the Washington Nationals and their shrinking lead in the National League East, which now sits at five games.

Perhaps a part of the anxiety was brought about by a recent series sweep, suffered at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, who appear unwilling to settle for one of the two NL Wild Cards. More than likely, a good part stems from the uncertainty surrounding a few key players in the Nationals’ starting lineup. Continue reading →

A look into the remainder of the Nationals’ regular season

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If you will, take a trip with me to September 2011. It was only a year ago that the Atlanta Braves entered September with an 8 1/2 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, while the Boston Red Sox held an even larger nine game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League Wild Card. It would take two simultaneous disastrous collapses, collapses that rivaled the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies and the 1978 Red Sox, for either of the leaders to fall out of playoff contention. Well, in 2011, the Cardinals and the Rays took the Wild Cards in their respective leagues.

Now, back in the pseudo present, the Washington Nationals took an 8 1/2 game division lead into Turner Field on Friday night to begin a three-game series with the Braves. The good news for the Nationals was that their worst-case scenario was taking a 5 1/2 game division lead back to the district. The bad news is that they will be returning to the district with a 5 1/2 game division lead after being swept by the Braves and leaving their magic number untouched.

Before you begin wondering when Positive Mental Natitude became Negative Mental Natitude, let me say that I am in no way suggesting that the Nationals are on the verge of suffering a collapse on par with those seen last year. To do so would undermine the talent that makes up the roster and would suggest that I have failed to follow the team closely at all this season.

I am suggesting, however, that baseball is anything but predictable. With 16 games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Nationals are all but assured a playoff berth – needing only to go 3-13 for the rest of the season to ensure it. But for a division win, which is more desirable than ever considering the new playoff system, the Nationals have their work cut out for them.

Having said that, let us take a look at the remaining 16 games on the Nationals’ schedule. Continue reading →