Tag Archives: nats

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
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Strasburg Struggles, Nats Lose 8-2

Strasburg
courtesy of oddlittlebird.

What started out as a four inning pitching duel between former Nationals pitcher and current Chicago Cub Edwin Jackson and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg quickly turned in favor of Chicago due to a messy fifth inning performance from the young phenom. The Nats went on to lose the contest 8-2 on Saturday afternoon. The Cubs hit four unearned runs off of Strasburg in the fourth inning and four more earned runs off left-handed reliever Zach Duke in the fifth to win it.

Strasburg has struggled for the entirety of the 2013 season minus Opening Day. When he lets his emotions get the best of him – like he did Saturday – it’s easier to remember just how young he actually is. When Strasburg’s got his three pitches working for him, he’s a force to be reckoned with, but he’s still in the growing phase where he’s learning to deal with the adversity within the game itself. Manager Davey Johnson acknowledged that fact that the game.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
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Nats Beat Cubs 7-3 on Friday Night

Nats vs. Marlins-0776
courtesy of MudflapDC

Despite giving up five doubles in six and two-thirds innings pitched, the Washington Nationals’ left-handed starter Ross Detwiler secured his second win of the season with a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Detwiler threw 90 pitches, 57 for strikes, and gave up eight hits, two runs, and struck out two batters.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
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Nats Beat Cincinnati 6-3 For Their Third Consecutive Win

Phillies vs Nationals 8/1/12courtesy of Matthew Straubmuller

Right-handed starting pitcher Dan Haren threw his longest outing of the season Saturday afternoon leading the Washington Nationals to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The game was a much stronger outing than the last time he faced the Reds during the first week of the season. The Nats lost that match-up 15-0, but Haren’s start and Washington’s offense gave the Nats their third consecutive win.

Washington made right-handed pitcher Mike Leake work hard early. After a three up, three down first inning, seven of the Nats’ starting nine faced him in the second while scoring two runs to give Washington a 2-0 lead.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
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Nats Bats Are Quiet Again, St. Louis Wins 2-0

pitcher of lightcourtesy of philliefan99

For the second time in that many days, the Nationals fell to St. Louis, losing 2-0 Tuesday night, on six strong innings of work from left-handed starting pitcher Ross Detwiler. Detwiler gave up two runs on eight hits, walked two, and struck out two on 93 pitches (60 strikes).

Washington’s defense was the strongest positive worth noting in a game where their bats fell short. In the first five innings, the Nats turned four successful double plays to rob St. Louis of additional runs. But not even spectacular defense from shortstop Ian Desmond, second baseman Danny Espinosa, first baseman Adam LaRoche, catcher Kurt Suzuki, and Detwiler could win them the game. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
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Dan Haren Looks Stronger, But Nats Fall 3-2 to St. Louis

long drive home
courtesy of philliefan99

Nats starter Dan Haren pitched one of his finer games of the 2013 season on Monday night but Washington fell just shy of a win over their National League foes from St. Louis. The Cardinals one upped the Nats wining 3-2 in the first game of a three game series.

In the clubs’ first match-up since the 2012 postseason, Haren held the Cardinals to six hits and three runs on 98 pitches, 56 for strikes, through five innings plus four batters. He walked three, struck out three, and hit a batter — a play which sparked the rally that won St. Louis the game. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Tim Hudson Dominates The Nats Lineup, Braves Win 3-1

DSC_5681
courtesy of MudflapDC

The Nationals lineup was no match for Atlanta’s right-handed starter Tim Hudson who secured his second win of the season with a 3-1 Braves victory in Washington. The afternoon’s loss was Washington’s second in two days versus Atlanta.

An early throwing error by Ryan Zimmerman in the third inning cost Washington two runs when left fielder Justin Upton stole second ahead of catcher Evan Gattis’ two-out two-run homer. It wasn’t Stephen Strasburg’s strongest outing either, which didn’t help the Nats. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Dan Haren Gets His First Win, Nats Beat White Sox 7-4 for the Sweep

DSC_6983
DSC_6983
courtesy of MudflapDC

Right-handed starting pitcher Dan Haren earned his first win in a Nationals uniform Thursday night leading Washington to a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox and a 7-4 victory. The theme of the night for Haren was dancing himself out of trouble, though it was an improvement from Friday night’s 15-0 loss in Cincinnati. Haren pitched five innings, gave up ten hits and three runs with five strikeouts in addition to throwing one wild pitch and hitting a batter.

Chicago fought hard to prevent the sweep, shelling the Nats with thirteen hits, but they weren’t quite as successful on the base path. The White Sox stranded eleven runners leaving the game in Washington hands if they were able to maintain the lead. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Washington Squeaks By Chicago with an 8-7 Win

2ND_64792ND_6479
courtesy of MissChatter

What started out as a game wrought with baserunning mishaps and high pitch counts ended in favor of the Washington Nationals who squeaked by the Chicago White Sox in interleague play with an 8-7 victory. The game’s starters – left-hander Gio Gonzalez for Washington and right-hander Jake Peavy – combined to throw 59 pitches in the first inning alone. That inning lasted 28 minutes and produced just one run for the White Sox.

Chicago’s early run came as a result of a balk, Gonzalez’s fourth career balk in 129 games, with the bases loaded, two out, a full-count, and White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko at the plate. Third baseman Jeff Keppinger scored on that play after snapping his 0-for-19 stretch to start the season with a single off Gonzalez.

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Harper and Strasburg Put on a Show, Nats Win 2-0 on Opening Day

Nats Opening Day 2013

The success of Washington’s 2012 season trickled over to Opening Day 2013 as young guns Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper led the Nationals to their first win of the year, a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. Strasburg was efficient through seven innings. He threw 80 pitches, 52 for strikes, and gave up three hits while striking out three. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Time To Get Excited, Nats Fans

Nationals Park - Magic of Summer - 9-20-08 mosley.brian

Spring Training is upon us. It’s celebrated as a holiday in many a home and cheers up folks stuck in deep emotional slumps due to winter (and no baseball). It’s a time to look forward to the sweet summertime yet to come. It’s the time of year where rebirth is ever-present, in the weather and in state-of-mind. That’s why I’m looking forward to the 2013 Major League Baseball season in Washington, D.C. – home of the 2012 National League East Champions.

There’s a lot to be excited about if you’re a Nats fan. For example: a lead-off hitting hustler of a center fielder in Denard Span, no pitch limit for Stephen Strasburg, newly crowned National League Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper (and everything he does #fangirling), a starting rotation and bullpen worthy of evoking envy throughout all of baseball, and a roster that’s just as cohesive (if not more so) as Gordon Bombay’s Mighty Ducks from Minnesota. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Everything’s Not Lost: A Nats Postseason Reflection

2012 10 01 - 5478-5486 - DC - Nationals Ballpark
courtesy of thisisbossi

The 2012 Washington Nationals can and will be remembered in a few different ways. Some will see it as a successful season riddled with historic milestones achieved by a team who competed well beyond anyone’s spring training predictions. Others will remember it for the gut-wrenching two-run loss induced by a ninth inning collapse versus the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals in Game Five of the National League Division Series after being up 6-0.

But maybe there’s a happy medium between the two extremes?

Washington baseball in the modern era organically evolved into a devotion-based fan obsession upon the May inception of #Natitude. The play-on-words marketing strategy, endorsed by the Nationals’ Chief Operating Officer Andy Feffer, peaked people’s interest enough to follow the team on its journey toward becoming a contender. And this is all in addition to the incredibly devout season ticket holders and fans who’ve been supportive of the team since 2005 — the Nationals’ inaugural season.

Since that time, the already active community of voices in support of the team on Twitter has increased in size, seats in the ballpark were filled willingly, and a Photoshop trend became the norm for expressing one’s thoughts surrounding the team and its players. Record attendance numbers and television ratings were tallied. The Nats made it to the playoffs for the first time in team history. These are all positive changes when compared to season’s past.

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Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Das Bullpen Opens Near Nats Park

Photo courtesy of
‘Finished Drinking’
courtesy of ‘Quinn Ryan Mattingly’

The next time you get off the Metro at Navy Yard heading toward Nats Park, you’ll be greeted by the exterior of a new outdoor beer garden called Das Bullpen (h/t to Nationals Buzz blogger Kristen Hudak).

Das Bullpen opened Tuesday and is described as the “laid-back alternative” to its partner beer garden, The Bullpen, which further down (by a few yards or so) on Half Street.

Bratwurst, Polish sausage, knockwurst, hot dogs and an extensive European draught beer selection will be available to patrons.

Das Bullpen will open two hours before the day’s first pitch and stay open until midnight.

The Daily Feed
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Nats Offer Japan Relief Effort

Photo courtesy of
‘Moon over Nationals Park’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

The team launched a special “text to give” program on Opening Day and will continue to encourage Nationals fans to donate to UNICEF throughout the weekend. In order to successfully “text to give,” text “JAPAN” to 864233.

Fans can also purchase $10 Japan aid game tickets Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3. The Nationals will donate $5 from the price of each $10 ticket to UNICEF. Sections eligible for this donation include the Upper Infield Gallery, Upper Outfield Gallery, Outfield Gallery, Lower Rightfield Terrace and Upper Rightfield Terrace.

Japan aid tickets can be purchased at the Washington Nationals Main Box Office or online.

Special Events, The Features
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Let Teddy Win! Highlights from WeLoveDC’s Night at the Ballpark

Photo courtesy of
‘Teddy #191’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Thank you so much to every one who trekked out in the rain last night. Our small group certainly made a large dent in what turned out to be the least attended game in the National’s Park’s history… But the sparsely populated ballpark also made for a great playground for the Let Teddy Win group. After a great tour of the stadium, including a trip up to the press box and views of private suites and the Diamond Club, we headed back to our seats for presidential race trivia and prizes. And we were there at the finish line when Teddy’s umbrella slowed him down to a near halt, letting Abe pull into the lead.

Click below for highlights of the evening:

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Fun & Games, People, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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No More Fireworks (for now)

Photo courtesy of
‘Fireworks’
courtesy of ‘randomduck’

WAPO reports that the fireworks displays at Nats Park were suspended by DC Fire Chief Dennis Rubin after ash fell on him while he attended a game.  While he was not injured, and there have been no fire concerns up to this point, the Chief wishes to conduct a safety review before the displays are reinstated. If this seems a little asinine, let’s be honest: at this point, the Nationals don’t really deserve fireworks, anyways.

Featured Photo, Life in the Capital, Sports Fix, The District
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Featured Photo

this jersey says it all by dharmabumx

As August comes to a close, we should all be thankful for the amazing weather we’ve had this summer in DC. Sure, there were a few weeks with temperatures in the high 90’s and Vietnam-like humidity, but for the most part we’ve had many reasonable days in the 80’s – perfect weather for baseball and beer. Well, pretty much perfect weather for anything and beer, but when I look at this photo I want to Metro over to the Nationals stadium, buy a ticket, gorge myself with a halfsmoke from Ben’s, and wash it down with a really expensive cup of beer, all the while knowing that our team is destined to find a way to lose.

With only a month left of baseball for the Nats, why not go drink some beer in our new stadium? Might as well get as much out of your tax dollars as you can. They host the Dodgers tonight through Thursday followed by a series against the Braves through the weekend. Be sure to memorize the lyrics to Sweet Caroline for an extra good time.

Sports Fix
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Steps to Nationals Stadium Disgrace

Nationals Stadium Stairs - Already Crumbling

Nationals Stadium Stairs - Already Crumbling

Look at the close-up of these stairs. Note the grip tape at the edge of the steps is already almost gone. And that the star itself has a large crack in it. These would be Nationals Stadium stairs. Wait, let me describe them better:

These are $611 million dollar stairs less than an year old. And they’re already falling apart.

Now you know why the Lerners are withholding payments from the city. I wouldn’t pay a builder if their work was this bad too. I would pay for better shoes though – that would be a whole other stadium attendee.

Food and Drink, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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$7.50? You freakin’ kidding me?

Expensive beer

I had never seen beer this expensive before going to a Nationals game. Sure I had a good time, but that $7.50 beer stuck in my craw a little. I just got invited to go to another game and will likely go but will likely not buy a beer or even a bottle of water, since the water costs what a beer should cost.

What do you do to enjoy a cool drink at the ball game? Do you bend over and pay the $7.50? Drain a 12-pack on Metro on the way over? Smuggle a flask into the ballpark? I’d love to hear your solutions to this.