They played two-plus innings in a little more than an hour before the heavy rain arrived in Colorado, then waited through a two-hour delay before taking the field again. They then played 6 1/2 more innings across nearly three more hours, each team using up most of its expanded bullpen, all in a vain attempt simply to complete this 159th game of a season that long ago was lost by both participants. And when it finally ended, when the Nationals lost 10-5 some 5 hours and 57 minutes after Rockies...

Three years ago, a Nationals club stuck around the .500 mark made only one deal at the July 31 trade deadline, and it wasn't one anybody expected. They dealt veteran reliever Brandon Kintzler to the Cubs for a Single-A relief pitching prospect named Jhon Romero. The move seemed to have more to do with moving Kintzler and his salary than in acquiring someone who was likely to make an impact for them in the near future, but three years later the Nats called Romero up. And if he takes the mound...

The Nationals have finally completed the National League East portion of their 2021 schedule. They played all 76 required games against the Braves, Mets, Phillies and Marlins, going a combined 30-46 along the way. (Not great, obviously.) So what's left on the slate? Three series against non-division opponents: the Reds, Rockies and Red Sox. It begins in Cincinnati with a four-game series that opens tonight. The Reds are trying to hang on the race for the final NL wild card berth, a wild race...

A couple of pitchers who came over in late-season trades could be difference-makers again this year in the Nats system. Both spent time with high Single-A Potomac. Right-hander Jacob Condra-Bogan, 24, finished the season on a surge, allowing only two earned runs his final 10 appearances. He joined Potomac in late July, coming over from Wilmington in the trade that sent Brian Goodwin to the Royals. Condra-Bogan can throw 99 mph and is also pursuing a master's degree in preparation for the time...