Revisiting our 2020 season predictions

Revisiting our 2020 season predictions
The 2020 Major League Baseball season was, to put it mildly, unlike any we've ever experienced. We knew that going into it, and we knew that probably meant some unexpected things would happen along the way. That was especially true for the Nationals, whose season didn't go anything like anyone expected. For the most part. Despite the unusual nature of this year, we still published our annual Nats season predictions on opening day. And though we were horribly wrong about a lot of things, we...

Nats' hopes for 2021 rebound start with their starters

Nats' hopes for 2021 rebound start with their starters
We can talk about injuries. We can look at offensive consistency. We can point to the bullpen or poor defensive fundamentals. All played a role in the Nationals' disappointing 2020 season. But there really is one reason above all others the Nats failed to make the playoffs this year. And it's the same reason they failed to make the playoffs in 2013, 2015 and 2018. To paraphrase a politician's simplified message from nearly three decades ago: It's the rotation, stupid. Of course, the biggest...

Game 60 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 60 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
No, the Nationals' season finale doesn't really mean anything in the big picture. They were eliminated from postseason contention earlier in the week. And the Mets were eliminated Saturday, so they don't have anything to play for, either. But there are still a few things of note at stake when the two teams take the field today for the final time in 2020. The Nationals enter at 25-34, the Mets at 26-33. So if the Nats win, they'd end up tied for fourth place in the National League East. (And...

No words: A look inside Austin Voth's first complete game win

No words: A look inside Austin Voth's first complete game win
After the sixth inning of the Nationals' 5-1 seven-inning win over the Phillies in the opener of Tuesday's doubleheader at Nats Park, starter Austin Voth knew he had enough left in the tank to pitch one more frame. His pitch count had reached 91 - the most he had thrown this season was 88 - and that was in five innings one week ago versus Tampa Bay. But the right-hander didn't care. The Phillies had only two hits off of him, and he still felt strong enough to go for the complete game. So the...

Voth throws complete game for first win of season (updated)

Voth throws complete game for first win of season (updated)
Austin Voth again kept the ball down and mixed his pitches well for a second consecutive start, finally earning his first win of the season with a complete-game gem in Game 1 of a doubleheader as the Nationals dropped the Phillies 5-1 at Nats Park. Voth struck out a season-high seven batters and pitched a season-best seven innings, working his fastball with a dipping curveball and a slowdown changeup to keep the Phillies off guard. After losing five games to begin the season, Voth has bounced...

Game 54 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 54 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
The Nationals finally defeated the Phillies with last night's 5-1 victory. Philadelphia had won six straight over the Nats to begin the season. Today, the Nats and Phillies embark on a doubleheader with Game 1 featuring right-hander Austin Voth (0-5, 7.17 ERA) against veteran Aaron Nola (5-3, 2.92 ERA). Nats manager Davey Martinez will go with right-hander Paolo Espino as his starter in Game 2. Espino pitched in 12 games for the Brewers and Rangers in 2017, starting two for Milwaukee, and has...

García's homer in 10th lifts Nats to 4-2 win over Rays (updated)

García's homer in 10th lifts Nats to 4-2 win over Rays (updated)
Luis García went after the first pitch from Rays reliever Nick Anderson in the 10th inning and homered over the right-center field wall for his second big league homer as the Nationals survived Daniel Hudson's blown save for a 4-2 win over the Rays on Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field. García drilled Anderson's 94 mph fastball a few minutes after the Rays' Brandon Lowe had tied the game with a homer off Hudson in the bottom of the ninth. For Anderson, it was only the fifth hit he...

Game 47 lineups: Nats at Rays

Game 47 lineups: Nats at Rays
How do the Nationals avoid a repeat of Tuesday night's lifeless, 6-1 loss to the Rays? They need to get a much better pitching performance and they need to hit. Obviously. On the mound, it's up to Austin Voth to somehow make the leap into a guy who can actually get hitters out twice in a game. We know he can do it the first time through the order. It's time for him to show he can do it the second time as well. At the plate, it's up to this lineup to not get freaked out by the Rays'...

Nats again can't keep Braves in the yard in 7-6 loss (updated)

Nats again can't keep Braves in the yard in 7-6 loss (updated)
There appear to be two ways to beat the Braves, neither simple. You can try to outslug one of the most powerful lineups in baseball. Or you can try to keep Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman in the ballpark. Again, neither of these is a simple task, as the Nationals have painfully learned over the last week. And because they once again couldn't keep Acuña and Freeman in the yard, and couldn't turn a good night at the plate into a great night at the plate, they suffered another loss to...

Game 42 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 42 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
How do you stop a team that just scored 29 runs last night? By sending your winless No. 5 starter with an 8.26 ERA to the mound, obviously. On paper, tonight's matchup does not appear to favor the Nationals. Austin Voth is pitching, still seeking his first win in his eighth start of the season. And he's facing a Braves lineup that just set a modern National League record last night with 29 runs in a blowout win over the Marlins, a game in which they actually didn't score in either the first...

Game 39 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 39 lineups: Nats at Braves
The Nationals are seeking a series win today in the final game of four at Truist Park against the first-place Braves. The Nats dropped Atlanta 10-4 Saturday night to win consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 10-11. One reason the Nats find themselves in last place in the National League East is that they went 6-16 between those back-to-back wins. At the start of play Sunday, the Nats trail the Braves by 8 1/2 games in the division and are 6 1/2 games back of the final NL wild card...

Another Voth start, another loss for reeling Nats (updated)

Another Voth start, another loss for reeling Nats (updated)
Major League Baseball games are not supposed to be quite so predictable. But when you put Austin Voth on the mound against a tough Braves lineup, in the opener of a doubleheader in Atlanta 24 hours after the bullpen was burned up in an extra-inning game in Philadelphia, and then pull Juan Soto out of a Nationals lineup that simply can't afford to lose its best hitter right now, what could Davey Martinez reasonably have expected? The ensuing result at Truist Park - a 7-1 loss to kick off this...

Game 36 lineups: Nats at Braves (Soto scratched)

Game 36 lineups: Nats at Braves (Soto scratched)
If you thought the first two legs of the Nationals' road trip were tough, look at what they still must contend with now to wrap up this long and painful trek up and down the East Coast. After losing two of three in Boston and all four in Philadelphia, they now have four games in three days in Atlanta, starting with today's doubleheader at Truist Park. After needing 6 2/3 innings out of six relievers in Thursday's heartbreaking loss, Davey Martinez would love to be sending two starters to the...

Voth, Crowe to start Friday's doubleheader in Atlanta

Voth, Crowe to start Friday's doubleheader in Atlanta
With a doubleheader on tap Friday in Atlanta and limited pitching options at his disposal, Nationals manager Davey Martinez plans to give Austin Voth another start. Voth will take the mound for the 4:05 p.m. opener of Friday's doubleheader against the Braves, said Martinez, who added right-hander Wil Crowe will be called up from the club's alternate training site in Fredericksburg to start the nightcap as the designated 29th man for the twinbill. With both games limited to seven scheduled...

Martinez says Voth will remain in rotation, start Friday

Martinez says Voth will remain in rotation, start Friday
Manager Davey Martinez is not giving up on right-hander Austin Voth. Pitching coach Paul Menhart, Voth and Martinez are working on trying to figure out how to get some more movement and cutting action on Voth's fastball. Voth wants to be able to alter the spin rate so that opposing hitters have a tougher time picking up his fastball. Martinez confirmed today that Voth will remain in the rotation and start one of the two games of the doubleheader Friday in Atlanta. "He's going to throw...

Another bad start for Voth, another series loss for Nats (updated)

Another bad start for Voth, another series loss for Nats (updated)
The 2020 season is now more than halfway complete, and the defending World Series champs still have won only a single three-game series. Not even a weekend at Fenway Park against a Red Sox roster that is now a shell of its 2018 championship form could cure what ails the Nationals. The 2019 champs still can't get consistent starting pitching or consistent offensive production with runners on base. And because of that, the Nats lost again this afternoon, 9-5, for yet another series loss and yet...

Game 31 lineups: Nats at Red Sox

Game 31 lineups: Nats at Red Sox
The 2020 regular season is now 50 percent complete, and the Nationals have won exactly one series to date. And even that requires an asterisk: They won both of their designated "road" games against the Blue Jays at Nationals Park, which officially counted as its own two-game series even though it immediately followed Toronto's two straight wins in the same park with the Nats serving as home team. Point is, this team simply hasn't been able to get onto any kind of modest roll and at least...

Martinez sticking with Voth, wants him to trust fastball more

Martinez sticking with Voth, wants him to trust fastball more
Davey Martinez hadn't yet met with Austin Voth when he held his daily pregame Zoom session with reporters this afternoon. But the Nationals manager was more than willing to share in advance what he planned to say to his struggling right-hander. "I can tell you now: I'm not going to give up on him," Martinez said. Despite a consistent pattern of ineffectiveness in his first five starts of the season - typically coming the second time he has to face an opposing lineup - it appears Voth will...

Spirited rally can't make up for Voth's continued struggles (updated)

Spirited rally can't make up for Voth's continued struggles (updated)
That the Nationals stayed in the fight tonight and didn't roll over after trailing the Marlins by seven runs early is testament to their gumption - even in the middle of a crowd-less, disappointing-to-date 2020 season. But at the end of an 11-8 loss that saw the home team's spirited rally fall short, the most significant development of the night was the manner in which that early seven-run deficit came about. If these were normal times and they had one of baseball's best rotations, the...

Game 26 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 26 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Tonight is the rubber game of a five-game series, and how often do you get to say that? The Nationals and Marlins have played a lot this weekend, and they're not done yet. Tonight they'll play the finale of this extended series, the winner taking three of five and perhaps carrying some momentum into the rest of the week. After Sunday's 9-3 win, the Nats have to feel good about their lineup, but they still need to prove they can maintain some consistency at the plate. They've got about as...