by Andrew Lang
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stan4Nats
The story of this game was:
So not much good news. But there is some.
Continue reading
Do you remember those Train To Reign shirts from Spring Training? Change that to Rain To Reign. The weather will once again be a factor for the Washington Nationals and it changed up the starting rotation already.
Matt den Dekker last year came in to pinch-hit versus the Dodgers on July 17th, and hit a game-winning ‘Upper Dekker’ HR which was only the 3rd of his career. Tonight he arrives to the park in the 5th inning and you don’t know how his timing is, and he once again doesn’t get caught up in the situation, and steps in to pinch-hit 2 innings after he arrived at the stadium on a flight from Syracuse. MdD rattled the outfield wall with a bases clearing double for the game winning RBIs. You can’t make this stuff up!
If you don’t believe it, at least watch the replay:
Who needs BP, right @UpperDekker? Fresh off a flight, right into a pinch-hit go-ahead double! pic.twitter.com/n4p83sEz4Z
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 7, 2016
Mike Rizzo and Dusty Baker have the complications of setting their Game #2 line-up without their tablesetter Ben Revere who landed on the DL with the oblique strain and the Nats recall Matt den Dekker. The Nats will face RHP Bud Norris in this 7:10pm match-up against Stephen Strasburg.
With the day-off on Tuesday, you can expect that all relievers will be available in this game.
Ben Revere sustained an injury to his right-side oblique and ribcage area. Revere said after Monday’s Opening Day that he would take his meds and get some rest and see how he feels. On Tuesday he got some treatment, and today we will be in wait and see mode on how Revere feels and what the team decides to do.
It’s fairly clear that if Ben Revere had to go on the DL that Rizzo would call-up Matt den Dekker as the extra outfielder, and the starting centerfielder would be Michael A. Taylor.
The Nationals could also determine that Revere only needs a few days rest and not make a DL move and go a man short.
On Opening Day, Bryce Harper had many bats to choose from for his gamers to be placed in the dugout, and he is very particular with the bats he uses in a game. On the 1st game of the season, Bryce chose a newly modified Victus bat to use as his primary bat. Bryce went with a BH137.1 model made by Victus Bats. In Bryce’s 1st at-bat of the season, he hit a HR with that bat, and it was career HR #98.
Bryce Harper is now 2 HRs shy of joining the 100 career Home Run club which he should be part of quickly in 2016. Which lucky bat will he hit it #100 with? Continue reading
Some want Opening Day to be a National Holiday, and for Daniel Murphy , his first Opening Day as a member of the Nationals was like a Holiday: Joyous and festive and with a lot of meaning.
Murphy was 2-3 with 2 walks and the 2 hits were a go-ahead HR, and a double for the Game Winning RBI in the 10th inning. Quite the debut for Daniel Murphy.
Bryce Harper‘s 1st Opening Day was in 2013, and he hit 2 HRs that day. He hit a HR on Opening Day in 2015, and a huge HR yesterday for Opening Day 2016. It appears Opening Day is ‘fun’ for Bryce Harper. 4 opening days in his career, and 4 Home Runs.
.@Bharper3407 goes all beast mode on #OpeningDay: https://t.co/gKm33nuah3 #MLBmemorybank pic.twitter.com/7qCbT71YgQ
— MLB (@MLB) April 5, 2016
What a game. A complete heart thumper. Check your blood pressure meds. Daniel Murphy with the game winner and why not. This team never gave up and several players with big plays and don’t forget Scherzer with 2 runs over 7 innings.
Bullpen aces were Oliver Perez, Blake Treinen and Papelbon with a 1-2-3 10th inning save.
Now let’s find out what’s wrong with Ben Revere.
That's a final! #Nats top the #Braves, 4-3, in 10 innings for the #OpeningDay W! pic.twitter.com/SKWzp5Hhy9
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 4, 2016
Click here for the video of the double: Daniel Murphy GW RBI via the double in the 10th Inning
Here’s the 8 minute post-game presser with Dusty:
The Nats arrived in Atlanta on Saturday night and had some workouts yesterday at Turner Field in Atlanta to prepare for this Opening Day matchup. The Braves send Julio Teheran to the mound versus Max Scherzer.
New Nationals’ manager Dusty Baker will get to show us today how he really manages a game that counts in the standings as 1st pitch is scheduled for 4:10pm today. The weather is perfect at game time temperature of 69°F and might reach 70°F at 1st pitch with no precipitation in the forecast under mostly sunny skies at game time. Wind will be between 9-12mph and sunset is exactly 8:00 sharp in Atlanta today which 25 minutes more than those in Washington, DC.
Opening Day at Turner Field. #Nats #Nationals #MLB pic.twitter.com/axODaQl6wd
— William Ladson (@ladsonbill24) April 4, 2016
We will have some fun with predictions. This will be closed tomorrow after 1st pitch. We will give out some autographed prizes to the Top 3!
1. Who wins the NL East in 2016?
2. How many wins do the Nats finish with in 2016?
