Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are currently in 1st place in the National League East division. Their division opponents include the: Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. With just under 2 months remaining in the regular season, it will be exciting for fans to see who can hold their lead, which teams will climb and which ones will fall. 

This week, the Nationals host 5 games at home before heading to Atlanta for the weekend to take on the Braves in a 3 game series. The Nationals’ game against Baltimore on Monday, August 4th is a makeup game from July 8th, which was postponed due to inclement weather.  Following their series in Atlanta, the Nationals will move on to New York to face the Mets before returning home to host 4 different teams in 10 straight games. They will finish up the month by playing on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies and then the Seattle Mariners.

Most recently, the Nationals hosted the Phillies in a 3 game series, dropping the first game 1-2, but winning the second, 11-0. They will complete the series on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. In their 1st game of the series, Nationals right-handed pitche

To keep first place in the division, the Nationals will need to overcome the loss of Ryan Zimmerman, making appropriate adjustments to deal with his absence until he’s able to return, and continue delivering a strong pitching performance in the remainder of their games.

r Doug Fister threw for seven innings allowing 2 runs in 7 innings. It was an offensive challenge for the Nationals against Phillies pitcher Roberto Hernandez as well. In the 2nd game, Jordan Zimmerman pitched 7 shutout innings for the Nationals and Anthony Rendon drove in 4 runs as well as hit a home run. Prior to this game, the Nationals hadn’t hit a home run since 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been out, due to a strained hamstring. Rendon’s performance ended this drought. Phillies pitcher A.J. Burnett and manager Ryne Sandberg were both ejected from the game for arguing against an umpire’s decisions.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently completing a 3 game series at home against the Chicago Cubs. They lost the 1st game 2-8, won the 2nd 5-2, and will finish the series on Sunday afternoon. In the 1st game of this series, the Dodgers were plagued with multiple injuries. Paul Maholm (relief pitcher) and Adrian Gonzalez (1st baseman) both suffered knee injuries and center fielder Yasiel Puig suffered a sore hamstring. Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks threw 7 strong innings and this proved to be a challenge for the Dodgers. Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren also left the game early but not due to injury. He has recently struggled to deliver a consistent pitching performance. In the 2nd game, Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez hit a home run, bringing in three runs in the 12th inning. This was Ramirez’s 12th home run of the season and his 1st career walk-off home run, leading the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory over the Cubs.

Following the completion of this series, the Dodgers will face cross-town rivals, the LA Angels 4 times this week, twice at home and twice away, before hitting the road to play against the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves in 7 games. They will return home the weekend of August 15th to host the Brewers again followed by the San Diego Padres and New York Mets before wrapping up the month on the road in series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Padres again.

The Dodgers currently lead the National League West, with their division opponents including the: San Francisco Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers hold a 3-1/2 game lead over their 2nd place division rivals, the Giants and have won 7 of their last 8 games.

To keep their division lead and finish the regular season on a high note, the Dodgers will need to stay healthy, fighting back against injuries and deliver a solid performance in pitching as well as offensively in the remainder of their games. Known for a very loyal fan base, the Dodgers can continue to count on their blue and white wearing supporters as they look to repeat the 2013 West Division title, and hopefully move beyond this round into the playoffs.