Steve Thomas

Patriot League Rundown: Week 1 With all the fine FCS play against the big boys this opening weekend, we wanted to pay tribute by shining a spotlight on one of the fine FCS conferences: the Patriot League, which had a

As with the National League, the number of American League Wild Card contenders shrunk by several teams, leaving a tight and crowded race for the two playoff spots. Lopsided teams with either pitching or hitting but not both dominate this

Since we last visited the Wild Card race, there has been a noted shrinking of the contenders for the two spots. With the Braves firmly ensconced as NL East champs, and great races shaping up in the NL Central and

The Washington Nationals, fresh off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, fired their longtime hitting coach, Rick Eckstein, in hopes of awaking their dormant bats and saving their season. For one night at least, it

It has been an entertaining first half in the division at the All-Star Break, with the Braves’ offseason moves paying dividends with a six game lead–even as they have not run away with the division. The Nationals suffered through an injury-plagued

Just as in the NL, the AL has a large number of teams in contention and very few sellers. While the trade deadline cometh, these teams may still trade after–though it is much more difficult. It involves a process of

The Washington Nationals put eight more runs on the board Friday and received some help from the Philadelphia Phillies to pull within five games of first place in the NL East going into Saturday’s games. The help came from Cliff

Miami 4, Atlanta 3 The Miami Marlins got a rare series win in Atlanta, coming back in the ninth inning against Craig Kimbrel to beat the Braves, 4-3. AJ Ramos pitched two scoreless innings for the win, Steve Cishek got

One of the oddities of this season is a great number of teams are “in contention”–either over .500 or within four games in the standings. In the NL, that’s ten teams–not counting the Phillies, who were at .500 but have

The Washington Nationals couldn’t get the big hit on Matt Harvey, so they patiently waited until he was out of the game to score. The Nationals scored five in the 8th and 9th to come back and beat the New

Kansas City 4, Atlanta 3 (10 innings) Alex Gordon singled home David Lough for the winning run as the Royals beat the Braves, 4-3 in extra innings Wednesday night. Alex Wood (0-2) took the loss for Atlanta, while Aaron Crow

Atlanta 4, Kansas City 3 The Braves pulled ahead on a Jason Hayward home run in the 7th inning and hung on to beat the Royals, 4-3, in Kansas City. Kris Medlen (5-7) got the win to improve to 4-1

Baseball has indeed reached a state of competitive balance when the AL can boast 8 teams within 6 games of the Wild Card. This isn’t the Yankees and a bunch of also-rans anymore; it will be an entertaining dogfight to

For as competitive as the NL is this year, the most competitive division is going to be the Wild Card Division. Seven NL teams are realistically vying for two spots, and with so many buyers and so few sellers (Cubs,

Georgetown forward Greg Whittington has suffered a knee injury, confirmed by multiple media reports, and may be required to miss time depending on the severity of the injury. Whittington, spotted on crutches around the Georgetown campus, injured the knee during

The Braves completed a come from behind win over the Giants Saturday with a dramatic 9th inning win over Giants closer Sergio Romo. Freddie Freeman singled in Andrelton Simmons with the bases loaded for the game winning hit. The Giants

The Washington Nationals hit five solo home runs, including a game winner by Anthony Rendon with two outs in the top of the ninth, to defeat the Cleveland Indians 7-6 Saturday night. The game featured seven home runs, including two

Cleveland won its third straight, beating the Washington Nationals in dramatic fashion 2-1 with a walk-off fielder’s choice in the bottom of the 9th. Joe Smith (3-0) got the win for the Indians by pitching a perfect top of the

San Diego 3, Atlanta 2 Andrew Cashner (5-3) pitched eight strong innings, striking out five and outdueling Tim Hudson (4-6) on the way to a 3-2 win over the NL East leaders. Cashner has now gone six-plus innings in seven

The Washington Nationals swept the Minnesota Twins in a day-night doubleheader, beating the Twins 5-4 in the nightcap and reaching .500 again. The Nats pounded out 10 hits, chasing Twins starter Deduno, who had a sub-1.00 ERA over his last

Minnesota 4, Washington 3 (11 innings) The Twins beat the Nationals in only the third-longest game of the day, 4-3, in 11 innings Saturday night. Nationals reliever Craig Stammen (3-2) yielded the winning run in the top of the 11th

The Washington Nationals, in the midst of a disappointing season that started with World Series hopes but has seen the team fall below .500, decided to revamp their bullpen, pull Danny Espinosa, and notch their first 9th-inning, come-from-behind win of

San Francisco 4, St. Louis 2 Chad Gaudin (1-1) started for the first time in over three years, pitching six strong innings, allowing a two-run home run to the Cardinals’ David Freese, as the Giants rallied in the seventh to

Washington 3, Atlanta 2 Stephen Strasburg left the game in the 2nd inning with a strained oblique, but his teammate Craig Stammen (3-1) picked up the slack out of the bullpen, pitching four perfect innings to defeat Julio Teheran (3-2) and

Atlanta 11, Toronto 3 Mike Minor (7-2) pitched seven innings, giving up three runs, as the Braves beat RA Dickey (4-7) and the Jays, 11-3. Dickey pitched six innings but gave up six runs, raising his ERA to 5.18. Freddie