Good Wednesday Morning Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for Wednesday, October 13, 2021.

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Washington Nationals announce 2021 Minor League Awards. Yesterday, the Washington Nationals selected five minor league players as their 2021 Minor League Award Winners. They include:

• Player of the Year — INF/OF Jake Noll
• Pitcher of the Year — RHP Cade Cavalli
• Defensive Player of the Year — OF Donovan Casey
• Baserunner of the Year — INF Jordy Barley
• “Nationals Way” Award — INF/OF Jack Dunn

Should or Will Center Fielder Victor Robles Be a Part of the Washington Nationals Future. Once un-touchable, Victor Robles's future with the Washington Nationals has quickly come into question, what is next for the talented center fielder. So, what should the Washington Nationals do with Robles? Read our full article here.

Kevin Long Fallout Continues. On Monday afternoon, former Washington Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long was announced that he was going to be signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. The reaction of Nationals fans on social media has been met with a lot of disappointment as Long has been credited with the hitting performance of Juan Soto, Kyle Schwarber, and a whole other list of Washington Nationals.

Our friend Stephen from TalkNats.com has another must-read article for every Nationals fan, that goes into detail about Kevin Long. From the article: "So often for coaches, they are judged by results instead of the proven talent they have,  which is out of their control. It is always a question of the successes and failures and more about is this the common success or failure based on the quality of the student or the teacher. Honestly, it is a lot of both." Click here to read the full article on TalkNats.

ALCS Set (Boston RedSox v. Houston Astros)

Former Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker was able to lead the Houston Astros to their fifth straight League Championship Series. The Astros are only the third team to accomplish this feat. The two other teams to accomplish this was the 1971-1975 Oakland Athletics and the 1991-1999 Atlanta Braves.

MLB 2021 Playoffs

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Atlanta Braves

Yesterday, the NL East Division Champions Atlanta Braves were able to punch their ticket to the NLCS due to a tie-breaking opposite-field home run by Braves' first baseman Freddie Freeman. The Braves won the game 5-4 and the series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Atlanta Braves await the winner of the San Fransico vs. Los Angeles series.

San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to pull off a win last night against the San Fransico Giants 7-2. With the Dodgers facing elimination last night, they sent Walker Buehler to the mound on three days rest. That move paid off, as Buehler allowed one run and struck out four over 4 1/3 innings. Buehler was pulled after pitching 71 and got a well-deserved standing ovation from the Dodger Faithful in LA. Former Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner got the Dodgers on the board right out of the gate in the bottom of the first with an RBI double.

The series will come to a conclusion tomorrow night as the Giants and the Dodgers will play a winner take all game at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Who says that baseball isn't fun?

Game 5 is scheduled to start at 9:07 p.m. ET/6:07 p.m. PT on Thursday at Oracle Park and will be televised on TBS. It is also available to stream on MLB.TV with authentication.