The Morning Briefing: September 19

Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, September 19.

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Welcome to the Morning Briefing!

Leading this Morning's Briefing: My Kind of Town, Chicago Is

Fresh off of getting swept by the red-hot Mets, the Nats have an opportunity to channel those frustrations and put the final nail in the coffin of the Cubs' playoff hopes in a four-game series at Wrigley Field this weekend, starting tonight. The Cubs are seven games back of the Mets and Diamondbacks for the final spot, but just a couple of losses would officially eliminate them before the season's final week.

Last Game Out

DJ Herz looked incredibly sharp through the first three innings last night, including striking out the side in the third (Luisangel Acuña, José Iglesias, and Starling Marte)...and then the wheels totally came off the bus in the fourth. Herz walked Brandon Nimmo to begin the frame, and then five of the next seven batters recorded base hits around a strikeout and another walk, all with two strikes. Herz's two-strike execution was not great, particularly for the final three hits, and his ERA rose by more than half a run after he departed with the bases loaded and Jacob Barnes immediately poured gasoline on the fire, surrendering a two-run single and then a three-run bomb to Nimmo, giving the Mets nine runs in the inning. Acuña tacked on a solo shot off of Zach Brzykcy in the eighth, and meanwhile the Nats were shut down by Met starter José Quintana, who set an ignominious club record by shutting out the Nats across twenty-one innings this season. The previous high was sixteen, also this season by Dylan Cease of the Padres.

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Nationals Headline of the Day: Rizzo Q&A

Mike Rizzo doesn't often speak to the media beyond his weekly radio show appearance on 106.7 FM, but he did speak with Bill Ladson of MLB.com while at Citi Field this week about winter plans and some of the young players on the squad.

Down on the Farm

The Fredericksburg Nationals won the Carolina League championship last night, splitting a twin bill with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. In the nightcap, Carolina League Pitcher of the Year Travis Sykora struck out nine across five innings, allowing just one hit and no walks on 67 pitches. Minor league titles do have a pretty strong correlation to future major league success, and this was the first such championship for the Nats' organization in a decade (Potomac Nationals). Look at past minor league winners and you will see a lot of Rays, Dodgers, and Brewers affiliates. As for Sykora, he has firmly cemented himself as one of the best pitching prospects in the sport with his dominance down the stretch, and could potentially make a case in the spring to open the 2025 season in AA Harrisburg as a 21-year-old.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day

Over at MLB.com, Anthony Castrovince put together a team of the best non-All-Stars in the game this season. Luis García Jr. was named as the team's second baseman.

Former National of the Day

Did you know that Ross Detwiler was still a major league pitcher as late as 2022? Drafted in the first round by the Nats in 2007, Detwiler rocketed all the way to the majors that year and pitched for Washington through 2014, after which he became an itinerant southpaw, with stops in Texas, Atlanta, Cleveland, Oakland, Seattle, the South Side, Miami, San Diego, and Cincinnati. As a National, Detwiler started 69 of his 132 appearances, with a 3.82 ERA and 1.374 WHIP across 471 innings.

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