The Washington Post - 19.08.2019

ager Dave Martinez thought it felt

like Florida. After a few moments,

the rain stopped. The Nationals’

offense didn’t.

The Nationals crushed the

Brewers, 16-8, on a humid Sunday

afternoon to win a series that

should be among the first pieces

of evidence submitted if there’s

ever a congressional report on

whether Major League Baseball

has juiced its balls. The Nationals

SEE NATIONALS ON D3

BY SAM FORTIER

Nationals Park entered the twi-

light zone in the third inning. The

Washington Nationals were in

the midst of batting around,

pounding Milwaukee Brewers

starter Chase Anderson and

treating his replacement just the

same, when the scattered clouds

overhead unleashed a sudden,

solid sheet of rain. It was 95 de-

grees, sunny and pouring; Man-

not be ground down and get hurt.

Somehow, Manager Dave

Martinez missed the second half

of the memo. Now, with Doolittle

going on the injured list Sunday,

the Nats are paying the price. The

IL cause is “right knee tendinitis.”

It might as well be listed as “too

much Martinez.”

What every Nationals fan

knows, he missed: Cut back on

Doolittle’s workload before you

damage his season and your

SEE BOSWELL ON D3

The Washington

Nationals traded

for multiple relief

pitchers at the

July 31 deadline

for two reasons.

First, to build a

better bridge to

excellent closer

Sean Doolittle. Second, to add

pitchers with experience closing

games so Doolittle, who was on

pace to pitch more this year than

he ever has in his career, would

KLMNO

SPORTS

MONDAY, AUGUST 19 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

Eight ways to Sunday

As Doolittle hits the IL, it’s beyond time

for the manager to be the manager

Thomas

Boswell

NATIONALS 16, BREWERS 8

Nats tie club record for homers, win series finale

BY LES CARPENTER

Colt McCoy looked forlorn as
he packed up to leave the Wash-
ington Redskins’ locker room
Sunday afternoon. He pulled a
backpack over his shoulder and
limped toward the door.
“There are some things going
on that aren’t just right,” he said.
By this time, McCoy was sup-
posed to be in the middle of a
three-man competition to be
Washington’s starting quarter-
back. Given the way he looked
early in training camp and the
fact he knows Coach Jay Gruden’s
offense far better than Case
Keenum or Dwayne Haskins —
the two players he is fighting for
the job — he appeared to have a
good chance of winning the battle.
But the right leg that was
supposed to have healed after
three offseason surgeries is hurt-
ing again, forcing McCoy to miss
the team’s first two preseason
games. After Thursday’s second
preseason game, Gruden said
“starting isn’t even in the equa-
tion now” when asked about
McCoy, adding that the quarter-
back has to get healthy. After
McCoy didn’t practice Sunday,
Gruden sounded even more dire,
saying McCoy might miss the last
two preseason games and
SEE REDSKINS ON D5

Lingering

pain takes

McCoy out

of QB battle

Nationals at Pirates Today, 7 p.m., MASN | Doolittle to the injured list: Closer dealing with right knee tendinitis. D3

BY AVA WALLACE

Having already secured their
spot in the playoffs and set a
record for 20-point wins in a
WNBA season with 11, the first-
place Washington Mystics, pos-
sessors of the best offense in the
league and an MVP candidate in
Elena Delle Donne, decided to
pad their stats a little Sunday
afternoon.
The Mystics made a league
record 18 three-pointers at Enter-
tainment and Sports Arena en
route to a rollicking 107-68 win
over the Indiana Fever. The bar-
rage began in the third quarter
when Ariel Atkins pulled up for a
24-footer, and from there, Wash-
ington hit five more threes in a
row — two each from Delle Donne
and Aerial Powers and another
SEE MYSTICS ON D2

In blowout,

Mystics set

WNBA record

with 18 threes

MYSTICS 107,

FEVER 68

Redskins at Falcons
Thurs., 7:30 p.m., WRC-4, NBCSW

Mystics at Sky
Friday, 8 p.m., WNBA League Pass

COLLEGES

When Stephen Curry heard

Howard didn’t have a golf

team, he knew he had to

change that. So he did. A1

LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL

Loudoun South throws its

second straight no-hitter

at the LLWS to advance

to the U.S. semifinals. D5

PHOTOS BY KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POST

Homer No. 1: Matt Adams, a three-run shot in the first.

Homer No. 7: Soto, that man again, in the fifth.

Homer No. 3: Brian Dozier, part of the seven-run third.

Homer No. 6: Adam Eaton, a solo shot in the fifth.

Homer No. 2: Victor Robles, one batter after Adams.

Homer No. 8: Dozier, off Hernán Pérez, a utility player.

Homer No. 4: Anthony Rendon, a shot to left that first appeared to be a routine flyball. Homer No. 5: Juan Soto, going back-to-back after Rendon in the explosive third.

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