The Washington Post - 07.09.2019

“H e’d call that night and just

say: ‘How do I look? Am I back?

Am I back? ’ ”

It is the question Reed’s team,

the Washington Redskins, spent

much of this preseason asking,

again: When will Jordan Reed

be back?

The most optimistic take on

the Washington season that

begins Sunday in Philadelphia

has to have Reed starting at

tight end for — pick a number —

12, 14 or (just imagine)

16 games. But the week leading

up to that opener brought with

SEE SVRLUGA ON D3

There is an
urgency and an
anxiousness
around Jordan
Reed because he
knows what he
can be if only his
body — quite
literally from his
(currently concussed) head to
his (formerly broken) toe —
would cooperate. When Reed
began offseason workouts in
South Florida in June — fully
healthy, feeling great — he
would call his trainer frantically
in the hours after a session.
“Every single day,” said that
trainer, Pete Bommarito, who
works with several NFL players.

The Mystics (25-8) will play

their first two playoff games

Sept. 17 and 19 at home, though

their opponent is not yet set. As

the top seed, Washington re-

ceived a double-bye to the semifi-

nals and skips the first two

rounds of the playoffs, which are

single-elimination games.

First, the Mystics have their

season finale at home Sunday

against Chicago.

“Awesome,” Washington Coach

and General Manager Mike Thi-

bault said after learning his team

earned the top seed. “It was what

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BY AVA WALLACE

The Washington Mystics got to

celebrate twice Friday night at

Entertainment and Sports Arena,

first in front of their fans after an

86 -73 win over the Dallas Wings

and again later, after the crowd

had cleared and only coaches and

a few lingering players were left

in the locker room watching the

Chicago Sky beat the Connecticut

Sun, ensuring Washington will be

the No. 1 seed in the WNBA

playoffs.

KLMNO

SPORTS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY
GAMES TO WATCH

Nationally

Army at 7 Michigan
Noon, Fox

Cincinnati at 5 Ohio State
Noon, ABC

12 Texas A&M at 1 Clemson
3:30 p.m., ABC

6 LSU at 9 Texas
7:30 p.m., ABC

Locally

21 Syracuse at Maryland
Noon, ESPN

Old Dominion at Virginia Tech
Noon, ESPNU

Nationals at Braves

Today, 7 p.m., MASN

BY JESSE DOUGHERTY

atlanta — The Washington Na-

tionals were jolted awake by

Ryan Zimmerman late Friday

night, just when it seemed as if

they might sleepwalk their way to

another loss to the Atlanta Braves

at SunTrust Park.

But Zimmerman’s 433-foot

homer only blunted the sting of

defeat. The Nationals still fell,

4-3, despite the first baseman’s

three-run blast in the eighth in-

ning. The offense did nothing for

the first seven. It couldn’t plate

the tying run in the ninth. The

Nationals couldn’t beat Braves

starter Dallas Keuchel, who

pitched six scoreless, and fell

nine games in back of Atlanta in

the National League East.

They have just 22 games left in

the regular season and have lost

four of five for the first time since

late May. That they’re still two

games up for the top wild-card

spot and comfortably in playoff

position is the only consolation

for getting knocked around here.

Patrick Corbin didn’t have his

best command, walking a season-

high six in just five innings. But

he allowed just two runs, only

one earned, to give Washington a

chance at flipping the score-

board. The offense just fell a

swing or two short. It didn’t help

that Wander Suero gave up a

two-run homer to Josh Donald-

son in the seventh. It ended with

Shane Greene recording a one-

two-three save for the Braves.

“This team will turn it around,”

Manager Dave Martinez said.

“We got a good ballclub. We will

turn it around. We’ll start hitting

again.”

After Washington lost the se-

ries opener and just narrowly

avoided a shutout, Martinez

shook up his lineup for the sec-

ond game. He plugged Howie

Kendrick into the second spot. He

hit Victor Robles sixth, surround-

ed by slower runners, hoping the

22-year-old could provide a

spark. And he played Zimmer-

man and Michael A. Taylor, two

platoon players, to throw as many

right-handed batters as possible

at the left-handed Keuchel.

They loaded the bases in the

first, with two singles and a walk,

but Zimmerman bounced into a

double play to end the inning.

Then Keuchel settled in. He

pounded the bottom of the zone

with sinkers and sliders. He

doesn’t throw hard, rarely touch-

ing 90 mph, and limits teams by

inducing soft contact and early

swings. The Nationals typically

hit lefties better than most teams,

especially during their three-

month surge up the standings.

But between Keuchel and Max

SEE NATIONALS ON D5

Timely hits

again are

elusive

for the Nats

Mystics power past Dallas,

lock up top seed for playo≠s

MYSTICS 86,

WINGS 73

PRO FOOTBALL

The Raiders, who some thought might cut Antonio

Brown, instead say the WR will play Monday night. D3

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Sophomore QB Jayden Sauray sparkles as Wise drills

Eleanor Roosevelt in clash of Prince George’s powers. D8

ON SOCCER

A U.S.-Mexico friendly before a pro-Mexico crowd in

New Jersey sheds light on the state of the rivalry. D9

BY EMILY GIAMBALVO

The most prominent issue with
Maryland’s offense revealed itself
throughout last season, some-
times i n key moments, other times
lingering through entire games:
The Te rrapins lacked a quarter-
back who could serve as a reliable
passing threat to complement a
proven running game.
But in the 2019 season opener
last Saturday, Maryland show-
cased a proficient passing game
under Coach Michael Locksley, al-
beit against Howard of the Foot-
ball Championship Subdivision.
Locksley brought a new offen-
sive system to Maryland intend-
ing for it to resemble the one that
broke program records at Ala-
bama last season. When the
scheme made its debut in College
Park, transfer quarterback Josh
Jackson led the enhanced offense
with an effective performance
fr ee of major errors, an encourag-
ing sign before the level of compe-
tition exponentially increases
Saturday a gainst No. 21 Syracuse.
Against Howard, Jackson
threw for 245 yards and had four
touchdown passes with no inter-
ceptions, completing 62.5 percent
of his throws. And he did it all in
the f irst half; t he 79-0 r esult meant
primarily backups played in the
second half and four quarterbacks
had a turn leading the offense.
But by Tuesday, when asked to
assess his showing, Jackson said:
“Oh, no, that wasn’t my best day. I
think I had a good first start, but
there are definitely places I c an get
better.”
He will have time to improve in
those areas, such as some minor
decision-making mishaps. And
even though Howard didn’t pre-
sent much of a test, the game
showed Maryland can pass effec-
tively, the missing piece for last
year’s o ffense.
Between Jackson and backup
Ty rrell Pigrome, Maryland threw
the ball 27 times in the first half
alone. That’s more pass attempts
than Maryland had in 11 of its
12 games last year, when it ranked
124th out of 129 Football Bowl
Subdivision teams with 241 pass
attempts and 1 21st with
141.3 passing yards per game.
Some of that came by way of
SEE MARYLAND ON D7

Terps’ task:

Pass the test

against No. 21

Syracuse

Healthy Reed is game-changer;

staying healthy is his problem

Barry
Svrluga

BY CHUCK CULPEPPER

new york — As big-time tennis and mother-

hood intersect again at the U.S. Open, Chris

Evert and Pam Shriver flanked this male

reporter this week on a sofa in an ESPN suite

atop Arthur Ashe Stadium. As Evert recollect-

ed feeling stronger after giving birth than

before being pregnant, her listener’s f ace must

have lapsed into know-nothing surprise.

“Don’t,” she said with her long-established

wit. “You don’t know what it’s like to have a

baby. Ta ke my word for it.”

Life is a mystery from moment one, includ-

ing for mothers who exert to create moment

one, and if Serena Williams wins her 24 th

Grand Slam title Saturday as the mother of a

2-year-old, she will notch more than a tie with

Margaret Court atop the all-time chart. She

will join a concise list of Grand Slam singles

title-winning mothers alongside only Court

(three, in 1973), Evonne Goolagong (Wimble-

don, in 1980) and Kim Clijsters (three, from

2009 to 2011). The particular feat seems

worthy of a singular level of impression, yet

SEE U.S. OPEN ON D2

Closing in on another crown,

Williams is a mom on a mission

AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES

Serena Williams is trying to join, from top left, Evonne Goolagong, Kim Clijsters and Margaret Court as mothers to win a Grand Slam.

U.S. Open

Women’s final

Today, 4 p.m., ESPN

Nadal, Medvedev

into men’s final:

Spaniard, Russian

earn date with

straight-set wins. D2

TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST

Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne corrals one of her seven

rebounds against the Wings. Delle Donne also scored 16 points.

BRAVES 4,

NATIONALS 3

Defeat drops Washington

nine games back in East

Redskins at Eagles

Tomorrow, 1 p.m., Fox

ROBERT DEAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS KATHY WILLENS/ASSOCIATED PRESS LARRY STODDARD/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sky at Mystics

Tomorrow, 4 p.m., League Pass

Virginia rolls past W&M
Bryce Perkins accounts for three
TDs as Cavaliers cruise, 52-17. D6