And people say baseball is boring. Thursday night’s series finale between the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs had bench-clearing brawls, charging bullpens, more home runs, and more great pitching from the Nats. The Nats completed the four-game sweep of the Cubs as they head into their last weekend on this homestand, and with their 85th win, their magic number is 18, and they retain a 7.5 game lead in the division.

In the fifth inning, Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa each stole a base with a five-run lead. It got under the skin of Cubs bench coach Jamie Quirk, who started screaming some not-so-nice things to Nats third base coach Bo Porter. Porter walked toward the Cubs dugout, and things got crazy. The Nats cleared their bench and relievers sprinted in from the bullpen in defense of their coach. Quirk was ejected, and it was all over. Right? Wrong.

In the top of the sixth inning, with Bryce Harper leading off, Cubs reliever Lendy Castillo through way in on harper, and it appeared he was trying to plunk him. Harper walked toward the mound, yelling at Castillo, as the benches and bullpens cleared again. It appeared that cooler heads would prevail again, until several Cubs relievers appeared to be waving goodbye to some Nats relievers while jawing at them. The bullpens came back together, and things got out of hand.

Cubs catcher Steve Clevenger appeared to take a swing at Michael Morse, which caused Sean Burnett and Edwin Jackson to lose their cool along with Morse. It mostly amounted to a shoving match with three ejections issued: Steve Clevenger and Manny Corpas from the Cubs and Michael Gonzalez from the Nats. Nats manager Davey Johnson believed “it was their bench coach's frustration of us handing it to them for three days." You can always count on the truth from Davey.

Jordan Zimmermann had a great recovery game from some recent struggles. Though he got into some trouble in the first two innings with a home run in the first to Anthony Rizzo and triples in the second to Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney, he got locked in after that. At one point, Zimmermann retired 12 consecutive batters in his seven inning, two run, five hit game, where he walked just one and struck out nine.

The offense came to life in a big way for the third straight night. Bryce Harper gave the Cubs fits on the base paths throughout the game. In the first inning, he extended a double into a triple with his trademark aggressive baserunning. When Ryan Zimmerman grounded out to the pitcher, Harper stuttered back to third and then charged for home as pitcher Justin Germano threw lackadaisically to first for the out. He scored the first run of the game for the Nats.

Adam LaRoche and Kurt Suzuki both stayed hot, too. LaRoche went 1-for-3 with two walks (one intentional), but he hit his 29th home run of the year and is now just three shy of his career high with a lot of baseball left to play. Suzuki went 3-for-5 with another home run and is 4-for-7 in his last two games. As James Wagner of the Washington Post reported this past weekend, Suzuki has worked with Davey and hitting coach Rick Eckstein to tweak his swing. Maybe it’s working.

With 9-1 victory and a series sweep, the Nationals keep rolling and control their own destiny by continuing to rack up victories. The fire and passion the team showed in defending their own and not lying down despite a lead and a guaranteed series win illustrates their best qualities and the reason they are favorite to win their division.

Early runs was the name of the game again for the Washington Nationals as they beat the Chicago Cubs 9-1. With home runs and a dominating pitching performance from their starter, Gio Gonzalez, the Nats cruised to their fourth straight win and 84th win on the season. The Nats are on pace for 100 wins this season, and the magic number is 19.

Gio Gonzalez has been on an absolute tear lately. He took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, until Darwin Barney hit a hard grounder just to Ryan Zimmerman’s left at third base, but that didn’t take away from the outing. He went seven innings and gave up just three hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out nine on 93 pitches.

Since the beginning of August, Gio has gone seven or more innings four times. He’s given up zero runs in his last two outings, he once again sports a sub-3.00 ERA (2.98), and he is tied with R.A. Dickey for the National League lead with 18 wins. Sure sounds like an NL Cy Young candidate to me.

Roger Bernadina made the most of a rare start, and an even more rare leadoff opportunity. He reached on an infield single in the first, stole second, and eventually scored on an Adam LaRoche single. Bernadina and Bryce Harper hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the third inning. It was Harper’s 16th homer of the year. LaRoche chimed in with his 28th blast two batters later, giving the Nats a 5-0 lead.

Harper hit is second home run of the game in the sixth inning for his 17th on the year. In the same game, Harper matched and eclipsed Ken Griffey, Jr. on the all-time home run list by a teenager. He’s now third behind Tony Conigliaro (24) and Mel Ott (19) with 25 games left this season. That’s some good company.

LaRoche remained locked in at the plate, too. After going 4-for-4 with a walk on Tuesday, he went 3-for-4 with a walk and another home run on Wednesday. LaRoche is getting close to career highs in both home runs and RBI, and there’s a lot of baseball left to be played. Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa chimed in with their own back-to-back home runs in the seventh, and Kurt Suzuki eventually scored on an RBI walk by Ryan Zimmerman.

Sure, it was the Cubs, but the Nats showed why they can be an absolutely dominant team in the last two games: they capitalize on mistakes, and they play with confidence. In the last two games, the Nats hit 12 home runs, six in each game. No matter who you are, you don’t want to face this Nats team right now.

I’ve seen many bizarre nights at Nationals Park, but Tuesday night’s matchup between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs had to be among the weirdest. A ballpark that was full throughout the summer saw just 17,648 official attendees, but there were far fewer actually in the stands. Those that attended got quite the treat and a fun, weird game.

The Nats went on to beat the Cubs 11-5. With the win and a Braves loss, the Nats extended their lead in the NL East to 7.5 games with a magic number of 20 to win the division.

The Nats offense got moving early and put on five runs in the first two innings. Ian Desmond hit is 20th home run of the season, a two-run shot that scored Jayson Werth, in the first inning. Desmond always had a lot of untapped power, but before this season, he had never hit more than 10 in one year. Michael Morse got thrown out at third on a questionable decision, but it certainly didn’t matter in th eoverall outcome of the game.

In the second, Jesus Flores hit his fifth home run of the season. In the fourth, Adam LaRoche hit his 26th bomb of the year, and Tyler Moore hit a moonshot two-run homer two batters later for his eighth of the year. Ryan Zimmerman was the last Nats starter to record his first hit of the game, and it, too, was a home run for his 18th on the season. Are you sensing a theme here? LaRoche added his second homer on the night in the eighth, his 27th this season and the Nats’ sixth blast of the game. That tied a team record since 2005 for most home runs in a game, and the last time they did it was on May 20, 2011 in a 17-5 rout of the Baltimore Orioles.

For the Cubs part, they put out seven pitchers, and every one of them was a rookie. Only one pitcher threw more than one inning, and it wasn’t their starter, Chris Rusin. It was a motley crew of pitchers by one of the worst teams in the National League.

Edwin Jackson was locked in early in the game, facing just two over the minimum through the first five innings.  In the sixth, an untimely walk to Anthony Rizzo put two runners on with two outs, and Jackson was never able to recover. He didn’t record another out as Christian Garcia made his MLB debut to record the final out of the inning. Jackson has been prone to the blow up inning all season, and this was a perfect example of that.

With their 83rd win of the season, the Nationals continue controlling their own destiny. With a 7.5 game lead, it seems impossible that the Nats could do anything but win the NL East. It’s early to say for sure obviously, but a 7.5 game lead with just 27 games remaining is a whole lot for the Braves to make up. Watching this September might be the most fun you’ve ever had while watching the summer end.

Once again, Ross Detwiler pitched a gem for the Washington Nationals on Monday, which may be one of the most important wins in the team's brief history in DC. His seven innings of four hit, zero run baseball was just the latest in his recent successes on the mound. Widely accepted as the Nats number five starter, Detwiler flies under the radar. He shouldn’t.

Detwiler has flailed a bit in his major league career, and some wondered if the former first-round draft pick would ever figure it out. He’s among the oldest pitchers in a young rotation, but only Stephen Strasburg has less service time in the majors. He has impressed all season, but his second half numbers have been outstanding.

With a 2.79 ERA since the All-Star Break, Detwiler bests all Nats starters since that point. Opposing hitters are hitting just .220 against him since then, also a team best. He has also attacked batters with fastballs at an almost alarming rate recently. For the first three months of the season, he never had a month where he averaged more than 76% fastballs. In the last 30 days, more than 90% of his pitches were fastballs. He’s attacking the strike zone using a combination of a four-seam fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s and a devastating sinker in the low 90s that drops out of the strike zone.

On the flip side, Detwiler’s BABIP in the last 30 days is just .228. He is reaping the benefits of some incredible infield defense and is having some luck pitching to contact. It’s unlikely that his numbers can stay where they are forever, but his new approach of attacking the zone with fastballs will definitely help by reducing his walk rate.

As the Nationals push toward the postseason, Detwiler’s role will be invaluable for the Nats, especially when they lose Stephen Strasburg. Detwiler will be one of three left handed starters in the rotation with the addition of John Lannan, and his ability to make adjustments will be crucial to the Nats success from one of the best bottom of the rotation starters in baseball. So although he goes unnoticed by many, that could be in the Nats best interest. The most dangerous enemy is the one you don't know.

Often overlooked lefthander Ross Detwiler pitched an absolute gem of a game last night to help the Washington Nationals top the Chicago Cubs 2-1. The 26-year-old allowed just four hits and no runs in seven innings of work, doing his best to keep the opposing Cubbies off balance while forcing 10 ground ball outs.

He earned his ninth win of the year with the Nats' Curly W, and the team improved to 30 games over .500. The club still has the best record in baseball, and is only seven runs behind the Texas Rangers for having the best overall run differential. Most importantly, however, Detwiler’s great start ensured something very important, it helped clinch the Nationals’ first-ever winning season in Washington.

2005: 81-81
2006: 71-91
2007: 73-89
2008: 59-102
2009: 59-103
2010: 69-93
2011: 80-81
2012: 82-52

Let that sink in for a moment. While this season has been charmed, and it’s been a hell of a ride that isn’t even close to over, let’s not overlook the huge step the team took last night. It was not long ago at all that the Nationals were the laughing stock of baseball. Sure ,Washington was essentially an expansion team, born out of a club that had been gutted by Major League Baseball, but for a team that was built from nothing, from 2006-2010 the team’s results were poor even for those standards. It was hard to be a baseball fan in Washington, and for those of us who were, it was even harder to convince others around us why.

In the grand scheme of this amazing season, clinching a winning record is certainly a baby step, but in the eight year history of this ball club, it is a momentous occasion. Ladies and gentlemen, baseball has grown up in D.C., and it does look like it is here to stay. 

The Washington Nationals have clinched their first winning season since arriving in DC in 2005, and it's only Labor Day. Meanwhile, Ross Detwiler, Edwin Jackson, and Gio Gonzalez have been wonderful, while Jordan Zimmermann has struggled. The Nats have made some September call ups, and we even talk about some cool stories across baseball. All on this episode of Nats Talk On The Go.

When the Washington Nationals (81-52) faced the Chicago Cubs (51-82) on Opening Day at the historic Wrigley Field, they had no idea that the season unfolding before them would become one for the history books. This time, as the Cubs make the trek to Nationals Park, the Nats will be vying for yet another record breaking stat for this year: the best season record since baseball returned to Washington. With just one win against the Cubs in this four game series, the 2012 Nats can surpass the 2005 Nats in season total wins, guaranteeing not only that they will earn their first winning season, but that this team of guys will go down in history as the Washington Nationals’ first heroes. 

Their first series of the year -- when the Nats took two of three from the Cubs -- set the tone for the season both teams would have; the Nats would have the winningest season in their existence, and the Cubs would continue their recent tradition of losing. With nearly opposite records, the Nationals have won 30 whole games more than the Cubs this year, as Chicago looks to finish out their third straight year with a losing record. 

Bouncing Back

The Nats came back from one of their longest losing streaks of the season in a big way last week, taking three of four from last year's World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals. Washington has only dropped one contest in five games since they snapped their losing streak, and since they started winning again they are batting a collective .339 and are averaging 7.8 runs per game.

Sorry Stats

Across the board, the Cubs’ stats pad the bottom of MLB rankings. Their pitching has underperformed, with the seventh highest ERA (4.48), the fifth most walks (451) and 12^th highest opponent batting average (.257) in the majors. Unfortunately for Cubs fans, their team’s hitting has been even worse. They have scored the second fewest runs (501, 3.77 per game) and have the third worst run differential of all teams (-114). Their offensive slash line of .240/.299/.381 ranks 26^th, 29^th, and 26^th, and only five teams have hit fewer home runs than they have (113). 

Spoiler Alert

The Cubs will face four other playoff contenders in addition to the Nationals in their final month of baseball. Although at this point in the season their postseason chances are shot, they have the opportunity to shake up the standings by playing spoiler. 

With a series against the 70-63 Pittsburg Pirates following the Nationals series, Cubs manager Dale Sveum recognized that actually executing the role of spoiler is going to be a serious challenge, especially against formidable teams like the Nationals, according to MLB.com.

"We're going to see the best team in baseball the next four days," Sveum said. "Even though we miss Strasburg, we're still going to see four quality starters and a heck of a lineup that they can throw at you. Everybody in their lineup is capable of hitting 20 home runs and swinging the bats really well. We've got our hands full the next seven days."

Worth Noting

- The Cubs have .500 record at home, but their 17-48 road record is the second worst in baseball, above only the Houston Astros. The Cubs and the Astros are also the only two teams in the majors with total winning percentages under .400.

- Jeff Samardzjia, who will get the ball in the series opener, pitched the only game the Nationals lost to the Cubs this season. Back in April he nearly pitched a complete game, giving up just one earned run (three runs total) and striking out eight. Current Nationals are batting .182 against him this season. 

- The Cubs are almost a completely different team compared to the one they fielded to face the Nats on Opening Day. Jeff Baker, Marlon Byrd, Ryan Dempster and Geovany Soto were traded, and Ian Stewart is on the 60-day disabled list.

- The Nationals are 23-25 overall against the Cubs since 2005, and 11-13 at home.

Who's hot?

David DeJesus (RF) .321 AVG, .406 OBP, .500 SLG, 1 HR, 6 RBI (last seven games)

Anthony Rizzo (1B) .269 AVG, .321 OBP, .500 SLG, 1 HR, 4 RBI (last seven games)

Carlos Marmol (CL) 1.80 ERA, .194 BAA, 11 SO, 4/4 SV/SVO, 10.0 IP (last 10 games)

Who's not?

Brett Jackson (CF) .142 AVG, .333 OBP, .381 SLG, 11 SO (last seven games)

Alberto Cabrera (RP) 7.94 ERA, .250 BAA, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO, 5.2 IP (last seven games)

Probable Starters

Ross Detwiler (8-6, 3.32 ERA) vs. Jeff Samardzija (8-12, 4.03 ERA)

Edwin Jackson (8-9, 3.53 ERA) vs. Chris Rusin (0-1, 1.80 ERA)

Gio Gonzalez (17-7, 3.10 ERA) vs. Chris Volstad (2-9, 6.06 ERA)

Jordan Zimmermann (9-8, 3.01 ERA) vs. Justin Germano (2-5, 6.30 ERA)

The Washington Nationals made their second set of September call ups on Labor Day, acquiring the contracts for starter Zach Duke and reliever Christian Garcia. Both pitchers are certainly not in the prospect stages of their careers, but they both had seasons worthy of a call up.

The Nats already made their first round of call ups with John Lannan, Eury Perez, and Sandy Leon. Lannan and Leon have already spent time in the majors this season, but Perez made his first splash with the Nats on Sunday in a pinch running appearance where he stole third base, a move that Davey Johnson wasn't thrilled about.

For Duke, it won't be his first time at the show. He spent six seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he earned an All-Star selection in 2009 due to his first half success. He had a 3.29 ERA and a 1.2 WHIP with an 8-8 record. His second half trailed off significantly in the second half of this year, posting a 5.17 ERA.

Duke was signed to a minor league deal this offseason by the Nats for some pitching insurance, and he had one of the best seasons of his career, either in the majors or the minors. He finished the season at Triple-A Syracuse with a 3.51 ERA in 164.1 innings pitched and 2.33 strikeouts per walk. That’s certainly a favorable ratio, but his 1.32 WHIP is a bit high for minor league numbers. Duke will likely work in long relief or mop up roles, but I wouldn’t expect to see a whole lot of him in September. He’s likely to be insurance in case of a long game or a blow out. He may get some action against lefties, too.

Garcia, on the other hand, is an interesting guy to watch. He has recovered from two Tommy John surgeries, and his first season in the Nationals organization has been a great one. He spent time with Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse this season, and his numbers are almost unreal. In 45 games at both levels, he has an 0.86 ERA, an 0.917 WHIP, struck out 11.4 batters per nine innings. He hasn’t given up a single home run this season and recorded 21 saves at both levels.

While Duke is an insurance call up, Garcia may an impact call up early on, especially with Sean Burnett’s recent struggles in late innings. Garcia is a hard throwing late-inning reliever whose stuff can translate to the major league level. He’s not going to displace Tyler Clippard or Drew Storen any time soon, but he could be the next big thing for the Nats already impressive bullpen. Keep an eye out for him in the next month.