Baseball

The Washington Nationals have decided to count on a guy who's traditionally been hard to count on.

They could be glad they did.

The Washington Nationals and starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg have agreed to a seven-year contract extension, the team confirmed Tuesday.

Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker doesn't plan to change his lineup after reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper reached base seven times without recording a single hit on Sunday.   

CHICAGO — Imagine if there were a way, on every New England Patriots possession, to prevent Tom Brady from throwing the football. Or if, somehow, a defense could find a loophole in basketball’s rules that ensured Stephen Curry couldn’t touch the ball on every offensive possession.

Both would be sound strategies. But such strategies would also hurt the appeal of those sports.

We want to see the best play. Watching opposing teams prevent that doesn’t make for great theater.

The Chicago Cubs improved to 24-6 with Sunday's 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals in 13 innings, becoming the first team since the 1984 Detroit Tigers (26-4) to win 24 or more of its first 30 games in a season, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Finally, over the weekend, the New York Yankees generated a little excitement. Finally, Yankee Stadium had some life in back-to-back wins over the Boston Red Sox.

You'd have thought Aroldis Chapman was on the mound.

For 10 big league seasons, Ryan Braun has worn uniforms that said only "Milwaukee" or "Brewers" across the front.

Before the 2016 MLB trade deadline slides past, that could change.

Yes, it's a little early to talk trades. Chances are that even clubs with zero shot at the playoffs and assets to unload will wait until the heat of summer to wheel and deal.

Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes is reportedly expected to learn his punishment soon after facing domestic violence allegations from October, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Heyman noted the suspension is expected to be at least 60 games, but it may end up being closer to 80 games, "or about a half a season."

They don't hand out trophies in early May.

No one understands that truism better than the average Chicago Cubs fan. A 107-year-and-counting championship drought is bound to feature more than a few hot starts.

Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price said Sunday he is confident he will turn his season around.