MLB

The Washington Nationals are surging and will enter September in contention for a playoff spot. Entering the final day of August, the Nationals are 16-10 in the month, which has given them a reason to play meaningful baseball in September.

The pieces of the puzzle have been coming together for Washington. Perhaps they were not able to handle the early season hype that surrounded the team, but, as for now, they have a chance for redemption.

If there haven't been enough issues at O.co Coliseum this season, this latest one certainly helps add more evidence that the Oakland A's are in dire need of a new home.

On Friday, Tampa Bay Rays closer Fernando Rodney decided he needed to use the bathroom, conveniently located at the end of the visiting dugout at the Coliseum.

However, Rodney ended up getting trapped.

On Friday, embattled Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig collected a double, three singles and two stolen bases on his way to a four-hit night. His performance certainly helped lead the way in the Dodgers' 9-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Cincinnati Reds prospect Billy Hamilton headlines the list of youngsters most likely to be called up in September by MLB teams.

Hamilton, known for his blazing speed, has generated a lot of buzz heading into September as the Reds sit 3.5 games back in the NL Central while currently holding the second wild-card spot in the National League.

On Friday night, highly-touted prospect Taijuan Walker made his much-anticipated MLB debut for the Seattle Mariners against the Houston Astros.

And he was phenomenal.

In a season that has already seen a number of highly touted rookie pitchers make their presence felt, we can now add another name to the list: Taijuan Walker.

Most of us had already suspected that this was going to be a rough season for the Cubs. In fact, it was widely considered a rebuilding year with an eye on 2014 and beyond. So, considering that they haven't been in the playoff race for the last few months, what makes September any different than June, July or August for the Cubs?

While Brett Lawrie has spent most of August making noise with his bat, Toronto's 23-year-old third baseman let his athleticism do the talking on Friday night against Kansas City.

For just the second time in four years, there'll be no World Series championship to celebrate in San Francisco.

In fact, the Giants are on pace to finish with 90 losses for the first time since 2008 and in last place for the first time since 2007. Going into today, they were 15.5 games back of a wild-card spot. So why is there any reason to keep watching them play seemingly meaningless games in September? 

When Billy Hamilton gets called up from the minor leagues by the Cincinnati Reds, he's going to prove that a player doesn't need to start games in order to make his presence felt—or to make an impact on a hotly-contested playoff race.