i went to the nats game last night, not pretty. >> it went to the dogs.layed. >> that's why i'm here. i feel like a pastor, guys, at a funeral. >>> now, wusa9 game on sports with dave owens. brought to you by exfinty. >> it was seven months ago, spring training, deb, bryce harper, when asked about the nats outlook, told reporters, where's my ring? many agreed the nats on paper were world series favorites, which makes this season's failures remarkable, if you think about it. mets magic number down to one. the nats have to win out. stephen strasburg was a grade a cheese maker. 13, 14, 10, 13 strikeouts. the 12th, bryce harper, the nats win, but they needed the mets to lose to stay alive. let's check in on them. didn't happen. new york beating cincinnati. and you see the celebration there. so that eliminates the nats. back to the nats, needless to say, disappoig ntinend for the ball club. >> sometimes the game isn't fair. and you know, every single one of those guys competed all year, and you know, we dealt with some adversity, we battled through it and that

a fight in the national dugout involving two of the nats biggest names including bryce harper. dave? >> the nationals lost the division on saturday and now this afternoon tempers loss in the dugout, brice harper and papelbon exchanged more than just angry words. it happened in the bottom of the eighth inning. papelbon seems to be unhappy with harper about something papelb papelbon, lounges at harper's neck and they have to be separated by teammates and coaches. we're going to have reaction and more from bryce harper and jonathan papelbon, an ugly end to a bad weekend for the nats. >> here's the latest on satellite and radar tracking mainly cloudy skies. for most of us it's going to be dry this evening. unfortunately not the best viewing conditions for rare event happening tonight, the super moon lunar eclipse, we might get enough breaks to catch a glimpse. if not, follow nasa on twitter and find me on facebook and twitter, we'll be posting updates. here's what you can expect tonight. the total eclipse is going to begin at 10:11. the moon will appear 14% bigger and have a reddish

live outside the left field gate at nats park where it's about the catch-up. nats trying to gain ground on the mets after losing game one. the final for that one 8-5. put the nats five game back. a good pitching matchup tonight. zimmerman against matt harvey, the mets' ace. still a lot of baseball to be played and they still understand this series is very important. but according to the players the name of the game is don't panic. >> it doesn't do any good to say we have to do this. this is a must win. going out just because you try heard won't make it better. you can't sit there and psyche yourself up. you'll make mistakes. just stay even and play your game. beat the other team. simple as that. robert: switching gears. welcome to washington, d.c. we have a little thing called a quarterback controversy when it comes to the redskins. first, rgiii and his concussion situation. then kirk cousins slides in the starting slot. colt mccoy doing well. not getting that much love. well, today, we spoke with the former head coach. i think you know who he is when you see h

it appears that the nats have their own drama to attend to. jonathan papelbon suspended for four games for joking bryce harper, three more for intentionally throwing in the head space of the third baseman manny machado. surprisingly, fans aren't too upset about the suspension. >> the punishment announced today fits and reflects the feeling we have about the tolerance of issues such as this. robert: the nationals decision to suspend jonathan papelbon is sitting well with the nats fans we spoke to this afternoon. >> that is a good decision. a great decision. >> it's appropriate. very. robert: papelbon is out for the rest of the season. not that there was much left. after the chokehold of the team superstar bryce harper. >> we were at the game. we didn't see the fight. we heard about it after on twitter. i didn't want to show the kids the video. robert: papelbon is one of baseball's most controversial players. he still has one year left on the contract with washington. >> would you want to see papelbon back next year? >> no. >> no. he and seven ot

it's certainly going to feel on the brisk side. and nats phillies at 4:05 today if you're headed out to the ballpark a light jacket. tomorrow 73 and a few showers and mostly south and west. and monday as warmer air returns, 77. there'll be a chance for a shower or isolated storm. tuesday looks good. we'll be in the low 80s with sunshine and a few showers wednesday with the next front. and we finish cooler and nice, lows in the mid-70s. >>> still to come, you can help save this little girl's life and it costs you nothing to do it. how your time and a pint can save even more people. >>> and like something out of twilight as a super moon [ no captioner audio ] >>> i can't quite remember. >> just last year she was diagnosed with leukemia, the most common type of blood cancer in children. if the condition is detected early enough, it can go into complete remission. >> blood products -- a lifesaving blood product for them. >> blood cells, plasma, and platelets are important as chemotherapy treatments can wipe out their blood cells. >> reporter: 3

a sweep would put the nats just one game in the n.l. east. these two teams close out the season in about a month up in new york. kirk cousins is the starter aaccording to jay gruden. it's how gruden handles the backup quarterback that will define his tenure. gruden told the media today that he hasn't officially decided who will be his second string quarterback and he'll make that decision once robert griffin iii is medically cleared. he told the media that keeping number 10 on the roster as a backup will not cause any problems. >> we don't feel like he's a distraction at all. he's talented and does great things. you can never have too many quarterbacks in your building. >> we're a team. robert is a part of this team. he's our teammate. and we love him just like he's the starter. nothing has changed in his locker room. no adversity in here. everybody's together, man. we still have the same goal in mind. so does he. we're just wrapping our hands around everybody. >> when you see greatness you really need to embrace it and take it all in. so jus

the marlins beat the nats 6-5. so now the nats five games back of the mets in the a.l. east. you got that? >> yeah, we got it. >>> north of the border we go. khris davis. the orioles and the toronto blue jays. davis with already one home run in the game. in the sixth inning takes drew hutchinson to left center. 40th of the year. 4-2 orioles. now the very next pitch, davis barely in the dugout when matt wieters out near where the hotel is in the skydome. off the glove of ben live revere. the final 10-2. big win for them. >>> to soccer and the united states men's national team. they hit town this week. eager, dare i say it, to reboot? soccer team rebooting. after all, the u.s. was a disnoymt this summer's gold cup, lose. and now with the showdown against mexico less than a month away, tonight's was a friendly with purpose. home field advantage, 24th appearance. most of any stadium in the world. not much advantage early. down 1-0 until the 59th minute. jose altidore's shot is saved, but he would not be denied. they have to give the ball back. nine minutes later, creating space.

the n.l. east race. go inside nats park and pick it up in the fourth inning. it was fun early, the mets lead 3-0. ramos, crushes one to deep left field. out of here. the crowd goes nuts. nats take a 4-3 lead after the grand slam. but the mets took the lead. cespedis gave new york insurance. david wright, he is going to try to score from first. he is safe at the plate. mets score three in the eighth inning and go on to win. 8-5 was the final. the nats are five games back off the mets with a disappointing clubhouse. >> even thinks they could have done better today. starts with me. i know i can pitch better. i give them credit. i am not here to shy away from that. i'm sure everybody in the clubhouse thinks they could have done something better today. robert: switching things up here. big night in college football. virginia tech hosng the number one team in the country. ohio state. now, that game will be in blackburg so the home field advantage should help. talk about starting your season off with a bank. last year they beat ohio state 35-21. i was told they ended

they drove in all four runs in the nats win. after a second homer, harper gave matt williams a hug. williams has been on the hot seat but he gave confidence in the nats manager and talked about that embrace. >> we talk about what he was going to do with me and how to approach it. matt is great. talk about hitting and what he thinks about the approach and who i am facing. erin: harper endorses the skipper. the mystics and the wizards will have a state-of-the-art facility. they unveiled the plans for the practice facility. 5,000 seat arena for the mystics that play at verizon center. the new arena is completed by fall of 2018. leon: that will be interesting to see how it transforms the neighborhood. bring business to the area as well. maureen: what is going on in your world? >> not much. the next few days mostly sunny skies. 86 and 87. we are increase in humidity levels saturday. a cold front will come through and bring in the cooler temperatures. it's partly cloudy, breezy and good football weather sunday. fed ex. 82 for a high. cooler monday, tuesday, wednesday, a chance to have a sh

the season. holden kushner s waat nats park. he has reaction from harper. >> reporter: a very busy home finale for the washington nationals, bryce harper and mike rizzo both addressing the incident yesterday where jonathan papelbon choked bryce harper. >> bryce had some accountability in the issue. we thought that to discipline papelbon the way we did and the bryce was unfair and you could see by the type of discipline that we placed on both players that we thought which was weighed the most and we felt that they're both equal and equitable ways to handle the situation. >> as much as i need him, he needs me, you know. i figure us being a family here and doing the things we need to do to win the world series. he's part of that. i think being able to go into next year and do the things we need to do, we'll worry about next year. if he's going to be our closer, he's got to do what he can to help this team win and the same thing with me. >> reporter: harper said he's yet to talk to papelbon but said he'd like to talk to him in person

at the nats ballpark, tom sherwood, news 4. >> you have an opinion, tom? thumbs up or thumbs down on williams? >> he was manager of the year last year, and i think the team sank on a lot of teams and it wasn't the manager's fault. >> what a waffly way to answer a direct question. >> man! >> never mind! >> listen, i cover politics. i know how to play it. >> yeah, we learned that! we asked you folks to weigh in on the suspension. so far most have said that jonathan papelbon should have been suspended each longer, in fact, more than 60% felt that way. the team is also weighing in today, carol maloney with a look ahead at what's coming up in sports. >>> we're following the latest developments out here at nats park. jonathan papelbon suspended. bryce harper out for today and manager matt williams is under fire. and the gm, mike rizzo talking about the future of the nats closer coming up later in sports. >> still ahead, a top school official under fire, now thousands of students may be asked to leave school, and that's just part of the problem. >> a confrontation

>> as nick said the nats were knocked out of playoff contention for the weekend but they'll try to leave nats park on a winning note this afternoon. the first pitch is set for 3:05. >>> showers could be moving in tonight or tomorrow. howard is up next with the forecast. >> a lot of humidity around. very muggy, sticky. not feeling like fall just yet. the allergy index has come n. the mold spores are mod -- come in. the mold spores are moderate. everything else is low. we'll talk about the >>> federal investigators want to know why the duck boat involved in a deadly crash didn't have its axle fixed. the national transportation safety board says the fix was reld in 2013 -- recommended in 2013. five people were killed last week in seattle in the crash. it's unclear if the company that owns the vehicle was even aware of the warning. >> we'll be conducting a three- day scan ever the bus and the duck as well as the aurora bridge where the accident occurred. the 3-d scan of the bridge will provide additional information about the physical characteristics of the bridge, including curbing, rail he

the nats were trying to keep their slim chance of making the post-season alive. the os on the other hand they still have a shot at making the wild card in the american league. manny machado got plunk bud got his revenge in his first plate appearance. that drives in the first run of the ball game. let's move ahead to the bottom of the seventh. yunel escobar has been hot in september. i mean hot, this drives in matt den dekker. he's going to score. right behind him trying to make a play, the relay throw and he is out. matt williams, mads stokkelien emoji sad face. now a two run bomb right here. the birds are up 5-4. that would be your final. the gnats get swept. matt williams, he sounds like he's in denial right now. >> it's disappointing but we have more to play. we have one tomorrow had a lead and couldn't hold it today. that's baseball. it happens. >> more to play? >> it over till it's over guys. so the nats not mathematically done just yet but it gets tougher seeing how the mets won. they're seven and a half back with seven to play before they face off in the n

mid-70s by the last out and the nats are still alive. hang in there. look at our forecast for the rest of the labor day weekend coming up inner loop the red cities in multimillion dollar quarterback question has been answered. robert griffin iii stays. >> cut him or keep him. redskins knew they had to pay him. robert griffin iii has to be cleared from his concussion to play. but jeff darlington reported red kins had already made up their mind that rg3 is still very much in their plans. they consider robert griffin iii the second best quarterback on team and he'll be the back up to court cousins. the risk if griffin suffers an injury in a game or practice that prevents him from passing his end of season physical the redskins are on the hook for his 2016 salary of $16 million. that's the risk. coming up later in sports, critical words from a former d.c. united star whose career was cut short by a concussion. he'll be talking about the doctor who examined rg3. >>> all right. so i think a lot of people safe to say have been in a pillow fight. has yours ende

scary swing today. 37th homer and the hair flip of the year. nats up 2-1. re tied atop of the fifth. bases loaded for jayson werth. two outs and the former philly just teeing off the night. a grand slam here. he add up the low shot. five rbis tonight. got to 6-2 lead. jordan zimmermann, he didn't give up six or more runs all last year, but he did tonight. that's cody ash jacking this ball deep to right center. three-run shot. ties the game at six. eight strikeouts and six runs allowed for zim. extra innings. skip to the 11th. man on the corners for yunel escobar. dan espinosa. and that's how they do it. while i was watching "american ninja warrior" nats win it in 11 innings, 8-7 the final. >>> orioles play-off hopes swim, but they're hosting the red sox. adam jones leads the league in fun. birds up 1-0. chris savvas hustling around from first. crush showing off the speed and rbi double for jones. and the birds, they beat the red sox, 2-0. they have won five of their past six. don't look now, birds. > >>> almost! so close! he did it! jeff briton did it! oh my

. >> offensive explosion by the nats. maureen: breaking news from aspen hill where news chaper 7 is over a serious car crash. this is south of the intercounty connector. six people have been hurt and extra ambulances headed to the scene. we will bring you more information as soon as we get it. the end of delays may finally be in sight for the d.c. streetcar line. two-mile line runs along a street in northeast. it was supposed to open last year. this is one year since the empty cars began running for testing. while ddot won't say when they will carry the passengers, "7 on your side" investigator chris papst says it's getting closer. chris: if you were to drive down h street in the next few days you are sure to notice construction related to the streetcar. this project is to reconstruct the platform. >> this type of money spent has a lot of people in the area optimistic about the future of the streetcar. and for good reason. iteam learned if ddot stays on schedule next week it could reach a significant milestone. for busines

mike: the nats host the mets again tonight. the game is three hours from now. another hot and humid one. we will see how it impacts attendance tonight. we are still seeing harper jerseys out here. reporting live at the ballpark, mike carter-conneen. jonathan: all right, thanks. that leads us to the question of the day. what do you think of bryce harper's comments about the fans? log on to wjla.com or go to the facebook page to join the conversation. we'll share some of your comments later in the newscast. alison: well, still to come here on "abc7 news at 4:00" -- making another change. look at the latest change to the church doctrine before pope francis heads to the u.s.. jonathan: later -- >> he was running like any little kid does and fell in a hole. jonathan: the race to rescue a baby -- or i should say a boy and a dog after a freak accident. alison: but first, back to class. look at the major change for a local school system as students head back to school. jonathan: we head to break, a look at the picture. check it out. pics@wjla.com. today was this little

the nats explode for five runs in the second. jayson werth, getting a hold of this one.t center and gone. three-run jack. 5-0, nationals. effortarper with this with swing, a golf shot. this kid's strength is ridiculous. 8-4.win the mets lose to the marlins, so the lead in the nl east is now down to four games. #interesting. if you are not watching women's tennis right now, shame on you. you are missing out on arguably the greatest athlete of our generation. i said it. it's serena williams belongs in any conversation about the greatest not only in her sport but all sports. serena and fellow american madison keys in the fourth round . both players have powerful groundstrokes. serena was in control. set 6-3 in 30rst minutes and continued her dominance in the second set. he's doublefaults on match 6-3, 6-3ving serena a win. serena is three wins away from the calendar grand slam. no woman has done that since steffi graf in 1988. her sister venus had no problems . ,n her round of 16 matchup venus, showing she still has good court movement, getting to this forehand. 6-2, six-on

it is ending ugly for the nats, right? ew storen broke his thumb when he slammed the lock box in his locker in frustration on wednesday. that after giving up the go-ahead home run to the mets. storen struggled mightily in that series and will likely miss the rest of the season. wow. >> to the game. >> the sore hand. >> this guy, jose fernandez, just got off the dl. and he made the nats look like statues at the plate. struck out seven. not rusty at all. two hitter. struck out seven. nats had three hits overall. miami had 12. marlins win 2-0. washington nine and a half back after the mets win tonight. wow. crash and burn. >> bad. >> it's a rough ending. >> rough sportscast you got. >> yeah, i should have been wearing all black today. >> a veil and what not? >> it was a four-game deficit. now nine and a half. >> that went south fast. >> wow. >> so are we finished with it's also a story about canals and the artificial heart,oers. electric guitars and rockets to the moon. in other words, this is the story of america- land of the

thanks for working with neighbors. [ joking ] >> the nats down. the tatar man can and he will tie it up late. and the reliever giving the tying run. going into the extra innings. a play at the plate. jayson werth, how. but the catcher drops it. and the nats win. 5-4. at the mets win as well. but are still eight back. wow. tough night there. winning but still losing. >> mistakes tonight. the playoff series. good thing these ladies are union. they are working overtime. and they are still getting paid. and a layup. when 86-183. taking a lead. >> and a battle here. a tough year for howard. but freeman finding the end zone. the fullback -- let's show you the first touchdown of the year. outscoring 125-0. a tough loss. >> wrapping up football friday with a snappy salute to the kiddos who battle even when the scoreboard looked bleak. a lot of one-sided contest in the district. virginia, a little bit of both. let's show you montgomery county tonight. game of the week. sherwood taking on magruder. sherwood -- there like donald trump. they just put up a wall

it did turn into a disappointing season for the nats. harper and strasburg ♪ when was the last time you felt... free. it's time to uncover that feeling again. with the compassion and strength of a name... most accepted by top doctors and specialists. and the power of a card... that opens doors in all fifty states. giving you the freedom to love to dream to dance like no one is watching. carefirst blue cross blue shield. live fearless. >>> now wusa9 game on sports with kristen berset brought to you by xfinity. >> june 8th, 2010, a memorable night here in d.c., the debut of a 21-year-old pitching phenom named stephen strasburg. he dazzled a standing only crowd with 100-mile an hour fastballs and 14 strikeouts. this time tonight in philadelphia he impressed us yet again. strasburg delivered one of his best orperfmances ever tonight. he tied his career high with 14 strikeouts tonight right down the middle allowing just one hit in eight innings, 27 strikeouts in his last two games. split screen to bryce harper because had he yet another multi-

the nat runs, 5-1. bryce harper keeping the offense going.34, going for home run number 34 on the season. this of the solo variety. nats, they are up, 6-1. they go on to win this one, final score, 8-4. the mets losing today, the nationals just four games back. >> we haven't quit. that's the biggest thing. we have kept going. we kept grinding. we believe in each other. and you know, we got a long way to go, but everybody believes in each other. >> feels like we got a long way to go. good series against the braves, guys swung the bats well, pitched well, we got a lot of work to do >> i just love how they are pulling off, clean shaved, bearded one. orioles hawaiian shirts everywhere, o's and blue jays, toronto hitting the long ball today, bottom of the first, jhje bautis bautista. he unloads, jace up 3-0. in the third, blue jays bringing more lumber. a two-run blast. toronto, a 5-0 lead. things worse for the birds, of course, tillman, in the fourth, teeing off, a solo shot, blue jays slug three home runs off tillman. major league lead, they take

indicative of the season. nats lose 2-1. return to the practice field tomorrow, preparing for sunday's game against the eagles. everybody will be watching desean jackson. jay gruden said he will be ready to play this week. a couple of guys you will not be playing, the starting guard seamus out, who was put -- sean lavalle, who was carted off thursday night against the giants with an ankle injury. first day of training camp for the wizards. head coach randy wittman says the intensity was there. it will have to be because they plan to turn up the transition game. .izards first-round draft pick with the injury of their newcomer alan anderson, he could get a lot of tract is in training camp. for now, it is get with the program. >> a lot of learning for a guy like kelly. he will make mistakes. he has to be patient. 11 of these guys were with us/year. having an understanding of what we do, how we do it, the pace we do it at, it is all new for a guy like kelly. robert: i'm a derrick rose fan, but another surgery is scheduled for the

. >>> up next, a milestone for the nats' ryan zimmerman. >>> jason up next. but first here is jimmy fallon. >> thanks, guys. justin bieber is my guest tonight. we're going to talk, perform, maybe a drama. plus we have a >>> this is the xfinity sports desk, brought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. >> well, they're up. but we've been up before. >> like last night and the night before. >> let's not jinx it. don't blame me for it. >> calm down. >> calm down, doreen. all right. another night. the nationals had another late game lead. and just like the previous two nights, the bull pen was horrible. but don't worry, because matt williams is the manager, and he'll get blamed for everything no matter what. #blame matt. hash tag, sarcasm. tyler wians just called up from aaa today. ryan zimmerman says i'll take a aaa pitcher. going yard. 199 in his career. later on in the sixth inning, we're tied at two. zimmerman at the plate again. home run number 200 here. he was outstanding tonight. providing the offense for the nats. they go up 3-2 nats. the b

throw home is cut off and the nats lose 8-5. they are five games back. after the game, bryce harper expressed displeasure with the fans. >> they left in the 7th. that is brutal. i don't know. whatever. >> i'm disappointed i wasn't ailing to hold the lead. something i take pride in. get some offense and hit a big grand slam. you go up 5-3. frustrating for me i wasn't able to do that. robert: switching gears. virginia tech hosting the national champions ohio state. this game is in blacksburg. home field advantage should help. talk about starting off with a bang. last year they beat ohio state. at the horseshoe. this the quarterback on the excitement. >> i'm sure that everybody in the university will be fired up about it. i heard they canceled class that day. >> how many time dos we start out national tv, monday night, blacksburg against the number one and the number one by far? to me this is big. we take care of it after that. after that. robert i'm jealous. classes were never cut short for me, any big game. back to you. jonathan: all right, thanks. we'll b

the skins begin the season in seven days, and all of a sudden, the nats have a heartbeat, the mets lookede they were running away with it, but the nats

now to the nats and free from the shackles of being in st. louis, they busted loose in their 15-1 lynn wynn last night over this weekend series home against the braves and manager matt williams called it power and patience and since we are in d.c., we begin with, what? power. >> power. >> that's right. good even. ryan zimmer, 3-3, rbi against the braves, over last 11 games, batting .400, seven homeser, 23 rbi, just terrific from ryan zimmerm zimmerman. bryce harper making history with patience. cue up "walk this way" by aerosmith, score four bucks a, four walks, record rbi, 20 pitches shall didn't swing once. the four runs he scored coming without actual recording an official at-bat. wow, well done. >>> jurgen klinsmann, national men's soccer team in town earlier this week, practicing at american university for tonight's match against peru at rfk stadium, kickoff at 7:30. the u.s. team has played more games at rfk than any other stadium in the world. tonight will be the red, white and blue's 24th game on east capital street and never mind the

alison: what is going on with the fight with the nats. jonathan: they're supposed to be fighting the other team, not each other. robert: that's what i'm talking about. when you don't make the playoffs , it's a thing. the postseason is out of reach for the nats. ♪ ♪ hush my darling... ♪ don't fear my darling... ♪ the lion sleeps tonight. [snoring.] ♪ hush my darling... [snoring.] ♪ don't fear my darling... ♪ the lion sleeps tonight. [snoring.] take the roar out of snore. yet another innovation only at a sleep number store. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn nch,. the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought that sent hay prices soaring, the owners had to act fast. thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. and with greater financial clarity and a relationship built for the unexpected, she could control her cash flow, and keep the ranch running. chase for business. so you can own it. >> and now the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your

it's getting late for the nats. robert: it is max scherzer is pitching tonight but he is struggling, too. leon: not encouraging. robert: that is not encouraging at all. another letdown by the nats last stand. where they stand in playoff race. and rgiii honored for giving back to the community next in sports. announcer: now the toyota sports desk. brought to you by your local toyota dealers. robert: the redskins had the annual 54th welcome home lunchen benefiting the work of the foundation. robert griffin iii received the salute award. he is the son of two u.s. army sergeants. he commented after receiving the award. rgiii: this is an honor to be in position to have the platform and give back in a positive way. that is a choice you have to make. i'm blessed to have the teammates that led me in the right direction to use my platform for positive thing. in the military the one thing you have is your word. if you give your word to someone that means you will follow through. i give my word to the teammates, family, milita

tomorrow will be a must-win game for us. >> it wouldn't be the nats without injuries. so let's get to the updates. ryan zimmerman out wique injury these other type of things that can linger. clint robinson is in. denard span is out for the rest of the season. going to florida for rehabilitation. may not see him in a nationals uniform. again he's a free agent. live from nationals park where the nats have to beat the mets tonight. >>> the maryland terrapins open their 2015 saturday at college park with the richmond spieders. but one stad out on the football field -- stood out on the football field. he surpassed his 2014 season total in one game with 233 punt return yards which also set a big-10 record held since 1939. he finished with 296 all- purpose yards. that performance deservedly so earned him player of the week. >>> this is the 27th meeting tonight between the williams sisters. sareeberena holds a slight edge on the series, three victories away from a calendar grand slam. she must beat her big sister to keep it alive. >> you focus on winning the match even though c

. >> blows in the nats dugout between closer bryce harper and jonathan papelbon. hello. i'm debra alfarone. the disappointing season came to a head today. they lose another game, but that's far from the story. a fight broke out in the team dugout. let's get straight to what led papelbon to go for harper's throat amid a disappointing season. dave, what's this all about? >> you get the feeling this was brewing last week. papelbon hits a guy in the orioles series. bryce harper said i don't know if that's the thing to do, but boy, it got ugly today. like you say, it's been a frustrating season, but today in the 8th i saw something i haven't seen in a while. bryce harper jogs to first base and his teammate jonathan papelbon didn't think he ran hard enough and here's what happened. look at. this harper comes back to the dugout. words get exchanged and then it's on. papelbon seems to initiate contact between the two, grabs harper by the throat. harper comes right back at him. for a brief moment the dugout was chaos. the guys had to be pulled away from one another. harper didn't

take a look at the nats by the numbers. the nats well, they are currently six games behind the mets in the n.l. east. six was the amount of runs that the nationals gave up in the sixth inning. the manager matt williams finds himself on the hot seat. >> this is part of the job. i know we are doing everything we can to win a game. we stand by each other. i support our guys. we are in this together. maureen: -- erin: the countdown continues for kirk cousins. he must be relieved as he enters the season as a starting quarterback. a position he has never been in before in the nfl. >> this is a big game and important. i will acknowledge that. it's my job to stay relax and enjoy the process and the moment. have fun and put a smile on my face. he has to rely on what the defense gives him. we have confidence in him. erin: georgetown coach received a top honor. leon: the bet now is what they will look better than the skins do. who is better? >> i'm going with kirk cousins. doug: not a bad call. the showers continue in charles county.

the sweep is complete. nats now back seven games of new york, just 23 left to play. >> pretty devastating. a lot more optimistic coming into in series i guess than exiting it. but it is over now? until the numbers tell you it's over, it's not over. we still have jobs to do. we prepare for tomorrow and try to put our best foot forward tomorrow. >>> let's head to the bronx now. the o's trying to get out of their own little slump, facing the yankees. top of the fifth, bases loaded. two on for jonathan scope grounds to third and catches a break here. the o's are going to score two runs off this and tie the game at three. in the top of the eighth, now we're still tied at three. steve pearce will send this ball deep to left field. this one headed to the bull pen. a solo home run. that gives the orioles a 4-3 lead. they would win by a final score of 5-3. >>> let's talk about the redskins for a moment. the skins have been picked to finish last in the nfc east by just about every expert out there. now, if it makes you fe

the nats won tonight, too. pretty special. that's a special talent. got enough of the ball and he wanted to continue doing that. >> one year ago the orioles clenched the ale title. dustin pedroia making it 9-1 and then 10-1 the final. a monumental difference starting 2-0 and 1-1. all six teams that started 0-2 missed the playoffs. the redskins are hosting a st. louis team coming off with a lot of momentum despite mistakes the rams found a way to beat the champions in overtime and the redskins struggled to do that in miami. >>> you see the guys pulling it out in overnight, you know it just shows the fight they had. we can be dealing with a more dangerous team with them being 1-0. they got great ayplers on the team and i know coach fisher will get them ready to play. >> the redskins don't want to go 0-2. with jackson out, the redskins average under six years and jackson is out and kirk cousins says it is a big loss but not detrimental. >> did it affect the offense in a big way, no. it was not what we wanted but there will certainly be times that we bene

robert: 4-3 in the 8th. nats trying to avoid st. louis. and ryan zimmerman. we will update you on that. >> and now, the toyota sports desk, brought to you by a local toyota dealers. nats are running out of time, trying to avoid this week -- the sweep in st. louis. game tied at 1-1. ryan zimmerman continues to be a big bat. here is a solo shot to left. that would make it 2-1, nats. top of the sixth inning, game tied. ryan zimmerman is not done. another solo shot. this one to center. it is 3-2, nats. he has homered seven times in his last nine games. right now, the nats lead it 4-3. o's have lost 12 out of their third -- their last 13. look at steve pearce. #topten. this one went into trainings. thes go to the bottom of 11th. look at chris davis. this would be a walkoff. o's snapped a losing streak, 7-6. iii in the news today and it is drama free. no facebook or twitter posts. you saw that could get you in trouble. he was honored as the redskins welcome back luncheon. robert is the son of two military parents. very grateful for his recognition. >> i am blessed t

can the senates become the third -- can the nats become the third? the odds so everyone is saying, "hey! you gotta get fios!" but why? well, fios is a 100 percent fiber optic network to the home, so you can get access to the fastest internet and in-home wi-fi available. and fios gives you big capacity too. so everyone in the house can get online. but the main reason to get fios? we're rated number 1 in customer satisfaction. ultimately, that's why. get 25 meg fios internet, tv & phone starting at $79.99 a month. plus get $350 back. hurry, offer ends september 19th. get out of the past. get fios. hey! let me help with that. oh, thank you! ♪ introducing the one-and-only volkswagen golf sportwagen. the sportier utility vehicle. dunkin' k-cup packs in my life were a good fit. a single serving for myself, it's pretty special. it is like having a dunkin' store in my home which is what i've always dreamed of. bring home delicious dunkin' k-cup packs today. your coffee, your dunkin'. dunkin' has a dark roast coffee that's deliciously roasted just right for a

the nats win, the mystics win.skins, on to the gearing up for their showdown sunday against the rams. the key injuries are jordan reed with a quad injury. several players are gametime decisions. stadium, the annual battle, the pirates score early. he finds thomas allen all alone. loan coverage, 21 yard t.d. thet now, hampton leads in fourth. and for all of tonight's high school football action, or to high school sports final on new's channel 8. i will be hosting and it starts in five minutes. i'm running over now. leon: no heels? steve: i will have to watch. tributelarger-than-life to the country music star. leon: this video came in from wisconsin, a corn maze. this is garth brooks, in case you were wondering. shout out andem a share the picture when he announced his new tour dates. his family was invited to be his personal guest. acres,n maze covers 11 their most ambitious one yet. sure, tv has evolved over the years. it's gotten squarer. brighter. bigger. it's gotten thinner. even curvier. but what's next? for al

to the north we go, nats park now is okay. we're looking at just a little light shower off to the dry. right now the park is dry. we think the game will be in with no problem. we'll come back and talk about showers overnight and tomorrow morning. >>> in capitol heights prince george's county police are expressing a triple shooting leaving one man dad and sent two others to the hospital in critical condition. it happened overnight in the 6800 block of jade court. 25-year-old salas was found dead on the scene. another woman and man were found shot. >> we u.s. in say in did not appear to be random. -- we must say this does not appear to be random. >> for the most day police have been back in that neighbor patrolling the area. we don't know how the victims somehow knew each other. >>> a d.c. man faces manslaughter and other charges in an alleged drunk driving crash that killed two children and three women. >> two of those women were sisters who had between them 10 children, all of them now without their mothers. the crash took plac

that's what the nats need. the start of play tonight, down five games to the fist place mets but hosting the team with the worst road record in baseball. that's what erica was talking about, the atlanta braves. why not pole magic in the house. also the home run going. this one to his 500th career hit. bounces the pitch off the plate. christian betancourt, coming home third, now he tries the throw. that gets away. ian desmond, why don't you come on home, and he does. he didn't know what happened. all right, gang, what happened? there's possible heads there. it might be the nats fans. three homers on the night for the mets. they beat the marlins 7-0. i can't even look at this. they're strapped on a tower. only going about 400 plus feet. ho hay bautista, 1,000 feet like that tower. put the jays up 1-0. coming home from second to score. not enough. six games behind the race in the american league wild card. maryland opened at home today against richmond. ever have a gut feeling? junior said he thought it would be a

kelly johnson gets the second home run. nats chipping away in the fourths. wilson ramos makes the grand slam just -- 4th. wilson ramos makes the grand slam just look so easy. pitching the problem today. nats use four relievers in the 7th inning. they gave up three runs. the mets win 8-5 and move to five games ahead of the nats. >> they're able to absolutely punish me when i'm up. i accept that. i'm not here to shy away from that. i just know that i'm sure everybody in this clubhouse thinks i could have done something better today. >> they go back at it, got two more games. they need to at least get one of them. two would be nice. >> mathematically still not impossible, but my goodness. >> still not impossible and they have five games. they close the season with the mets so, that co the artificial heart, this ielectric guitarsdoers, and rockets to the moon. it's the story of america- land of the doers. doin' it. did it. done. doers built this country. the dams and the railroads. ♪john henry was a steel drivin' man♪ hmm, catchy. they built the golden gates and

no miracles at the nats park, marlins playing the role of spoiler as well. in front of their fans for the next 11 games. they fell behind early. desmond crushes this ball. that was a two-run shot and would tie the game at 2. it was a tough game. he was facing justin bour. he has four home runs in seven games against the nationals. he is a nat killer. that put the marlins up 6-2. ro washi he was pulled after five innings of work. and bases loaded, chance to be a herohere, comes through and 6-4, marlins lead, four rbi in this game for desmond. a couple batters later, bases full again for michael a. taylor but he strikes out. that was as close as nationals would get and lose 6-4 and move back to eight games in the division. >>> down to tampa, orioles, 5 1/2 games back in the al wild card race, bottom of the third, no score, jon jay son. he hits this ball high, so high it goes up and it stays up. >> what? >> an old rule things that go up must come down. outfielder alvarez cold believe it, a solo home run. it's still out there in the rafter somewhere. adam jones,

ant toan: if the nats w play into october, they may want to start winning. robert: they did not do it today, so that does not help. the nationals are five games back of the mets. max scherzer was disappointed with his performance. and now the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealers. robert: talk about kicking your season off with a bang, virginia tech opens up against the number one team in the country, ohio state. hokies started slow, but came alive in the second quarter. gruber drops back, fine sam rogers. hokies within seven after that. ohio state, braxton miller was a quarterback for the buckeyes, now he is a receiver, now he is playing quarterback. ohio state takes the lead. 's quarterback leaves with a broken collarbone. right now, ohio state leading 42-17 in the fourth quarter. the most important series for the nats, another chance to gain ground today. bottom of the fourth inning, the mets lead. wilson ramos, bases-loaded, crushes it deep to left, of here. lead after the-3 grand slam. but the mets take the 7-5 lead in the seven

the nats meet -- the nats beat the marlins. a scary moment for bryce harper. jayson werth would ground out. may the return towards third. collides at second. harper was down for several minutes. he hustles around second. looks like he banks on d church. matt williams said he was ok after the game. now 9.5 games behind the mets. some sad news to report. the nba losing a legend. moses malone was only 16 years old. back to you in the studio. kelly: thank you so much. kelly: it included a 40 k bike course and a 10k run. proceeds benefit leukemia and live from a society. the adams morgan day festival feature plenty of food as well as art and music. time for so many events. >> wasn't tocold to be a party. maybe just a right day for you. i was told that brees was perfect today. thought it may be a bit too breezy today we will start with that tonight. temperatures reaching about to mid 70's. we start off chilly tomorrow morning. that is the main facet. we could be down lower to mid 40's. even mid 50's downtown. we'll start to warm up. it starts to feel a little bit mo

the nats offense found a little fire. onals win their final home game 5-1, but afterwards all mike rizzo could talk about was the fight. >> every player acquisition we make, make up in character are a big portion of the evaluation process and we thought that what happened in the incident in the dugout was unacceptable and we acted accordingly. >> now believe it or not it's time to start talking some basketball. >>> washington wizards open training camp tomorrow up at towson university as they begin their quest for a championship. the wizards still feeling the sting from another early postseason exit, but today guys were all smiles at the verizon center for media day. interviews, pictures, even a new wizards champion ship belt they are using as a little motivation. forward drew gooden gave us his interesting take on why he thinks this team will be an even stronger contender. >> we have i think about 10 guys right now that are going to be free agents next summer. so there's going to be a lot of guys in tune not only collecti

storen can't believe it and strasburg like every nats fan shaking his head. mets completing the down seven with 23 games to go. >> well, i want to do everything we can to win a baseball game. i look at it every morning i get up and i look in the mirror and say, you know, do whatever you have to do today to help us win a game. so can we all do a better job? sure. >> yes. >>> the day is almost here, redskins fans. the regular season for washington begins this sunday at fedex field against the miami dolphins. the players are ramped up excited to hit the field and show you all the hard work they put in to making you forget about just seven wins over the last two seasons. the offense will have their hands full with that -- full with suh and this defense who names themselves capital punishment are prepared to go live up to the nickname. >> it's just pressure on our defense to go out there and outperform their defense. we fool like we have a great front, but the talking is done. the regular season is here. we're putting in the work in practice and in the film room and it's put up or sh

the inning, win 8-5. division lead back to five games. with more, natsbecoming that much more critical, especially those coming against the team they are trying to chase down for the division. today at the park, it felt like a playoff-like atmosphere, but much like the nationals' bullpen, their fans slowly started to fade away. >> i mean, they left in the seventh. so, that's pretty brutal. but, you know, i don't know. i don't know. whatever. >> i think it's frustrating because everybody think these could have done something better today. it starts with me. i know i can pitch better. >> what do you expect coming out tomorrow? >> just hungry. and shake off this tough loss and just come off ready to play. find a way to beat these guys it is very important. >> reporter: tomorrow doesn't get any easier for the nation ast. they will face one of the best pitchers in all of baseball in matt harvey. from nats park, i'm jason pugh, news4 sports. >> thank you, jane. >>> orioles visit the yankees buck show walter chatting it one matt weeders. sore left wrist, pickin

here's the futurecast. 10:00 tonight, still rain and showers. not going to let up that much at nats park unfortunately. look at the temps, 59 in gaithersburg. 60 in manassas and buoy. 64 downtown. kind of cool. by 6:00 in the morning, futurecast showing some light. upper 50s, a lot of clouds, low 60s downtown. by midmorning, nothing crazy heavy. just cloud cover. even by 1:00 we're inching our way to 72 downtown and 69 in gaithersburg. even showers off to the west and perhaps a couple breaks in the clouds as we get in to the 5:00 or 6:00 hour tomorrow with temperatures in the low to mid 70s. day planner, solid clouds through 1:00. 72 by 1:00. we're in good shape for the pope. 80 degrees. sunshine and still nice on thursday in the upper 70s. next seven days, a bit unsettled. friday, saturday, sunday, monday. temperatures in the 70s through sunday, back to around 80 on monday and the nats in town, last home stand through monday. >>> the burgundy and gold had less than 24 hours to celebrate their first victory of the season. now their focus must quickly shift to their next opponent. a

leon fist pumping, the nats win big. as the nationals are winning, the mets have dropped two straight to the marlins. martin prado gets his 800 the season. the mets lose to miami 6-0, which means the nationals are 7.5 games back. the boston red sox on fire against the orioles. with his second homer of the night as the red sox beat the orioles 10-1. the redskins were back on the practice field, gearing up for the rams at home sunday. they want to work on special teams after giving up a 69 yard punt return for a touchdown to the dolphins last week. think gets more difficult this week as the rams have a guy twod austin scored touchdowns against the seahawks last weekend, including a touchdown all the way to the house. coach gruden: we have to do better in all phases. he took one back last week. he is a dangerous there, both as a returner and receiver and running back. meantime, the wizards and mystics will have a new state-of-the-art facility in southeast washington. ted leonsis and mayor bowser unveiled plans for a practice

the nats came back from a six- run deficit to win 8-7. >>> some of the best stuff we saw on social media you can't even say on television because we'd be bleeping everything out. comedian and mets fan jim brewer even expressed his condolences to nats fans. listen. >> the magical mets first of all, my heart goes out to all the nationals fans. to know that you just crushed harvey, sent him away seven runs. you lean in the 7th and then you just blow it away. >> did he smoke something before that? >> he doesn't care about us. >> he's totally gone. >> joining nows is web producer -- joining us now is web producer joni v. >> matt tweeted i'm sorry, but the marshalls are pathetic. this is to take nothing away -- nationals are pa theftic. there is not to take away from the mets. >> this is not nearly as demoralizing as the last two losses and jake tweeted put a stake in the nationals. there's no coming back from that horrific night last night. >> manager matt williams was booed leaving his press conference. people are not happy about him either. >> that's right. he's definitely taking a lot of h

the eighth. pinch-hit home run. nats put two on in the ninth, but the mets closer gets escobar to ground into the around the horn double play. does this feel like the post season already? that's the win of the year. six games, the lead, after an improbable comeback victory. matt harvey thankful for that. degrom tries to pdtthch the mets to a sweep tomorrow. >>> yankees beginning the day a game and a half behind the blue jays. trailed against the orioles.t alex driguez, 30th home run of the year. 15th time in his career a-rod reached that plateau. ties a major league record. from tanaka. davis leading off the ninth. leading 41st homer of e yeor. the yanks went down. 2-1, the final. they were left to score board watch and didn't like what they saw in boston. the jays scored four runs in the tenth against the sox, including one on a balk. the jays can't do anything wrong. red sox n't do anything right. toronto's lead is a game and a half on the yankees. > final note, so much for jpp rejoining the giants. he left the team wi