The Milwaukee Bucks have been fined $50,000 for violating league rules that prohibit teams from discussing future player contracts, the league announced Tuesday.

The fine is in response to comments that Bucks general manager Jon Horst made about Giannis Antetokounmpo's contract at a televised town hall on Sept. 12, when he said that the Bucks plan to offer Antetokounmpo a supermax contract worth $253.8 million, the largest in NBA history, next summer.

The collective bargaining agreement stipulates that team officials cannot commit to offer a player a supermax contract until he has played seven seasons. Antetokounmpo, who has played six seasons, will be eligible to sign a supermax contract in July 2020.

At the town hall, Horst initially said that he could not talk about Antetokounmpo's contract situation.

"Giannis, a year from now, will be eligible for a supermax extension," Horst said. "At that time of course he will be offered the supermax extension." He went on to say that building a team culture where players want to show up and work hard is a priority for Milwaukee.

"We all fully believe that if we put the right things in place and give Giannis the right opportunities -- he loves Milwaukee, he loves the state of Wisconsin and I think he will be a Buck a long time," Horst said.

Nets point guard Kyrie Irving caught an inadvertent elbow in the face during a pickup game at Brooklyn's practice facility Tuesday and was sent to the hospital to be evaluated, but general manager Sean Marks said the team was just being cautious.

"I wouldn't even want to speculate at all, but I think it's just a case of doing our due diligence," Marks said, adding that coach Kenny Atkinson accompanied Irving to the hospital. "Kyrie goes and gets checked out like he would anywhere else and we always send staff with him, and it's a great opportunity for Kenny, too."

Atkinson later told NetsDaily.com that Irving was "OK."

Marks, speaking to reporters at the team's media day, also made it clear that the Nets do not plan on having Kevin Durant this season. He is expected to miss the entire season recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon sustained while playing for the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

Marks said Durant's recovery is going well and he believes the 10-time All-Star wants to play this season. Durant will have a say in determining when he's ready, Marks said, but the team is taking a long-term approach and planning on him not playing.

Irving and Durant were the two prize free agents the Nets acquired in a stunning transformation when free agency opened on June 30.

Marks praised his new point guard on Tuesday, saying Irving has already shown leadership and intensity in the team's summer get-togethers. He said Irving has been "religious" in his participation in workouts at the team's practice facility. Marks said he could already see camaraderie building between the team's veterans and young players.

Training camp officially opens for the Nets on Saturday. They're taking part in the NBA's preseason China Games, facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 10 in Shanghai and Oct. 12 in Shenzhen. The Nets open the regular season on Oct. 23 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the ninth season in a row, ESPN.com is predicting the top players in basketball with NBArank.

Who will be the best player this season? To get the final prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players.

LeBron James vs. Kawhi Leonard. Zion Williamson vs. Luka Doncic. Devin Booker vs. D'Angelo Russell.

We asked, "Which player will be better in 2019-20?" To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each player's contributions to his team's ability to win games in the regular season and postseason.

We'll roll out our top 100 players over the next week. Here are Nos. 50 to 31.

More: 100 to 51 | Zion's expectations | Most underrated, overrated

NBArank: 50 to 31

50. Lauri Markkanen

• Chicago Bulls | PF

• Previous rank: 66

• 2019-20 projected RPM wins: 3.4

Chris Herring on Markkanen's February: The Finnish 7-footer was on the biggest tear of his career, averaging 26.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in February on 49% shooting overall and 38% from 3. He and Zach LaVine really started playing well off each other.

49. Klay Thompson

• Golden State Warriors | SG

• Previous rank: 18

• Projected RPM wins: 1.2

Kirk Goldsberry on Thompson's shooting: Thompson has a case as the most terrifying heat-check shooter we've ever seen. Unlike almost any other catch-and-shoot specialist, Thompson has won games in huge moments with ridiculously efficient volume scoring. Who can forget the night in 2016 when he scored 60 points against the Pacers despite dribbling just 11 times and possessing the ball for a total of 90 seconds?!

Thompson has made the third-most 3-point shots this decade, trailing only James Harden and Stephen Curry. But what's incredible is that he did that as second or third banana on one of the era's most dominant teams.

48. Bojan Bogdanovic

• Utah Jazz | SF

• Previous rank: NR

• Projected RPM wins: -0.3

Kevin Pelton on Bogdanovic in Utah: Bogdanovic could be a great fit in the Utah frontcourt next to Rudy Gobert. At 6-foot-8 and a listed 216 pounds, Bogdanovic is relatively similar in size to former Jazz small-ball 4 option Jae Crowder (6-foot-6, 235 pounds). Sliding him down from the wing to the power forward not only gives Bogdanovic a quickness advantage in most matchups, but also makes his shooting ability even more dangerous.

47. John Collins

• Atlanta Hawks | PF

• Previous rank: NR

• Projected RPM wins: 4.7

Brian Windhorst on Collins and Trae Young: Young running the high pick-and-roll with Collins is the new highlight factory in Atlanta, with Collins rolling to the rim to accept lobs from Young in traffic and slamming them down. We've devoted a lot of attention to Young, but Collins' role in the Hawks' machine is just as impressive. Just two years into the development program, Collins has blossomed into a future All-Star, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds in his second season.

46. DeMar DeRozan

• San Antonio Spurs | SG

• Previous rank: 39

• Projected RPM wins: 3.2

Zach Lowe on a DeRozan move: DeRozan loves bringing the ball up the sideline and taking a screen from one of San Antonio's other perimeter players -- a method of getting a smaller defender switched onto him. That is when DeRozan can eat. In the 2019 playoffs, the Nuggets conceded a lot of those switches. When they didn't -- when they blitzed him instead -- DeRozan made the right play.

45. Aaron Gordon

• Orlando Magic | PF

• Previous rank: 41

• Projected RPM wins: 5.0

Lowe on Gordon: Gordon sort of floats around the offense instead of participating in it ... He is talented enough to stumble into 15 points per game this way. He is a solid rebounder and also a stopper on defense across almost every position, if he is dialed in. There is a better player in here, somewhere.

44. Myles Turner

• Indiana Pacers | C

• Previous rank: 48

• Projected RPM wins: 5.0

Tim Bontemps on the Pacers' bigs: Turner and the Pacers agreed to a four-year, $70 million contract extension last fall. Turner rewarded that investment by taking a significant step forward in 2018-19, leading the NBA in blocks and earning himself All-Defensive Team consideration.

43. Kevin Love

• Cleveland Cavaliers | PF

• Previous rank: 24

• Projected RPM wins: 3.6

Windhorst on a possible Love trade: Love is about to start a four-year, $120 million contract extension that he signed last year. The team is eager to see how he'll fit in with new coach John Beilein's system. Love played just 22 games last season because of foot surgery. These facts don't add to a trade scenario. However, Love and the team knew when he signed the deal that there was a good chance he wouldn't finish it in Cleveland, and a trade might be inevitable at some point.

42. Zion Williamson

• New Orleans Pelicans | PF

• Previous rank: N/A

• Projected RPM wins: 2.4

More on Zion: Our NBArank panel placed the No. 1 overall pick of this year's draft 42nd, the highest ever for a first-year player in the nine seasons we've been doing NBArank. That's understandable given that Zion is one of the most promising players to enter the league in recent memory.

Still, is it fair to think any 19-year-old rookie will be one of the league's top 50 players right away? Our experts dive into what to expect this season.

41. LaMarcus Aldridge

• San Antonio Spurs | PF

• Previous rank: 28

• Projected RPM wins: 3.0

Royce Young on the Spurs' expectations: The Spurs just keep on Spurs-ing, and while there are plenty of questions on how they can reclaim space in the upper tier of the West, they remain stable. They dealt with significant injuries last season, but the core of coach Gregg Popovich, big man Aldridge and guard DeMar DeRozan was enough to produce another postseason berth. There's an obvious need for more talent, but the biggest steps forward are getting Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker IV healthy and pushing the development of the other young talented players on the team.

40. Nikola Vucevic

• Orlando Magic | C

• Previous rank: NR

• Projected RPM wins: 7.2

Pelton on Vucevic's breakout season: Never previously considered even an average defender, Vucevic anchored a top-10 defense under new coach Steve Clifford and ranked eighth in the entire NBA in defensive RPM.

39. Kyle Lowry

• Toronto Raptors | PG

• Previous rank: 21

• Projected RPM wins: 8.5

Bontemps on Lowry: Kyle Lowry is listed at 6-foot-1. He is oddly shaped. He'll never be seen as the quickest or most athletic player on the court. And yet, despite all that, he constantly finds himself making winning plays.

38. Draymond Green

• Golden State Warriors | PF

• Previous rank: 16

• Projected RPM wins: 5.5

Pelton on Green's postseason performance: Green's focus has long been on the playoffs rather than the grind of the regular season. And come the postseason, after getting in better shape, he emerged as perhaps the second-most important Golden State player after Stephen Curry during the Warriors' run to the NBA Finals. Green's 13.3 points per game in the playoffs were his most since 2016, and his 8.5 assists per game were a career high.

37. Al Horford

• Philadelphia 76ers | C

• Previous rank: 34

• Projected RPM wins: 3.3

Bobby Marks on Horford's place in Philly's lineups: Although there are questions about the Horford/Joel Embiid fit, the addition of the former Celtic gives head coach Brett Brown an insurance policy when Embiid is out of the game. Philadelphia has the flexibility of putting Tobias Harris at power forward (his true position) to pair with Horford. The same holds true when it comes to moving Josh Richardson to small forward, a position he has played the majority of the past three seasons.

36. Khris Middleton

• Milwaukee Bucks | SG

• Previous rank: 35

• Projected RPM wins: 4.1

Pelton on Middleton's free agency: Using the threat of a lucrative four-year offer from another team, Middleton was able to get the Bucks to guarantee him the fifth season only they could offer, which will pay him $40.5 million at age 32. As a concession, Middleton did take a slight discount from his $190 million maximum contract, agreeing for a reported $178 million. That will save the Bucks about $2 million in 2019-20 salary, which is crucial as Milwaukee budgets for possibly entering luxury-tax territory.

Ultimately, Middleton got $37 million more from the Bucks than any other team could offer (a maximum of four years and about $141 million). Given the low likelihood he would make a starting salary of $37 million as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022, that looks like a wise decision.

35. Jayson Tatum

• Boston Celtics | SF

• Previous rank: 25

• Projected RPM wins: 6.1

Jackie MacMullan on Tatum's sophomore season: The Celtics need more from Tatum, who had an electric rookie season in 2017-18, culminating with a dunk over his childhood idol, LeBron James, in the Eastern Conference finals. Tatum did not build on that success, appearing, at times, curiously passive in 2018-19 and exhibiting occasional defensive indifference.

34. Kristaps Porzingis

• Dallas Mavericks | C

• Previous rank: 59

• Projected RPM wins: 1.1

Herring on projecting the Mavericks: Marking Dallas down for more than 40 wins in the stronger of the two conferences strikes me as a small reach, if only because of how long it might take Porzingis to regain a rhythm after sitting out a season to rehab following his ACL tear.

33. Victor Oladipo

• Indiana Pacers | SG

• Previous rank: 15

• Projected RPM wins: 4.3

Pelton on Indiana making it work while Oladipo recovers: Facing a challenging offseason with four of the team's starters in the 2019 playoffs hitting free agency, the Pacers made moves to maintain and possibly improve their depth, adding Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren, T.J. McConnell and Justin Holiday.

The Pacers still are depending on Oladipo's return at close to full strength for shot creation, but they've given coach Nate McMillan plenty of options in Oladipo's absence.

32. Chris Paul

• Oklahoma City Thunder | PG

• Previous rank: 11

• Projected RPM wins: 6.7

Goldsberry on CP3's transformation: Over Paul's past two seasons, 3-pointers have represented more than 48% of his looks. It has been a remarkable late-career transformation and further evidence that the world's best shooters can thrive and adapt in ways normal shooters can't. One of the most intriguing questions about Paul's next chapter in OKC: Will he go back to his beautiful midrange game?

31. Jrue Holiday

• New Orleans Pelicans | SG

• Previous rank: 27

• Projected RPM wins: 9.4

Marks on Holiday's place in New Orleans: Holiday is an elite defender who can play multiple positions, and he ranked No. 11 overall in ESPN's real plus-minus. Despite trading Anthony Davis in June, New Orleans looks content to build around Holiday and run with a competitive basketball team in Zion Williamson's first season.

More: 100 to 51 | Zion's expectations | Most underrated, overrated

CHICAGO -- Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez said he was "ready to play" after being activated from the injured list on Tuesday. Two home runs later, it seems he might have been understating matters.

The switch-hitting Ramirez smacked a first-inning grand slam in his first plate appearance since Aug. 24, swinging left-handed against Chicago White Sox starter Carson Fulmer. He followed that up with a three-run shot from the right side of plate in the third against reliever Hector Santiago.

With the Indians up 11-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, manager Terry Francona replaced Ramirez in the lineup with Yu Chang. Ramirez finished the game 2-for-3, striking out in his final at-bat. The Indians won by the same score.

"Seven RBIs his first two at-bats when he had surgery and hasn't played in a month, that's unbelievable," Francona said.

Ramirez had missed four weeks during Cleveland's drive for an American League playoff spot because of a broken fractured hamate bone in his right hand.

His seven RBIs through three innings on Tuesday were a career high for a game.

"I was super, super happy," Ramirez said after his big game. "It was great to be back with the guys and help however I [could]."

Ramirez was activated from the 10-day injured list prior to the contest. Ramirez, who turned 27 last week, suffered the hamate injury on Aug. 24 against the Kansas City Royals. He had surgery two days later.

Ramirez said before the game that he's still "not 100 percent on my wrist, but still I feel a big improvement."

The two-time All-Star hit .254 with 20 homers and 75 RBIs in his first 126 games this season. He was on a tear before getting hurt, hitting .320 with 15 homers and 45 RBIs in 46 games in July and August.

"The idea is that he can hopefully play a lot," Francona said pregame on Tuesday. "Pitchers have to respect who he is.

"It's one less position we have to pick and choose or kind of platoon or whatever we've been doing in a couple of positions."

Cleveland is a half-game back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the second AL wild card.

The Indians have been hit hard by injuries all year. Second baseman Jason Kipnis underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday, also for a fractured hamate bone in his right hand.

Before Ramirez went on the IL, he had turned around a subpar first-half performance. Prior to the All-Star break, he hit .218 with a .652 OPS over 85 games. Ramirez began the second half before his injury by hitting .327 with a 1.068 OPS.

After his big outing in Chicago, it appears Ramirez has picked up where he left off.

"From the grand slam to the other [homer], it was really exciting, almost like storybook [for] Jose," Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger said.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Shohei Ohtani will soon navigate through another shortened offseason, this time because of knee surgery that interrupted the late stages of his throwing progression while recovering from Tommy John surgery. But the Los Angeles Angels are hopeful he won't lag too far behind the other pitchers when spring training opens next season.

"I would imagine he'd be a little behind, but I don't think he'll be terribly behind," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. "Really, the issue is him being healthy. We're not going to rush it just to meet some timetable."

Ohtani, wearing a balky brace on his left knee and walking with crutches, spoke to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since undergoing a procedure to address discomfort from bipartite patella, a rare condition caused by the two bones of the kneecap not fusing together at birth. Ohtani, speaking 11 days after surgery, said the rehab process is "coming along smoothly" and that he hopes to begin light throwing "really soon."

The Angels will once again use him as a two-way player next season, planning to start him on the mound once a week and place him in the lineup as a designated hitter four times a week.

"I'm very excited, obviously," Ohtani said through his interpreter, "and since I got this surgery quick, I need to take each day preciously, try to get back early as possible and get back to full strength next season."

The surgery came with an estimated recovery time of 10 to 12 weeks and paused Ohtani's throwing program 11 weeks after he returned to the mound. The Angels' hope is that Ohtani can return to throwing off a mound around late November, then conclude his 2019 throwing program the following month and temporarily shut himself down.

Ohtani dismissed concerns about a shortened offseason because he doesn't believe it affected him this year. Asked if he expects to continue to be the effective two-way player he was as a rookie last year, Ohtani said: "I still need to win my spot in spring training, I feel like. Personally, I'm going to be ready to go."

Ohtani, 25, was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018 while posting a .925 OPS in 367 plate appearances and a 3.31 ERA in 51⅔ innings. This year, he juggled hitting with his recovery from surgery, putting together a .286/.343/.505 slash line as the Angels' primary DH. Ohtani finished with four fewer home runs (18) despite 58 more at-bats and experienced a stark decline in launch angle (from 12.3 degrees to 6.8).

Ausmus believes Ohtani "had a solid offensive year."

Ohtani didn't necessarily agree.

"I felt like I could've put together a lot better season," Ohtani said. "I feel like I was going through struggles that lasted a little too long. It wasn't what I imagined."

WASHINGTON -- Washington is wild.

The Nationals clinched a wild-card berth with a 6-5 win over old friend Bryce Harper and the division rival Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. Technically, the spot wasn't locked up until three minutes after the last out. That's when the Chicago Cubs lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, eliminating them from wild-card contention and sending Washington to the postseason.

The final out of the Cubs-Pirates contest was shown live on the giant video board at Nationals Park. As soon as Chicago slugger Kyle Schwarber grounded out to Pittsburgh's Adam Frazier to end it, the Nationals -- who had calmly congregated along the first-base line -- began their celebration in earnest, bouncing up and down as Panic! at the Disco's "Hey Look Ma, I Made It" blared throughout the stadium. It was a moment that, exactly four months ago, seemed improbable at best.

"I imagined it in spring training," said manager Davey Martinez, whose team was expected to be a World Series contender but went 19-31 over its first 50 games and had the third-worst record in the National League as of May 24.

Despite the slow start, Washington's second-year skipper remained his usual upbeat self.

"I said this team is going to bounce back and turn it around," Martinez said. "I thought we hit the bottom then, but this team -- we get everybody back, we get healthy, we're going to be OK. So let's just keep fighting, and here we are."

Although it's Martinez's first trip to the playoffs, it's the fifth time in eight years for the Nationals. Each of the previous four times, they were division winners. Not that anyone in Washington's clubhouse seemed to mind the team's wild-card status.

"Everybody in this clubhouse envisioned this exact thing right here," said shortstop Trea Turner, whose dramatic grand slam on Tuesday night was the decisive blow and resulted in a rousing curtain call from the surprisingly thin crowd of 22,214. "We talked about it when we were 19-31, we talked about how we were going to laugh at everybody else outside of this clubhouse for everything that they said about us, and we are here now."

"There's still a path for us to win it all," said ace Max Scherzer, who got the win Tuesday night and is expected to start the wild-card game next Tuesday. "We're going to get tested like we've never been tested during the regular season. But I love what this team has together. I love our chemistry. I love what we have. That's what it takes to win in the postseason."

Winning in the postseason is unfamiliar to the Nationals, who've never advanced past the first round in four tries under general manager Mike Rizzo.

"Each season is unique and special," said Rizzo, who joined the Nationals in 2007 and took over as GM two years later. "When you get to put plastic down and pour beer over each other, it's a special season. We don't take that for granted. These are things that a lot of teams wish they were doing."

One of those teams on the outside looking in is the Phillies, who had grand plans when they signed former Nationals star Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract during the offseason, but were eliminated during the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, a 4-1 loss. Their defeat in the nightcap, which came in spite of a pinch-hit homer from Harper, sent the former MVP's old club into celebration mode.

An impromptu conga line formed, propelling players around the clubhouse to the thumping beat of Latin music. Chants of M-V-P filled the Nats' locker room as teammates stood around third baseman Anthony Rendon and showered him with beer. Gerardo Parra led a rousing reprise of "Baby Shark," the toddler tune that the reserve outfielder adopted as his walk-up song earlier this season and has since become something of an anthem in the nation's capital.

"This is so awesome," said reliever Sean Doolittle. "After everything we've been through, coming together after everything over the course of the season and having to crawl out of the hole that we found ourselves in May, it makes it that much sweeter. This is really, really special."

Seven months ago, I boldly declared that the Washington Nationals would be just fine, thanks, without Bryce Harper. It turns out they were more than fine.

After missing the playoffs in 2018, Harper's final campaign in D.C., the Nats are back in the postseason for the fifth time in the past eight years. It's the first time they've been there without Harper, and it's proof positive that there is, in fact, life after Bryce.

Here are five reasons Washington has been able to move on without its former franchise face:

1. Rendon is raking

Although he has one fewer MVP award than Harper, the dirty little secret in the District is that Anthony Rendon has been the team's best and most complete player for several years now. It's a secret finally starting to make its way around the league.

In July, after being an All-Star snub on multiple occasions in the past, the 29-year-old third baseman made the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career. Batting almost exclusively in Harper's old No. 3 spot, Rendon has put up huge numbers. He's hitting .322 with 34 homers and leads the league with 124 RBIs and 43 doubles. He's also in the top three in runs, slugging and OPS. Combined with his dependable glove work at the hot corner (plus-3 runs saved), it's the kind of campaign that has him on the short list for a certain piece of hardware, along with names such as Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger and Ketel Marte.

"For me, Rendon is the MVP," manager Davey Martinez said of the player who finished 11th in last year's balloting and sixth the year before that. "What he means to this organization, this city, our lineup, it's tremendous. He's earned all the accolades he's going to get."

Depending on how these last games shake out, it's possible that Rendon could wind up tied with Harper in the awards column.

2. Soto is a super soph

When Juan Soto exploded onto the scene last season as a 19-year-old rookie and did things that few if any teenagers had done, he instantly became a walking and talking insurance policy for if/when Harper departed via free agency. Although some wondered if the young outfielder would regress in his second big league campaign, he has done the opposite.

While the plate discipline has been just as good (his 106 walks are second in the NL), the power numbers have spiked (34 bombs). Between that and figuring out how to handle off-speed pitches, Soto has become a Harper-esque middle-of-the-order thumper. Said hitting coach Kevin Long: "He understands his skills and is also willing to try a few minor things to get even better."

Perhaps the most significant upgrades in Soto's game have nothing to do with the dish.

In spring training, the Dominican product said he spent the offseason trying to improve his speed and defense. By all appearances, the work has paid off. After swiping five bases as a rookie, Soto, whose minor league teammates called him Gamba (Spanish for bowlegged), is 12-for-13 in steals this year. That's a 92% success rate, and it's tied for third among NL players (minimum 10 stolen bases). In left field, where he's still very much a work-in-progress, he has accounted for zero runs saved, an improvement on the minus-5 he posted a year ago.

So much for that sophomore slump.

3. Robles is roaming center field like a vet

If Soto was Washington's insurance policy, then Victor Robles was the addendum. The flashy rookie, who entered 2019 as the 10th-best prospect in baseball according to ESPN's Keith Law, took over as the Opening Day center fielder and hasn't looked back. Actually, that's not true.

Back in April, it seemed that Robles was in over his head defensively, as he regularly misread and/or misplayed balls in the outfield. But he has learned on the fly and quickly become one of the better center fielders in the game.

"That kind of arm you don't see very often," Soto said of his teammate, whose 12 assists lead center fielders and whose 21 runs saved rank second among all outfielders.

Thanks to the speedy Robles, the Nationals didn't think twice about sliding veteran Adam Eaton to right field to fill the void created by Harper's departure. Together, Robles, Eaton and Soto have helped Washington's outfield lead the majors in outs above average (their 26 OAA are more than twice as many as that of the next best group).

Offensively, though Robles hasn't been as productive as Washington might have hoped and has made more than his share of mistakes on the bases, manager Davey Martinez will gladly take 17 homers and 26 steals from the rookie -- especially at the bottom of the order.

4. The Big 3 is living up to the hype

When Washington inked lefty Patrick Corbin to a six-year, $140 million contract in December, it pretty much signaled the end of the Harper era in D.C. It also gave the Nationals' rotation a 1-2-3 punch as good as any in the game.

Corbin, ace Max Scherzer and deputy ace Stephen Strasburg all rank among the NL's top six in strikeouts. And FIP. And WAR. Together, they've led Nats starters to a 3.51 ERA that ranks second in the majors, behind only that of the Dodgers.

"They've been phenomenal," Martinez said of his three-headed mound monster. "The reason why we're doing what we're doing."

Perhaps most importantly, Washington's troika has logged more than 550 innings combined, which has helped the team overcome a historically bad bullpen -- and Harper's historic free-agent exodus.

5. Their foes are friendly

The NL East was supposed to be the NL Beast. With the exception of the Marlins, every other team in the division was expected to be stout. While the defending champion Braves have been as good as advertised (and then some), New York and Philly -- a pair of clubs that were billed as markedly improved -- have disappointed.

Yes, the dysfunctional Mets seemed to have Washington's number this year, winning 12 of 19 matchups, including several in dramatic comeback fashion. But against the rest of the league, the Mets have been essentially a .500 club. As for Harper's new team, the Phillies? Decimated by injuries to the bullpen and outfield, they were eliminated from the playoffs Tuesday ... by the Nats.

When it comes to cooperative competition, nobody has been more magnanimous than Miami. Against the Marlins, Washington coasted to a 15-4 record. But that was always going to happen.

Just like the Nationals were always going to be fine without Bryce Harper.

Daniel Rees meets the full-time civil servant, who is the top-ranked 400m hurdler in the UK

It’s July 15, 2017, and it’s fair to say that Chris McAlister is not having the happiest of seasons. Stepping off the track and drenched from the heavy rain, he makes his way back inside having run almost three seconds slower than the personal best he had set the previous year.

I was in the same race as him that day, having finished another second behind him, and the two of us were sat next to each other inside the warm-up area afterwards. I was disappointed to see my season was fading away, but McAlister appeared disconsolate.

United in our collective disappointment, we made conversation about something, anything, to take our minds off our performances. We chatted about AFC Wimbledon. We chatted about John Maynard Keynes. But there was little we could do to hide our frustration, for both of us seemed stuck on a downward curve.

Fast-forward two years, and the politics and economics graduate is at the top of his game – his decision to persevere paying serious dividends. The Thames Valley Harrier now sits at the top of the UK rankings for the men’s 400m hurdles and is completing his final preparations for the IAAF World Championships in Doha. He is self-avowedly living the dream.

McAlister snuck under the qualifying time for Doha by 0.02 at the European Team Championships in Poland last month and a bronze medal at the British Championships two weeks later effectively secured his place on the squad. Yet when he looks back on the 2017 season where he had taken a step backwards, McAlister admits that he hardly thought of competing at the Worlds two years later.

“There was a lot going on that season,” he says. “It was a big moment in my life in terms of getting a job and moving back home, so getting settled was at the forefront of my mind. I was never ever thinking of quitting. I had in the back of my head that I wanted to get a GB vest and get to a major championship, but I never thought it would happen this quickly.”

This year is the first in three where Jack Green has not occupied top spot in the UK rankings. And with the familiar names of Dai Greene, Seb Rodger, Niall Flannery and Jacob Paul having previously rotated within the top five, it’s fair to say that two new names have gate-crashed the upper echelon of the rankings.

National under-20 record-holder Alistair Chalmers is one of them. McAlister – whose previous highest UK position was seventh – is the other. Having knocked over a second off his PB, which now sits at 49.28, the obvious question to ask is just how McAlister has done it. Part of the answer, perhaps unexpectedly, is that he works full-time.

“I’m working out how to get broadband to people the market won’t reach,” he says, explaining his job. “It’s a government priority because people are socially excluded from society if they can’t access the internet. Working helps me take my mind off athletics because I can overthink what’s happening on the track. I use work to get my head out of it and it’s worked well.”

Having been granted paid leave to compete in Doha, McAlister is now readying himself for his arrival on the world scene.

Notably, he will have another chance to take on Norwegian Karsten Warholm, whose eccentricity – coupled with several world-class performances – has seen him touted as an icon of the event. In true competitive spirit, McAlister is relishing taking on the second-fastest 400m hurdler in history.

“Warholm’s in a different class, but whoever I’m up against I have to get out there and do my thing,” he says. “I know he can make mistakes. I haven’t been able to get him this year, but you never know. He’s really put 400m hurdles on the map this year – he’s absolutely mental.

“At the end of the day though it’s still 400m with hurdles in the way – it’s the same as just running a British League.”

Out of the 41 entrants for the 400m hurdles, McAlister is ranked 28th. But such is the unpredictable nature of the event, he will step on to the track in Doha with every reason to believe he can make the semi-final. Attention will soon also turn to Tokyo 2020.

“I’ve stayed fit throughout this season and I need to sustain some fitness and build a base over winter to get moving into 2020,” he adds. “Hopefully I’ve been set up nicely and I can get into some good races early on and have a crack at that time [48.90]. That’s the plan.”

Given the great strides McAlister has made since that miserable outing in July two years ago, it would take a pessimist not to back him to make the Olympics – one just hopes he will be given the time off work.

Andy Murray earned his first singles victory at Tour level since January with a three-set win over Tennys Sandgren in the first round of the Zhuhai Championships in China.

Murray continued his comeback from hip resurfacing surgery by winning 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-1.

Defeating the world number 69 showed progress from Murray having lost to the same man in North Carolina in August.

He will play Australian world number 31 Alex de Minaur in the second round.

Murray, 32, said at the Australian Open that the ongoing problem with his hip could have forced him into retirement.

He instead underwent the resurfacing operation, from which no player has ever returned to play top-level singles tennis.

The former world number one's comeback initially was in doubles tournaments, including both men's and mixed at Wimbledon, and he began playing singles competitions at the beginning of August.

The Scot, now ranked 413, won two matches on the lower-level Challenger Tour at the Rafa Nadal Open at the end of last month.

This win over American Sandgren is his first on the ATP Tour since beating James Duckworth at the Brisbane International on 1 January.

He missed the opportunity of a match point in the second-set tie-break, only to race through the decider and complete victory in two hours and 41 minutes.

The refereeing at the Rugby World Cup's opening weekend has not been good enough, says the world governing body.

In an unprecedented step, World Rugby has released a statement criticising the standard of officiating over the first few days of the tournament.

The opening matches featured a number of controversial incidents.

"The match officials team recognise that performances were not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves," said World Rugby.

But the body added it is "confident of the highest standards of officiating moving forward".

Among the incidents, Australia wing Reece Hodge escaped punishment for a tackle on Fiji's Peceli Yato, who was forced to leave the field with a head injury.

Hodge has now been cited and will have a hearing on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, there was controversy at the end of France's win over Argentina, with England scrum-half Danny Care among those adamant that France's number eight Louis Picamoles should have been penalised for offside before making a crucial interception in the closing stages.

"For me that is the difference between a team going out at the pool stages and a team going through to a quarter-final," Care said on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

"It was an awful decision - he was a metre offside. I don't know what the touch judges are looking at."

World Rugby have publicly reprimanded officials in the past, such as when they confirmed South African referee Craig Joubert's mistake at the end of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final in 2015 between Scotland and Australia.

However, this is the first time the governing body has criticised the general standard of officiating across the board.