The Washington Nationals are back at it tonight after a scheduled day-off yesterday. Today’s events started with a pregame presser with Nats’ 1st round draft pick Chris Hacopian. After the game, the Nats will feature a free concert on the field with Jason Derulo.
If the team is going to be a true contender, will they treat tonight like a playoff game? That will be tough because the Diamondbacks open with their best pitcher, Eduardo Rodriguez, and his 2.62 ERA. The Nats have opener Carson Palmquist and his 8.74 ERA followed by bulk starter Zack Littell and his 5.34 ERA. The Nats and D’Backs are separated by 2.0 games in the standings.
When you look at the key to winning games like this, the Nats have to work Rodriguez hard and get into the Arizona bullpen early. Along with that, the Nats pitchers can only control what they are doing, and throwing zeroes would be the best suggestion we have for them.
Manager Blake Butera will go with a few more right-handed bats tonight to face the lefty starter.
❝Obviously, we know the standings. Everyone in the clubhouse knows the standings. We know the trade deadline is around the corner. It is on TV every day. People are talking about playoffs — the trade deadline — and buyers and sellers. … And I know this is the first time a lot of these guys have played meaningful baseball late in July, and hopefully into August. So we’re having fun with this.❞
On offense, the Nats have the 1st in MLB for the most runs scored this season at 567 runs, and that is an impressive 5.51 runs per game. With the Nats pitching giving up 4.79 earned runs per game, the difference is really those pesky unearned runs due to the errors. Overall, the Nats have a +26 run differential on the season.
The FanGraphs WAR chart is now large in its sample size. You can certainly start to extrapolate the numbers for the full-season. The OAA defense stat is now giving us a picture of what the Nats have — and don’t have.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. 1st Pitch: 6:45 PM EDT TV: Nationals.TV Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 175 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
I said that my goal is to make the Nationals the envy of sport.
To me, that means an organization defined by our relentless pursuit of excellence, strengthened by our connection to each other and fueled by our positive energy. As a result, we become an organization that players and staff are itching to join because they know it’s where they will develop and thrive most; a place that energizes our loyal fans and attracts new ones, and where success is achieved – and sustained – over time.
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