Game #106 You’ve heard it before, the Nats have a series to win today!
Published by
Stephen “Ghost” Mears
on
Photo by Andrew Lang/Nats.Talk
The Washington Nationals said this was like a playoff series. Is today like an elimination game? Before the news near midnight last night that Curtis Mead was traded, it sure felt that way. Beat the Arizona Diamondbacks today, and the Nats would move to just 1.0 game from a Wild Card slot with plenty of time left in the season.
With a win today, the Nats would clinch a tie-breaker with the Diamondbacks as they would win the season series, and put themselves in a good spot heading into tomorrow’s series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Manager Blake Butera will go with a few more right-handed bats today to face another lefty starter and Brady House was called up to take Curtis Mead’s spot at third base.
❝At the end of the day, when we do get in the playoffs, hopefully, when we get to that point, it feels like we’ve been there before because of how meaningful these games are.
These reps are so important for us to know what that feels like, to know what works, what doesn’t work, how you’re supposed to prepare for these games, how you’re supposed to execute. We want to stay loose, we want to play free. But there’s just a little bit of extra edge, understanding the importance of these games.❞
On offense, the Nats have the 1st in MLB for the most runs scored this season at 574 runs, and that is an impressive 5.47 runs per game. With the Nats pitching giving up 4.76 earned runs per game, the difference is really those pesky unearned runs due to the errors. Overall, the Nats have a +27 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: 1:35 PM EDT TV: Nationals.TV Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 176 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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