The Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, and the Nats open this game at just 1.0 game from a Wild Card slot. Today’s game opens a three game series against the Toronto Blue Jays with Max Scherzer returning on a Nationals Park mound.
With lefty Andrew Alvarez as the bulk starter, the Nats will go with right-hander Eddy Yean as his opener. Recently, Yean has pitched in two innings per game.
This afternoon, the Nats made a roster move and have once again DFA’d Matt Krook, and called up right-handed reliever Paxton Schultz to take his spot. The 40-man roster now sits at 38. The Nats have decisions coming up for both Jake Irvin and possibly even Trevor Williams.
Manager Blake Butera will add in a few more lefties in today’s lineup with Scherzer on the mound.
❝I said to [CJ} when he was coming up for his at-bat after that and he was standing on the steps next to me, ‘That might have been the most impressive home run I’ve ever seen you hit.’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know how I did that.’ He was actually mad at himself for swinging at the two pitches prior. That’s just CJ. He has expectations and knows how to have success in the box❞
On offense, the Nats have the 1st in MLB for the most runs scored this season at 584 runs, and that is an impressive 5.51 runs per game. With the Nats pitching giving up 4.78 earned runs per game, the difference is really those pesky unearned runs due to the errors. Overall, the Nats have a +30 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 180 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.
Leave a Reply