Do you want the good news or the bads news first? The good news is the Nats hold a 4.0 game lead over both the Mets and Marlins in the NL East and can work this weekend on widening that lead. The bad news is the Nationals fell into some bad luck in a 5 game losing streak, and it must end tonight with Max Scherzer taking the mound in Milwaukee where he has pitched very well as Scherzer has a career 1.69 ERA pitching 3 times in Miller Park. You may remember the gem Scherzer threw last year in Milwaukee when he had a complete game 1 hit shutout with 16Ks.
The Nats face 23-year-old Zach Davies who is a 6’0″ 155 pound righty from Puyallup, Washington. Davies was an original draft pick of the Orioles in the 26th round and was traded last year for Gerardo Parra. Davies has had some success lately ranking 10th in the NL since May 4th in ERA at 2.40 although his overall ERA is 3.62. Davies is a finesse pitcher who is a sinkerballer and changeup specialist. He can also throw a curve and cutter and the occasional slider. His fastball tops out at 91 and the changeup has big speed differential at 79mph.
No Washington Nationals player has ever faced Davies before, and this will be the first time.
Max Scherzer has faced several of the Brewers before and here is his stats against them:
Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers
Stadium: Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI
1st Pitch: 8:10pm EDT
TV: MASN2, FSWI-Brewers, MLB.tv
Line-ups (subject to change without notice):
- Ben Revere LF
- Michael Taylor CF
- Bryce Harper RF
- Daniel Murphy 2B
- Wilson Ramos C
- Ryan Zimmerman 1B
- Anthony Rendon 3B
- Danny Espinosa SS
- Max Scherzer RHP
