There is a game tonight which has been over-shadowed most of the day by the trade deadline which passed with the Nationals not making an acquisition for a big bat.
The prices teams paid today for players like Lucroy and Beltran was steep. Mike Rizzo could try to make a move in the waiver-claim market like he has done in the past when he got Matt Thornton. For all we know, Mike Rizzo might have a plan for Koda Glover, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito for the September bullpen, but it is unclear what the Nats do to improve the offense unless the Nats see players like Ryan Zimmerman, Ben Revere and Bryce Harper return to their career stat-lines.
The Nationals send Stephen Strasburg to the mound tonight, and the Diamondbacks have righty Archie Bradley. The Nationals have never faced Bradley before. The scouting report on Bradley is that he is a two-pitch pitcher with a 93mph fastball and a slow curve. He throws from a high arm slot with downward tilt. When he is not locating his fastball, he is very hittable. Lefties have a .922 OPS against him, but he has dominated righties to a .194 BA.
Here is Stephen Strasburg’s stats against the Diamondbacks:
Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks
Stadium: Chase Field, Arizona
1st Pitch: 9:40 pm EDT
TV: MASN, FOX Sports, MLB.tv
Line-ups (subject to change without notice):
- Trea Turner CF
- Jayson Werth LF
- Bryce Harper RF
- Daniel Murphy 2B
- Anthony Rendon 3B
- Wilson Ramos C
- Clint Robinson 1B
- Danny Espinosa SS
- Stephen Strasburg RHP
