For so many starts this year, Max Scherzer must have felt like he was carrying the weight of the world — or at the very least, the weight of his team. Scherzer has had to put an end to a 4-game and 5-game losing streak this season making him the “stopper extraordinaire” for the Nationals. In this start, the reigning NL Cy Young just needs to continue winning to add to the Washington Nationals mini winning streak.
The Nationals ended the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-game winning streak yesterday which also pushed the Pirates out of 1st place in the NL Central. All of the divisions are getting tighter, and the Nationals are back to within 5½ games of first place.
For the Pirates, they will be pitching the righty Chad Kuhl. He has a 4.55 ERA this season and is another Pirates pitcher who has been relying on big run support. Kuhl on the road this year has yielded a .396 batting average against. Yes, you read that correctly. Overall this season, lefties are hitting him at .340 and hopefully Dave Martinez stacks some lefties in the front of his line-up.
Tonight’s Nats bullpen needs to be managed more equitably as manager Dave Martinez has relied heavily on his big-3 and Sammy Solis while going easy on the rest of the bullpen. Trust is certainly a factor in the use of relievers.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 7:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN; MLB App out-of-market
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
- Bryce Harper RF
- Trea Turner SS
- Matt Adams LF
- Ryan Zimmerman 1B
- Howie Kendrick 2B
- Michael Taylor CF
- Matt Wieters C
- Max Scherzer RHP
- Wilmer Difo 3B
