The last time we saw Stephen Strasburg, he was not a happy man. Maybe the pain in his neck wasn’t his teammate Max Scherzer and literally was a pain in his neck as Stras is seeing a specialist in Los Angeles for an opinion on his neck pain, and Stras will be thousands of miles from his teammates in Miami who are opening up this 4-game series. Strasburg’s shoulder MRI was clean and the nerve issue is called a cervical nerve impingement. This is not the first time that Strasburg has been on the DL for neck pain. Since Strasburg was supposed to pitch today, he was scratched and put on the 10-Day DL and replaced by Tommy Milone who was called up from Triple-A Syracuse. In addition to the Strasburg DL stint, Anthony Rendon‘s is on a paternity leave of absence for the birth of his first child.
Milone has pitched to a 4.19 ERA this year, but he has held opponents to a good WHIP and HR/9 and his K/9 is improved. If you believe in lifetime MLB numbers, Milone has a 4.37 ERA in his career. The left-handed Milone was drafted and developed by the Nationals and he was traded in a blockbuster deal with the Oakland Athletics for Gio Gonzalez back in 2012.
Taking Rendon’s spot on the roster is Matt Reynolds who will be on the bench when he arrives. It will be Mark Reynolds who will take Rendon’s spot in the field today.
Manager Dave Martinez has prepared a lineup today based on stats versus starting pitcher Dan Straily who is right-handed. While you would expected Matt Adams, he has not fared well against Straily while Ryan Zimmerman has. Daniel Murphy was a late scratch with soreness, but now that the Nationals are in possible trade mode, you never know if any reason for a player being pulled is legitimate.
Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins
Stadium: Marlins Park, Miami, Florida
1st Pitch: 7:10 pm EDT
TV: MASN; MLB.TV app out-of-network
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
- Adam Eaton RF
- Trea Turner SS
- Bryce Harper CF
- Ryan Zimmerman 1B
- Juan Soto LF
- Mark Reynolds 3B
- Matt Wieters C
- Wilmer Difo 2B
- Tommy Milone LHP
