Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
The Nationals have Max Scherzer on the mound tonight against the Marlins as Max goes for history to join an elite club of pitchers in the 300 strikeout club for a season. Scherzer has 290 strikeouts in the books right now on the season and needs 10 more tonight to reach 300. If he reaches the 300 K Club, he would be the 17th pitcher to ever do it, and he would join Walter Johnson as the only other Washington baseball pitcher in the club.
For those following the standings, the Nationals are in 2nd Place for the first time since June 21st. Maybe that says more about the Phillies demise than the Nationals being at 1-game over .500 after yesterday’s games.
Along with Max Scherzer going after 300 strikeouts, several of his teammates are going after milestones. Bryce Harper is one run scored from 100 which would give him 100 runs/100 RBIs. Trea Turner is 2 home runs from the 20/40 club and he is 7 stolen bases from reaching 50 on the season. Juan Soto is 1 home run from tying Bryce Harper for the second more home runs by a teenager and he is 2 home runs from tying Tony Conigliaro for the most home runs ever by a teenager. Anthony Rendon set a career high for doubles yesterday with 42 and he needs 3 more home runs for a career high in homers.
Maybe more spectacular is the Fangraphs WAR ratings for Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and Juan Soto who all had large jumps in values after yesterday’s game, and it is now in the realm of possibilities that Rendon can reach a 6.0 WAR, Turner above a 5.0 WAR and Soto and Bryce Harper will battle it out for third best WAR for the position players. Of course Soto has had nearly 200 fewer plate appearances than Harper.
For today, the Marlins pitch righty Jeff Brigham. The Nats have never faced him before. The 26-year-old has 3 career appearances and is 0-3 with a 5.84 ERA with just 12 1/3 MLB innings pitched. Brigham is from Washington — the other Washington in the upper Northwest. He also pitched for the University of Washington.
Miami Marlins vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 7:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN2; MLB App out-of-market
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
- Anthony Rendon 3B
- Juan Soto LF
- Ryan Zimmerman 1B
- Matt Wieters C
- Wilmer Difo 2B
- Max Scherzer RHP
