Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats
While all the talk was on the first place Dodgers and Cody Bellinger, the Cardinals of St. Louis are quietly stacking up wins and hold the best record in the National League. Last night, they dismantled the Nats as we saw. The Cards made Patrick Corbin look like a back of the rotation starter with a 6 run 5th inning.
Maybe the Cardinals got hot at the right time as their offense is clicking. Good pitching is supposed to shutdown good hitting so we will see. Tonight is the second game of this four game series. It’s two veterans on the hill tonight: Anibal Sanchez and Adam Wainwright.
The Nationals are in a state of “one step forward and two steps backwards” recently. After last night, this team is 1-9 in the first games of series this season, and they have managed to lose 7 of their last 10 games. If there is any doubt what a healthy Anthony Rendon means to this team, that recent 10-game record speaks volumes. They are doing it with only one Opening Day infielder, Brian Dozier, who is batting the worst on the team at numbers below .199. The rest of the infield is Matt Adams, Howie Kendrick, and callup Carter Kieboom.
The Anthony Rendon saga is supposed to be resolved today. Supposedly… Rendon has played one game since he got a contusion on his elbow which occurred 10 days ago. He could be put on the 10-day IL if he is not ready to play today, but as others have noted you cannot just callup another player and expect Rendon’s production. It could be Jake Noll who would just fill in on the bench or back to an 8-man bullpen.
When the going gets tough, you see who steps up. It’s tough. Let’s see who steps up. The season will be 20% complete this week, and this is a time where the sample sizes are getting large enough to know what you have and if the “slow starter” syndrome is for real as the temperatures heat up. So far, we have heard a lot of excuses, and the magnifying glass is on this team. The mistakes are enlarged, and their are no participation trophies when you lose. Last night was just another example of this team not finding the right balance. The bullpen has a 12-inning shutout streak, and it has been the starters in two games in a row yielding 6-runs each. That won’t do it for an offense struggling to get 3 runs across the plate in 9 innings which has been the case 12 times this season. This team needs all parts of the team to click to put together wins. It has to start now.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 7:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN; MLB App out-of-market; MLB Network out-of-market
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
Tonight vs. STL
Eaton RF
Robles CF
Soto LF
Adams 1B
Suzuki C
Kieboom SS
Dozier 2B
Difo 3B
Sanchez RHP pic.twitter.com/AG3UVuj6xz— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) April 30, 2019
