General manager Mike Rizzo had to work the phones last night after Joe Ross was pulled into last night’s game. Per the plan, Ross was supposed to start today’s game. We were told that manager Dave Martinez planned out Trevor Rosenthal for the 7th inning, Tanner Rainey for the 8th inning, and Sean Doolittle for the 9th inning last night, and in baseball, plans go awry and you need a contingency plan. That plan now included a call to the Fresno Grizzlies to get Austin Voth back to Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, Voth was in D.C. as the 26th man in the doubleheader, and he was never used in the game and was sent back to Fresno who are currently in Salt Lake City, Utah. With an early game today, how much sleep will Voth be pitching on today? We will find out today.
The Braves have Mike Soroka going today, and while he has a 2.12 ERA this season, the right-hander has given up 8-runs over his last two starts and just eleven innings of work. The Pirates really took it to him two weeks ago, and the Nationals need to see why they had so much success. None of the Nats players have faced Soroka before, and only two of the Braves players have faced Voth before for a combined 0-2.
In the rubber game of this series, the Braves look like the overwhelming favorites, and the Nats bullpen has been overworked. Trevor Rosenthal was released to make room for Austin Voth. This chapter with Rosenthal comes to a sad end and the Nationals are on the hook for over $4 million due to him.
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 1:35 pm EDT
TV: MASN, FOX Sports South, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
