Photo by Lynn G for TalkNats
After one of the best wins of the Washington Nationals season, this team has to show that they can do it again and again. Consistency of winning has not always been part of the Nats season, and they have to show the baseball media that they are not in sell-mode. In fact, the Nats were the only NL East team that won last night, and they moved into sole possession of fourth place.
Sure, nobody is bragging about sole possession of fourth place — but the Nats are only 5.0 games from 1st place, and both of the Mets and Braves are playing two of the best teams in the league in the Padres and Dodgers. These are the times in the schedule that they call “moving days” based on the competition. Of course the Nats have to do their part and beat the Phillies.
Talking about consistency, Joe Ross is on the mound, and he must step up and show his consistency. He cannot get flustered when something doesn’t go right — he just has to get the next batter and control what he can control. During day games this season, Ross is 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA.
For manager Dave Martinez, he will have the same lineup for today mostly because Yan Gomes is still dealing with a sore hamstring. One of the stars last night was Alex Avila who made a head’s up play in the 9th inning last night.
The Phillies are starting rookie righty Spencer Howard (0-1, 5.56 ERA):
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Soto | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .667 | 2.000 | 2.667 |
| Trea Turner | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | .667 | .667 | 1.333 |
| Luis Garcia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Yan Gomes | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .500 | .000 | .500 |
| Total | 10 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .375 | .500 | .750 | 1.250 |
As you can see, there is very little Nats head-to-head data with Howard and Nats batters except you will see that Juan Soto has a home run against him in the two at-bats.
Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Stadium: Citizen’s Bank Ballpark, Philadephia, Pennsylvania
1st Pitch: 4:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN, NBC Sports Philadelphia, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
1. Trea Turner SS
2. Josh Harrison 2B
3. Juan Soto RF
4. Josh Bell 1B
5. Kyle Schwarber LF
6. Starlin Castro 3B
7. Alex Avila C
8. Victor Robles CF
9. Joe Ross RHP
