Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Mathematically we are now in the second half of the season, and the Washington Nationals need players to step up. Yesterday, it was Yan Gomes who raised his hand and accounted for all of the Nats runs. Mistakes were aplenty yesterday and a winnable game was kicked to the curb by too many miscues and non-plays — not all of them showed up on the boxscore. But once again, managerial and front office decisions are coming into play when the margin for error is razor thin. These “split-squad” depleted lineups are painful to watch.
Now it is up to Joe Ross to be the stopper and put an end to this 3-game losing streak and salvage a game in this 4-game series with the Dodgers. This breakfast at Nats Park game is an 11:05 am first pitch after a late night game that ended past midnight.
We will await the lineups, and the Dodgers are indeed skipping Walker Buehler who is on full rest and going with a bullpen game. Lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger will be their opener today. They also have David Price available for long relief as well as plenty of righties as they will try to thwart any opportunity by manager Dave Martinez to go lefty heavy in his starting lineup.
After this game, the Nats will head out west for a series that starts in San Diego tomorrow. That seven game west coast swing will finish in San Francisco and wrap-up the part of the season before the All-Star break.
Happy birthday to America and no team does a better job of celebrating Independence Day than Washington D.C.’s own baseball team with all the pomp and circumstance. Unfortunately due to the FOX late start last night couple with the rain delay, the fireworks show was cancelled due to noise ordinances set by the city. Last night’s game was an over-capacity crowd topping 42,000 fans.
WASHINGTON D.C. NATIONALS PARK | Photo by Sol Tucker of the Clydesdale parade in front of the Nats Park yesterday.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 11:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN, Sportsnet LA, MLB Network out-of-market only, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
1. Josh Harrison 2B
2. Juan Soto RF
3. Starlin Castro 3B
4. Josh Bell 1B
5. Yadiel Hernandez LF
6. Alcides Escobar SS
7. Victor Robles CF
8. Tres Barrera C
9. Joe Ross RHP
