Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
We have more baseball ahead and while it feels like Spring Training — these lineups sure look like it. This series is tied at one game each and the winner today will take this series between the Washington Nationals and the visiting Chicago Cubs.
For the Washington Nationals, manager Dave Martinez has Erick Fedde going for the home team on this one to close out this series.
The Cubs have righty Adbert Alzolay on the mound. He had a 4.06 ERA before they were checking for “spider tack” and since then his ERA has been 5.80. He leads the league in most home runs given up.
Josiah Gray‘s rumored start for tomorrow is now confirmed by Martinez, and Tres Barrera who has the day-off today will catch Gray. The two will game plan for the Phillies game tomorrow.
The 2021 draft deadline for signing players is 5 pm EDT today. The Nats have Mack Anglin remaining as the final key player to sign. This is strictly about money for the 13th round pick from Clemson. The pitcher was passed over by numerous teams based on signability. We will see.
Of note, to make room for Gray, the Nats optioned Tanner Rainey back to Triple-A. This was much needed for a high velo reliever who just cannot throw strikes on the edges and locate pitches. He was the lowest rated WAR player on the team which includes players who were DFA’d. Rainey ranked 48th of 48 players who h at a -0.4 WAR value on Fangraphs. His FIP at 6.16 is awful and his ERA is even worse at 7.20.
Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 1:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN, Marquee Sports Network, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
