(Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats)
If you thought Sandy Alcantara was good last night, the Washington Nationals face the top ERA pitcher in the league tonight. Pablo Lopez has a 0.52 ERA for the season and has not yielded a run in 12 2/3 innings coming into this game.
For the Nats, it is Erick Fedde once again. He brings in a 6.75 ERA, and watching his body of work can be frustrating. It is like the same Fedde of year’s past. Same pitcher repertoire, and same results. One team he has pitched well against is the Marlins. Fedde has a career 1.43 ERA and 4-0 record in seven starts against the Fish.
In the lineup and for the first time this year, manager Dave Martinez has flip-flopped Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz in the lineup, and he put the struggling Alcides Escobar onto the bench. Lucius Fox will start today in Escobar’s spot. Fox is still batting .000 in his career, and he left Sunday’s game with a bout of nausea after just two pitches were thrown to the game’s lead-off batter.
Also, Victor Robles is back on the bench with his .140 batting average and .405 OPS. There seemed to be some optimism building around Robles after a Washington Post article detailed the changes he has made in his stance and mechanics after working with hitting coach Darnell Coles.
It isn’t just Robles struggling, there are plenty of other like Cruz and Escobar too. They are hitting in the .100’s also. When you are scoring one or two runs today, you aren’t giving yourself enough run support to win games and that is just part of the reason the Nats have dropped six straight games.
Miami Marlins vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 7:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN2, Bally Sports Sun, MLB app (out-of-market only)
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app
Lineups (subject to change without notice):
FOX Part Deux https://t.co/wUUHBRFCsr
— Talk Nats ⚾ (@TalkNats) April 27, 2022
