Photo by Kevin Nibley for TalkNats
The season is almost 25 percent complete at the end of this game for the Washington Nationals. The sample sizes are now large enough for some players to project for the season, but if Juan Soto proved anything last year — he should go on some big hot streaks as the weather warms up.
The one player the Nats need to get hot is Nelson Cruz. He isn’t hitting his weight (.182), and his OPS is .549. Even Victor Robles has a higher OPS than Cruz, but barely at .595. Robles is in the starting lineup tonight, and he has to be on thin ice after making mistakes in the field and on the base paths. His throw in the 10th inning on Wednesday was so mind-boggling that writer, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post, wrote, “The play doesn’t show up in the box score. It didn’t impact the outcome, because the Nats eked out a 5-4 victory. But it’s exactly the kind of brain-dead sloppiness that is making a season that was always going to be difficult devolve into a product that is, at times, comically unwatchable.” The Nats almost need to play zero-defect fundamental baseball to win games.
In manager Dave Martinez‘s lineup is a lot of right-handed batters with only Soto batting in the lefty’s batters box. That puts Yadiel Hernandez on the bench. The Nats will start Erick Fedde in this game.
There was pre-game news on Carter Kieboom that he will have UCL elbow surgery that will end his season.
Washington Nationals vs. Milwaukee Wisconsin
Stadium: American Family Field, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1st Pitch: 8:10 pm EDT
TV: MASN; Bally Sports Wisconsin; MLB App (out-0f-market only)
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app
Lineups (subject to change without notice):
Robles starts. https://t.co/g5Na0aFFlr
— Talk Nats ⚾ (@TalkNats) May 20, 2022
