The Washington Nationals got another signature win last night, and finished the mathematical first half of the season at 33-48. That puts the Nats on a 66-96 pace for the 2023 season. The calendar has turned to July which signifies the MLB Draft, the All-Star game, and two weeks after that is when the trade deadline becomes a real factor. If the thin Nats roster unloads some of their best player(s), how can they avoid losing 100 games again? That’s one of the million dollar questions. Fans get real nervous around the trade deadline, and the first big trade actually happened yesterday when Aroldis Chapman was traded to Texas.
Today’s starter is MacKenzie Gore for the Nats, and the Phillies have arguably one of their best pitchers on the mound with Zack Wheeler. While the two starters today have nearly identical ERAs, the Nats just have to follow what Josiah Gray did last night and hand a lead over to the Nats’ bullpen.
“It feels big because those guys in there are really pumped up. I’m happy for the way these guys are playing. I said before that they’re playing the game the right way, and they’re playing hard. Some of these games, we’re going to have to step up and win some of these games like this — and we did that tonight. That shows character on their part.”
— manager Dave Martinez said after the previous game
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.42 for 18th best in MLB. A few more good games by the Nats starters and they can push back into the top-half of starting pitchers. The Nats are just 0.04 from catching the Dodgers in starter’s ERA.
Here is how they rank:
No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 4.84
No. 4 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.72
No. 3 Starter: Trevor Williams 4.28
No. 2 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.89
No. 1 Starter: Josiah Gray 3.30
Here is your Baseball Savant Statcast Link for the game.
Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Stadium: Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1st Pitch: 4:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app
