The Washington Nationals start their first of thirteen games this season against the Miami Marlins. While the Nats have been dealing with injuries, the Marlins have been decimated with injuries on their pitching staff. The Nats are in fourth place in the NL East, and the Marlins are in the cellar.
As they say, the good teams try to play .500 ball against the good teams, and make their gains in the standings on the bad teams. We will see if the Nats are in fact a good team. At times they are, and other times it has been a struggle to score runs. There are only three teams scoring fewer runs per game, and the Marlins are just below the Nationals.
Manager Dave Martinez is sticking with catcher Keibert Ruiz again to start tonight’s game, and Trey Lipscomb will start at third base. Tonight’s lineup features three batters at .171 or below, and one at .208. Maybe Martinez knows something, because Riley Adams has been one of the team’s best hitters when rested, and Ildemaro Vargas is batting near the top for the team. Both will sit. Per Martinez, Nick Senzel is feeling better after dealing with a stomach bug, and he said would be available to pinch-hit. So no roster moves today.
Rehabbing pitcher Cade Cavalli is with the team this weekend as he works his way back from TJ surgery, and says he is on-pace to return in about six weeks. Josiah Gray is throwing from 90-feet as he readies himself for a rehab assignment after discomfort from his forearm muscular strain. Victor Robles is running at 90 percent now as he works his way back from a hamstring injury and close to a rehab assignment.
Here’s what we think the schedule could look like going forward:
- Friday: Trevor Williams vs. Miami
- Saturday: Mitchell Parker vs. Miami
- Sunday: Patrick Corbin vs. Miami
- Monday: Jake Irvin vs. Miami
- Tuesday: MacKenzie Gore vs. Texas
- Wednesday: Williams vs. Texas
- Thursday: Parker vs. Texas
- Friday: Corbin vs. Toronto
- Saturday: Irvin vs. Toronto
- Sunday: Gore vs. Toronto
- Monday: Day-off May 6
- Tuesday: Williams vs. Orioles
- Wednesday: Parker vs. Orioles
- Thursday: Day-off May 9
- Friday: Corbin vs. Red Sox
Your top Washington Nationals on the FanGraphs’ WAR leaderboard has CJ Abrams at the top at a +1.0 WAR followed by Hunter Harvey and Trevor Williams at +0.8. MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, and Jesse Winker are all at +0.6 WAR. In total, 19 Nats’ players are in positive WAR and another five at a neutral 0.0 WAR.
“We had a chance today to score a run, just by moving a guy over, and the next guy hit a fly ball [to left field]. Those are the little things that matter. If we do that, it’s a tie game right now. We have to get back to that, and the big boys in the middle of the lineup have to start driving in runs for us.”
— manager Dave Martinez said after yesterday’s game
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.66 and tied for 24th in MLB. Obviously sample sizes are miniscule at this point. The Nats have been slowly moving up in the rankings.
Here is how they rank:
No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 6.51
No. 4 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.55
No. 3 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.12
No. 2 Starter: Trevor Williams 2.91
No. 1 Starter: Mitchell Parker 1.50
Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins
Stadium: loanDeport park, Miami, Florida
1st Pitch: 7:10 pm EDT
TV: MASN2
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app; In Spanish on DC 87.7 FM and La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM. On Sirius/XM, the Nats will be online only, and the opposing team on Channel 178.
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
TalkNats is Celebrating the 5 and 100 year anniversaries of World Series Wins by providing Game-by-Game Summaries.
Game 25:
The Nationals lost on 04/27 on the road against the San Diego Padres resulting in a record of 11-14. Box Score / Standings
The Senators lost on 05/15 at home against the Cleveland Indians resulting in a record of 11-14. Box Score / Standings
