The Washington Nationals snapped their losing streak and got back into the W column on Monday. The offense put up 12-runs on the Twins for a decisive 12-3 win. The running game and the power surge turned the game into a blow-out.
Per BaseballReference.com, the three most valuable Nats’ players are CJ Abrams, Trevor Williams, and Jacob Young. But here’s the thing, all three players are tied at an identical +1.4 WAR. Where did Young come from to get to the top? Just yesterday, some were calling him nothing more than a fourth outfielder. Some said he would be optioned back to Triple-A when Lane Thomas returns. Speaking of Thomas, he is last on the BBRef WAR rankings:
On injury updates, Thomas started his rehab assignment for Double-A Harrisburg. He went 0-3 with three weak groundballs. One to the pitcher, one to the first baseman, and one to the shortstop. He misplayed a ball by the wall on defense, but picked up the ball and fired a strike to second base to throw out the batter.
Here’s what we think the schedule could look like going forward:
- Tuesday: Patrick Corbin vs. Twins
- Wednesday: Jake Irvin vs. Twins
- Thursday: Day-off May 23
- Friday: MacKenzie Gore vs. Mariners
- Saturday: Trevor Williams vs. Mariners
- Sunday: Mitchell Parker vs. Mariners
- Monday: Corbin vs. Atlanta
- Tuesday: Irvin vs. Atlanta
- Wednesday: Gore vs. Atlanta
- Thursday: Williams vs. Atlanta
- Friday: Parker vs. Cleveland
- Saturday June 1: Corbin vs. Cleveland
- Sunday: Irvin vs. Cleveland
- Monday: Gore vs. Mets
- Tuesday: Williams vs. Mets
- Wednesday: Parker vs. Mets
Your top Washington Nationals on the FanGraphs’ WAR leaderboard has Trevor Williams at +1.3 WAR followed by CJ Abrams at +1.2, and Jake Irvin and MacKenzie Gore at a +1.1 and +1.0 respectively. In total, 20 Nats’ players are in positive WAR and another six at a neutral 0.0 WAR. The issue at the moment is about the four players at the bottom in negative numbers.
“We talk about it all the time that when you score early, things start to fall into place. They start to relax a little bit. The at-bats get better. You get that, and you get another good outing from Mitchell, and it becomes a good day.”
— manager Dave Martinez said
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.06 and 16th in MLB. The Nats are now 19 points from 14th best in baseball. The team has been slowly moving up in the rankings it seems week by week.
Here is how they rank:
No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 5.59
No. 4 Starter: Jake Irvin 3.91
No. 3 Starter: Mitchell Parker 3.32
No. 2 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.30
No. 1 Starter: Trevor Williams 2.35
Washington Nationals vs. Minnesota Twins
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 6:45 pm EDT
TV: MASN
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, and the opposing team on Channel 177.
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 47:
The Nationals lost on 05/20 on the road against the Mets resulting in a record of 19-28. Box Score / Standings
The Senators won on 06/12 on the road against the St. Louis Browns resulting in a record of 23-24. Box Score / Standings
