The Washington Nationals just finished a long homestand and stay in the region with a game up I-295 at Orioles Park against their regional rival.
With CJ Abrams back in the lineup after a few days off with back spasms, the team will give another rest day to Jose Tena after he took a grounder off his thumb on his throwing hand. The team had several roster moves with reliever Jordan Weems and DH Harold Ramirez both designated for assignment. To take their places, the team added Andres Chaparro for his MLB debut after he played in 627 minor league games. Reliever Orlando Ribalta will make his MLB debut when he is called into his first bullpen appearance. Joey Gallo, who is rehabbing in Triple-A, was not called up today.
Based on last year’s win total of 71-games, the Nats need to go 18-25 or better to beat that total. There are just 43-games remaining in the season, and the rest of this season is really supposed to help to determine the players who could help impact the 2025 roster. What an impact Tena made in his debut, and how’s about what Alex Call has added to the outfield with James Wood and Jacob Young.
The Nats are deep underdogs today, at +145 to win on the moneyline. That means if you bet $100 you would win $145. Bet $10.00 and you win $14.50.
Nats’ manager Dave Martinez‘s bullpen got the day-off yesterday to rest everyone. Kyle Finnegan now hasn’t pitched in 3-days at a time when Tanner Rainey and Jose A. Ferrer have covered the most pitches since Saturday.
This is what the Nats schedule looks like going forward:
- Tuesday: Jake Irvin vs. Baltimore
- Wednesday: DJ Herz vs. Baltimore
- Thursday: Mitchell Parker vs. Phillies
- Friday: Patrick Corbin vs. Phillies
- Saturday: MacKenzie Gore vs. Phillies
- Sunday: Irvin vs. Phillies
Your top Washington Nationals on the FanGraphs’ WAR leaderboard has Luis Garcia Jr. atop of the WAR rankings at +2.7, and Jacob Young at +2.2 and CJ Abrams at +2.0 . In total, 24 Nats’ players are in positive WAR and another seven are at a neutral 0.0 WAR.
“If one guy walks, or you get a guy in scoring position — you’re trying not to give up that hit or that run. You put a lot of pressure on yourself. That’s the only thing I can think of. You’re forcing yourself to get the ball over the plate. And that’s when all the balls start happening. We’ve got to focus on just getting to the next pitch, and focus on that one batter, not try to get ahead of ourselves.”
— Nats’ manager Dave Martinez said after Sunday’s game
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.42 and 22nd in MLB.
Here is how they rank:
No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 5.98
No. 4 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 4.50
No. 3 Starter: DJ Herz 4.41
No. 2 Starter: Mitchell Parker 3.83
No. 1 Starter: Jake Irvin 3.76
Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles
Stadium: Orioles Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
1st Pitch: 6:35 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, tune to Channel 175 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
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 120:
The Nationals won on 08/14 at home against the Reds in a record of 65-55. They won’t drop below .500 the rest of the season. The Nats are in second place in the NL East. But you knew this already. Box Score / Standings
The Senators won on 08/23 at home against the Chicago White Sox resulting in a record of 68-52. The Senators have sole possession of second place. Box Score / Standings
