The Washington Nationals had already clinched the season series with the Atlanta Braves by winning 7-games. But still, losing to them last night by a final score of 12-0 was nothing to feel good about. Poor defense started the mess followed by some bad pitches.
How can you properly evaluate your pitching when the infield defense does not make much more than routine plays? Jose Tena has an .869 fielding percentage this season at the MLB level, and has become a major defensive liability.
The Nats need to go 8-10 or better to beat the 2023 win total. How great would that be to finish in the mid-70’s for a win total? All but four remaining games are against teams with postseason aspirations — and that will make it difficult.
The Nats are big underdogs today, at +150 to win on the moneyline. That means if you bet $100 you would win $150. Bet $10.00 and you win $15.00.
Nats’ manager Dave Martinez went to Ildemaro Vargas to pitch the 9th inning and save some of his bullpen. It was good to see Zach Brzykcy put up another zero in relief, but the rest of the bullpen gave up at least one run each.
This is what the Nats schedule looks like going forward, and the plan is to get Trevor Williams back into the rotation and finish the final week-and-a-half of the season with a 6-man rotation:
- Wednesday: Jake Irvin vs. Atlanta
- Thursday: Mitchell Parker vs. Marlins
- Friday: DJ Herz vs. Marlins
- Saturday: Patrick Corbin vs. Marlins
- Sunday: MacKenzie Gore vs. Marlins
- Monday: Irvin vs. Mets
- Tuesday: Parker vs. Mets
- Wednesday: Herz vs. Mets
- Thursday: Corbin vs. Cubs
- Friday: Gore vs. Cubs
- Saturday: Irvin vs. Cubs
- Sunday: Parker vs. Cubs
- Monday: Day-off September 23
- Tuesday: Herz vs. Royals
- Wednesday: Corbin vs. Royals
- Thursday: Gore vs. Royals
- Friday: Irvin vs. Phillies
- Saturday: Parker vs. Phillies
- Sunday: Herz vs. Phillies (Final Game of the Season)
Your top Washington Nationals on the FanGraphs’ WAR leaderboard has Jacob Young at +2.8, Luis Garcia Jr. at a WAR of +2.8, and CJ Abrams has sunk all the way back to +1.5. In total, 29 Nats’ players are in positive WAR and another seven are at a neutral 0.0 WAR.
“He didn’t pitch well. We didn’t hit well. It was kind of a lopsided game.”
— Nats’ manager Dave Martinez said after yesterday’s game
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.49 and 22nd in MLB.
Here is how they rank:
No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 5.60
No. 4 Starter: Mitchell Parker 4.43
No. 3 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 4.34
No. 2 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.28
No. 1 Starter: DJ Herz 3.82
Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 6:45 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 181 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 145:
The Nationals won on 09/12 on the road in Minnesota with a record of 81-64. The Nats are in second place in the NL East. But you knew this already. Box Score / Standings
The Senators won on 09/19 on the road against the St. Louis Browns resulting in a record of 86-59. The Senators have sole possession of first place and ahead of the Yankees. Box Score / Standings
