The Washington Nationals needed an ace performance from Trevor Williams to bring them the 70th win — and he delivered — again. In the process, Williams lowered his ERA to 2.03 — a Nats’ record, and the Nats were 10-3 in his starts.
Today, MacKenzie Gore takes the mound, and hopefully as MacK the knife. The shark needs to show his teeth to cut through the Phillies and finish his season with more promise.
The offensive star was Stone Garrett who got his first start of the season and 401 days after he broke his leg last season. Garrett went 3-4 with a walk and a triple-shy of a cycle. It was an emotional time, and at the same time uplifting.
The Nats need to go 2-0 to surpass their 2023 win total and that is a big ask. Win one game and the Nats would tie the 71-win mark from 2023.
The Nats are big underdogs today at +170 to win on the moneyline. That means if you bet $100 you would win $170. Bet $10.00 and you win $17.00.
Nats’ manager Dave Martinez had the big lead and that gave him the opportunity to rest his “A” bullpen.
Here is a look at the matchups:
- Saturday: MacKenzie Gore vs. Phillies
- Sunday: Jake Irvin vs. Phillies (Final Game of the Season)
Your top Washington Nationals on the FanGraphs’ WAR leaderboard has MacKenzie Gore at the top at 2.9 and just ahead of Luis Garcia Jr. at +2.9. Jacob Young is at +2.6. CJ Abrams whose season has ended is at +1.9 WAR. There are 29 Nats’ players in positive WAR with another 6.
“Obviously, a lot of emotions were flying high. I’m so happy for [Stone Garrett]. Like I said earlier, he worked so hard to get back. For him to go out there and do what he did today was amazing.”
— said manager Dave Martinez yesterday
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.39 and 23rd in MLB.
Here is how they rank without Trevor Williams‘ ERA at 2.03 because he had fewer starts than the other starters:
No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 5.62
No. 4 Starter: Mitchell Parker 4.29
No. 3 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.22
No. 2 Starter: DJ Herz 4.16
No. 1 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 4.04
Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 4:05 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, tune to Channel 180 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
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