Going Deep with The Nats

When you score 16 runs in a game, you want to show that your offense can score a lot of runs again. Before last night, the Nats had been on a 2.9 runs per game pace. Obviously that 16-run outburst will skew the numbers. Pitchers throwing the Rawlings in low lev sure is easier than clinging to small leads like we saw on Saturday. After Max Scherzer bowed out of his last start after 1.0 inning of work due to a tight hamstring, he is right back at it six days later. The ace will need to show that he is healthy. Continue reading →

Does it feel like the Nats are still in Spring Training mode? It feels like a lack of urgency. Using the struggling Sean Doolittle in a key spot on Saturday was a flashback to Doolittle on August 9th to August 17th last year when Doo gave up 10-runs in 4.0 innings. The Nats shut him down the next day and placed the closer on the 10-day IL with right knee tendonitis listed as the cause. He returned in September with a fresh arm and was one of the stars the rest of the way and through the World Series. Yes, the Nats and Doolittle have little time to figure out what is wrong with the 2020 version.

There is also that tug-of-war with the starters. Hooking pitchers like Austin Voth and Erick Fedde too quick and allowing Anibal Sanchez and Stephen Strasburg to self-destruct on the mound has been emblematic of the issues to date. To a lesser extent, late inning matchups are not being taken advantage of in a sabremetrics sense with pinch-hitters where key at-bats have gone to fails in situational hitting. All of this has led to a 4-7 record with a 3-run deficit in a suspended game against the Orioles that could make the team 4-8. Continue reading →

Sometimes sports brings out the ugliness in people. The Nats lost a winnable game and are now mired in a 3-game losing streak to match the 3-game winning streak that preceded that. Last night, it was so ugly on social media for Sean Doolittle that he deactivated his Twitter account. Doolittle stood up to the microphone after the Nats lost the game. He didn’t sneak away. Doo faced the music. Continue reading →

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Last night was an awful night for baseball in Washington, D.C. It was not a competitive game, and manager Dave Martinez waved the white flag when the score ballooned over 8-0. These two teams are at it again tonight. Continue reading →

The Nats have a 3-game weekend series against the Orioles in Nationals Park (weather permitting). The difference a few days make. O’s fans were talking about PLAYOFFS after a 5-2 start to the season, but then the Marlins ripped through Baltimore and swept them in four games to throw the O’s back in the pack. The Orioles at the time had the third best record in the American League only trailing the Yankees and Twins. The Nats do not have much to brag about either as they have a similar record at 1-game under .500.

The betting lines are certainly interesting in this game. A quick look at the graphic tells you how Vegas is looking at this one, and as we always say, there is a reason we play the games. The Nationals are -180, so you would have to bet $180 to win $100 (as the favorites).

Like Vegas, the Nats are thinking Anibal Sanchez bounces back and Orioles starter and ex-Nat Tommy Milone flops. The lefty was the Orioles starter on Opening Day and was not good, but bounced back and stymied the Tampa Bay Rays over 5.0 innings. The Nats like hitting lefty pitching so we will see how this goes. All of a sudden, Milone has become a strikeout pitcher with a finesse repertoire. Sanchez last worked in the Nats “sim” game on Saturday.

Expect manager Dave Martinez to have three of these four in the lineup: Carter Kieboom, Asdrubal Cabrera, Howie Kendrick and Josh Harrison.

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Baltimore Orioles vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch:  6:05  pm EDT
TV: MASN; MASN2, MLB App out-of-market
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app

Line-ups subject to change without notice:

This is Howie line up for the Battle of the Beltways.#NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/HOEjLNTwkX

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 7, 2020

 

.@Nationals – Your place, 6:05, BYOB(aseballs) pic.twitter.com/xMdcSMNqTf

— Baltimore Orioles 😷 (@Orioles) August 7, 2020