Game #142 becomes #Scherzday after rain-out

The Nationals’ original plan on paper had Joe Ross pitching his 2018 debut last night, and then Mother Nature struck hard and did not let up from the second inning on which turned a lengthy rain delay into a frustrating wash-out that was finally postponed minutes before midnight. Joe Ross was amazing, but his stats from last night will never appear because the game was not official. Joe “Cool” touched 97.0 mph on the radar gun and stayed above 95-96 mph on his heater for the entire 1 2/3 innings of his start. Keep in mind, in Ross’ career he averaged only 93+ mph on his fastball. Where did this extra velo come from? A combination of a fresh arm and that adrenaline pumping is a great twosome to bring the heat.  

Friday’s game must now be replayed in its entirety per MLB rules as it did not make it to the minimum of the middle of the 5th inning. For fans looking for an old-fashioned single-admission doubleheader on Saturday, that is what you will get beginning at 3:05 p.m. Keep in mind that only tickets for Saturday’s originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. game will be get you into this doubleheader. Friday’s tickets can be exchanged for any available ticket to a another 2018 game.

Today’s regularly scheduled 7:05pm game was supposed to be Jayson Werth Appreciation Day plus the Taste of the World. Those will still take place with the Werth “Ring of Honor” ceremony starting 25-minutes after the first game ends. Unfortunately, there was an exclusive Jayson Werth Q&A that was cancelled.

For game one of this doubleheader the Nationals will have Max Scherzer start. For those who were expecting a Scherzer and Cole Hamels showdown, Cubs manager has decided to give Jaime Garcia his debut start of 2018. Garcia and the Nationals have a lot of history, but the aging Garcia, 32, just is not the same pitcher he was when he was an ace back in 2010. With that said, Garcia has baffled the Nats even in recent years except for Anthony Rendon. The left-handed Garcia has kept most Nats below Mendoza except Rendon and Wilmer Difo.

UPDATED: First pitch took place 2 hours and 5 minutes after the scheduled start time due to another lengthy rain delay.


Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium:  Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 3:05 pm EDT
TV:  MASN; MLB.TV app out-of-network
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app

Line-ups subject to change without notice:

  1. Trea Turner SS
  2. Anthony Rendon 3B
  3. Bryce Harper RF
  4. Mark Reynolds 1B
  5. Juan Soto LF
  6. Victor Robles CF
  7. Matt Wieters C
  8. Adrian Sanchez 2B
  9. Max Scherzer RHP
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