An outfielders meeting — Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
The Washington Nationals are back to work after one of their early season scheduled off-days. The best remedy for the Nats players is to get a win today after the disappointing loss on Opening Day. Today’s matchup on the mound is between Stephen Strasburg and Noah Syndergaard in this afternoon showdown. These are two of the biggest names in baseball. Both have been cover boys on Sports Illustrated — or rather Syndergaard has been a cover boy on Sports Illustrated for Kids.
In Nationals Park, Syndergaard has had his share of struggles with a career 5.79 ERA. In contrast, Strasburg gets on it quickly to start the season. Over his last three seasons, Strasburg’s first starts have been excellent with a combined 1.86 ERA. In fact, the San Diego native has a 3.14 ERA in the month of April in his career which could be an indicator of how much he likes the non-humid months in Washington D.C.
As we analytically prepare for these games, the best pitchers in the league generally dominate the opposing line-ups, but there are usually a few players who buck that trend. Figuring out the combinations to thwart the competition is part of the chess match. Below is a chart with career stats against Syndergaard by the Nationals batters.
Noah Syndergaard vs. Batters Table
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA ▼ |
OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmer Difo | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| Adam Eaton | 8 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .375 | .375 | .375 | .750 |
| Anthony Rendon | 27 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 5 | .346 | .370 | .615 | .986 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | 13 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .231 | .231 | .385 | .615 |
| Trea Turner | 12 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .167 | .167 | .250 | .417 |
| Juan Soto | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| Matt Adams | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .000 | .375 | .000 | .375 |
| Kurt Suzuki | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .125 | .000 | .125 |
| Stephen Strasburg | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 114 | 108 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 30 | .222 | .254 | .333 | .588 |
With the day-off yesterday, all relievers should be available for both teams. We will wait and see what each manager pencils up for their starting line-ups.
New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 1:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN; MLB App out-of-market
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
Adam Eaton RF
Trea Turner SS
Anthony Rendon 3B
Juan Soto LF
Ryan Zimmerman 1B
Kurt Suzuki C
Brian Dozier 2B
Stephen Strasburg RHP
Victor Robles CF
