Where have the bats gone? Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
For weeks this team has been out of balance; starting pitching, the offense, and the bullpen have rarely been clicking together. Yesterday, the Nationals got 5 2/3 innings from spot starter Austin Voth, and he departed with a 1-0 lead. In the final 3 1/3 innings, the bullpen gave up 10-runs, and the Nationals never scored any more runs. In this series, the Nats scored all of one run in the first two games against the Braves in their final games of the 2019 regular season. The Braves have already punched their ticket to the postseason while the Nats are clinging to their diminished lead in the Wild Card race.
Now the Nats find themselves in another salvage game of a series against the Braves. The Nats will turn to Anibal Sanchez for some divine intervention. He will have to face Max Fried who has turned out to be the win magnet for the Braves. They have won 21-games that Fried has started which is third best in the Majors while Fried is only second to Stephen Strasburg for the most wins by a pitcher in the NL. Last year, it was Anibal Sanchez who was the pitcher who was winning games as the veteran starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.
The left-handed Fried has faced the Nats a few times, and the last time is a game the Nationals would like to forget. Can these Nationals become that team they were for most of June, July, and August?
At some point the Nats players have to step it up and show everyone that they are the team that the others fear. This team is far from perfect, but what team is?
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 1:38 pm EDT
TV: MASN, FOX Sports Southeast, TBS (out-of-market), MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
The regular season finale against the Braves and LHP Max Fried:
Trea Turner – SS
Adam Eaton – RF
Anthony Rendon – 3B
Juan Soto – LF
Howie Kendrick – 1B
Brian Dozier – 2B
Victor Robles – CF
Yan Gomes – C
Anibal Sanchez – RHP pic.twitter.com/bOEtBwMKjM— Talk Nats ⚾ (@TalkNats2) September 15, 2019
