The Washington Nationals are on a four-game skid and the schedule does not get easier with the first place Texas Rangers in town for the final weekend before the All-Star break. This is an historic time for the Washington Nationals as they will pick second in the draft for the first time ever on Sunday, and they have their top-2 prospects going to the All-Star Future’s Game tomorrow.
As we balance the present with the future, it is taking the bad as the losses at Nationals Park keeps piling up, and the team has a horrific 13-31 record in D.C. They just look like a team at home that plays with a lack of energy. Why that is? It’s anyone’s guess. When you look at a team on the road that is 21-22 which is just one game short of .500 baseball, you have to scratch your head.
On the mound for the Nats is Trevor Williams who is the last Nats starter to be on the mound for a Nats’ win. Cody Bradford starts for the Rangers, and the left-hander made his debut this year and currently has a 4.98 ERA.
There was the Joan Adon move that we reported yesterday from a source:
There is a lineup shuffle today. CJ Abrams will leadoff and he has a .349 OBP in the past three weeks, but moving the hotter Lane Thomas from leadoff to the 2-hole needs to work as well or better than he was doing at leadoff.
Yesterday’s game almost ended in a game of inches from the bat of Abrams. It was absolute robbery that negated a sure walk-off single at the very least:
“I thought [the game was over]. CJ did a good job hitting the ball hard like that.”
— manager Dave Martinez said after the previous game
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.62 for 22nd best in MLB.
Here is how they rank:
No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 5.13
No. 4 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.70
No. 3 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 4.42
No. 2 Starter: Trevor Williams 4.34
No. 1 Starter: Josiah Gray 3.41
Here is your Baseball Savant Statcast Link for the game.
Texas Rangers vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 7:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app
