The Washington Nationals got an early lead but then fell behind in another shaky start by Trevor Williams. The Nats offense clawed back and then took a demanding lead that allowed Williams to stay in the game, and turn the game into a win.
Once the game was turned over to the bullpen, the newly acquired Andrew Chafin put together a nice Nats’ debut. The Nats got to save the back of their bullpen with the large lead and took the win, making this rubber game the decisive game to see who wins this series. After the game, the Nats will fly back to the DMV to get ready for a game with the Cleveland Guardians before finally getting an day-off on Thursday.
Today’s lineup is almost identical to yesterday’s with Josh Bell out of the lineup while nursing his sore groin, however Keibert Ruiz is starting at catcher after getting yesterday off. Amed Rosario will get another start at third base after he hit the big home run last night. The Reds are starting today’s game with a right-hander, and Rosario had been strictly a platoon bat until this game.
“These guys are relentless. If we lose a game, they come back ready to play the next day. That’s a great sign for us.”
— manager Dave Martinez said about last night’s game
You can see the recent bullpen usage here:
Here are your Nats’ WAR leaders with MacKenzie Gore followed by James Wood, CJ Abrams and Mitchell Parker.. On the negative side, Josh Bell has fallen to a -0.7 at this point.
On defense, the stats are starting to give you an idea of what this defense is all about. Paul DeJong is your OAA leader , and Luis Garcia Jr. has slumped to a -4.0 already — and with CJ Abrams, they combine for -6.0 OAA. Another issue that we have discussed is the positioning of Nathaniel Lowe at first base as he is too often out of position to make a play — and OAA has his chance at success at only 60 percent which must improve.
These are your stats leaders on BBRef. There are certainly some surprises on there — good and not so good — but the gap is widening.
“I was prepared since my first at-bat, but of course towards the second and third, I kind of knew what he was going to throw.”
— said Amed Rosario through a translator. Rosario had the big 3-run homer in last night’s win.
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.21 and 10th worst in MLB. The reliever’s ERA sits at a 6.79 and is the worst in MLB.
Here is how the starters rank by ERA:
No. 5 Starter: Trevor Williams 5.86
No. 4 Starter: Michael Soroka 7.20
No. 3 Starter: Mitchell Parker 3.48
No. 2 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.01
No. 1 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.51
Washington Nationals vs. Cincinnati Reds
Stadium: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
1st Pitch: 4:10 pm EDT
TV: MASN2
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app; In Spanish on DC 87.7 FM and La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 187 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
