The Washington Nationals went into the first game of their series against Seattle and fell flat in all aspects of the game. If not for a 450+ foot homer by James Wood, the game would have ended in a shutout. Tonight, it is Trevor Williams who gets another start. You might have thought that the team would have gone back to Brad Lord for the start and pushed Williams into the bullpen. This afternoon, Cade Cavalli pitched his best game at Triple-A. Williams could be pitching for his starter’s spot tonight as next Tuesday’s opener against the Cubs would be the spot if general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez shake up the rotation.
The Nationals will face RHP George Kirby of the Mariners. Kirby was drafted just after the Nationals selected Jackson Rutledge in the 2019 draft.
With no save opportunity last night Martinez did not have to show his hand on Kyle Finnegan who has been out since last Thursday with a fatigued arm/shoulder. We should also get an update on Jacob Young. He was set to take swings in the batting cage yesterday, and we should hear if that happened — and how Young felt afterwards as he recovers from a shoulder injury on a collision with the outfield wall over a week ago.
“We’re trying to work and see pitches. But when he’s like that and you know he’s attacking like that, you’ve got to go up there and be ready to hit. You might get just one pitch like that down the middle, and then all of a sudden you’re fighting. Tip my cap to him. He kept going out there and kept throwing strikes.”
— manager Dave Martinez said about last night’s game
You can see the recent bullpen usage here:
Here are your Nats’ WAR leaders James Wood at +2.1 with MacKenzie Gore at +1.8 followed by CJ Abrams, and Mitchell Parker. Those are impressive numbers that you can multiply by a factor of 3.06 to extrapolate to a full-season of results.
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 he hasn’t played in over a month dating back to April 15. Luis Garcia Jr. has slumped this season defensively to a -6.0 already — and with CJ Abrams, they combine for -10.0 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 62 percent which must improve. With as little as Amed Rosario has played on defense, he is at -6.0 OAA this season and the worst on the team. Per Statcast, his defense has cost the Nationals 5-runs. Is his offense good enough to make up that deficit if he plays the field? Keibert Ruiz, per Statcast, has a -6.0 OAA also. The Nationals were supposed to be better on defense. What has happened?
These are your stats leaders on BBRef. There are certainly some surprises on there — good and not so good — but the gap is widening.
“That’s Hassell’s ball. The rule of thumb is: When the infielder has his back turned toward the infield, the outfielder’s got to come catch the ball.”
— manager Dave Martinez said about a play where Robert Hassell III didn’t take charge in the outfield
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.47 and 5th worst in MLB. The reliever’s ERA sits at a 6.22 and no longer the worst in baseball in ERA.
Here is how the starters rank by ERA:
No. 5 Starter: Trevor Williams 6.39
No. 4 Starter: Michael Soroka 5.61
No. 3 Starter: Mitchell Parker 4.65
No. 2 Starter: Jake Irvin 3.42
No. 1 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.67
Washington Nationals vs. Seattle Mariners
Stadium: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, Washington
1st Pitch: 9:40 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 89 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
