The Washington Nationals got going in the right direction last night with a solid 4-1 win over the Phillies. Of course the score should have been much larger if the Nats weren’t jobbed by umpire Jeremie Rehak who per Umpire Scorecard cost the Nats an additional 2.42 runs.
Tonight’s game really takes a look back at the Nats past with so many Phillies coming from Nationals roots like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Jesus Luzardo. There are more names also. Some might forget that the Turner trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers netted back Keibert Ruiz. While the Phillies, an aging group with a high payroll, might be more about the past, the Nats are the future.
Using Ruiz as an example, he’s faster than in the past because his legs weren’t worn down with overuse. His health hasn’t been an issue as he is wearing a spring-loaded catcher’s mask that frankly, he should have been wearing years ago to protect him against head injuries. While much of the Nats personnel are the same as last year, these are different players because each have been coached up. Coaching matters.
The Nats will start this game with PJ Poulin as the opener and at some point, Zack Littell will be the bulk pitcher. The hope is that Littell is the best form of himself tonight. He had an excellent run going after a bad start, and his last two starts were not good.
With the Phillies starting a lefty, both Luis Garcia Jr. and Daylen Lile will both start the game on the bench tonight.
❝[Curtis Mead] hit that two-run home run against a right-handed pitcher with two strikes. We know he came here with a goal to really attack lefties, and he’s fought his way into the lineup against righties and had some success against righties. And we saw it again [on Monday] with that huge home run against a good arm in their bullpen.❞
On offense, the Nats are at the top of MLB for the most runs scored this season at 420 runs and that is an impressive 5.32 runs per game. With the Nats pitching giving up 4.59 earned runs per game, the difference is really those pesky unearned runs due to the errors. Overall, the Nats have a +15 run differential on the season. Since April 19th, the Nats are the 16th best in ERA in MLB in that span at 4.12.
The FanGraphs WAR chart is accumulating data. The numbers are getting very large as the season is headed towards the halfway point tomorrow. The OAA defense stat is now giving us a picture of what the Nats have — and don’t have.
Philadelphia Phillies vs.Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. 1st Pitch: 6:45 PM EDT TV: Nationals.TV Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 179 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
