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The Nationals have a chance to win a series this afternoon. If they can beat the Diamondbacks, they will have taken three of four and will improve to 7-8 on the young season. All things considered, that wouldn’t be bad at all.
As we’ve seen time and again, and as we certainly saw Wednesday night, the starting pitcher will probably have as much impact on the final outcome as anyone. The Nats continue to win when they get five or more quality innings from their starter (aside from one game, Sunday in Pittsburgh). They continue to lose when they don’t get that.
So, Josh Rogers: What do you have for us today? The lefty was outstanding in his season debut in Atlanta, then struggled his next start against the Pirates. He needs to get ahead in the count today, avoid walks and induce some weak contact out of an admittedly weak-hitting Diamondbacks lineup.
Here's some good news: Josh Bell is in the lineup, the MRI on his left knee having come back clean. Bell, who came out of Wednesday's game in the fourth inning, tested it out pregame and was cleared to play first base and bat cleanup as usual.
There was, however, another roster move before today's game: The Nationals have placed reliever Hunter Harvey on the 10-day injured list with a right pronator strain and selected the contract of fellow right-hander Erasmo Ramirez from Triple-A Rochester. (They transferred Ehire Adrianza to the 60-day IL to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.) So the bullpen, which already lost Sean Doolittle to an elbow sprain Wednesday, has now also lost Harvey for some period of time.
The Orioles close out their series in Oakland this afternoon with Tyler Wells on the mound and a chance to gain a split after last night’s 1-0 win – the team’s third shutout of the season.
Wells is making his third start after tossing four scoreless innings against the Yankees. He’s been stretched out to 64 pitches.
The rotation has registered a 1.13 ERA since April 11, the lowest in the majors, with five earned runs in 39 2/3 innings.
The Orioles and Giants have allowed three home runs, fewest in the majors. The Orioles and Mets are the only staffs with three shutouts.
On the offensive side, the Orioles’ four home runs and 24 runs scored are the fewest in baseball. The .585 OPS is the lowest in the American League and third-lowest in the majors.
The Nationals seemed to get through Tuesday’s doubleheader in great shape, sweeping the Diamondbacks and holding them to one run over 18 innings. It may have come at a price, though, because there are roster changes today.
Sean Doolittle, who retired two of the three batters he faced in the sixth inning of Game 1, is going on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left elbow, which obviously is a concern. Sam Clay has been called up from Triple-A Rochester to take his spot. Additionally, the Nationals have kept lefty Francisco Perez (yesterday's 29th man for the doubleheader) in their bullpen and optioned Donovan Casey back to Rochester before the outfielder ever had a chance to make his major league debut.
So the roster looks a little different for tonight’s game, the third in this four-game series. The pressure will be on Erick Fedde to do what Josiah Gray and Joan Adon did Tuesday and provide quality innings, taking pressure off the bullpen. Fedde was solid in his last outing against the Pirates, allowing only two runs in five innings, but his pitch count of 96 was too high for Davey Martinez’s likes.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 59 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field
NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Yadiel Hernandez
3B Maikel Franco
SS Alcides Escobar
CF Victor Robles
Let’s keep the ball rolling and play some more baseball!
The Nationals and Diamondbacks will shortly take the field again on South Capitol Street for tonight’s nightcap after Washington won the first game of today’s split doubleheader 6-1.
Joan Adon, on normal rest, is hoping his third time's the charm as he takes the mound tonight. The right-handed rookie is 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA over his first two starts of the season. In nine innings, he’s given up 13 hits, 10 runs, three home runs and seven walks (to just eight strikeouts) while hitting one batter and throwing three wild pitches.
Manager Davey Martinez elected to stick with Adon in this spot in an attempt to not put too much pressure on the already taxed bullpen in today’s twinbill. Martinez only used four relievers in the opener, so he should have plenty of options for the nightcap. The Nats will need another starter this weekend, but they will address that later in the week.
Left-hander Francisco Pérez has been designated as the 29th man to give the ‘pen some help for tonight’s game. He is only available for the nightcap because a 29th player is only eligible for both games of a doubleheader if both teams agree to it. The Diamondbacks are using 29th man on tonight's starter, Tyler Gilbert, so they didn’t need it for the first game.
It’s a cold, windy Tuesday in the nation’s capital, but at least it’s not raining anymore. So guess what? Let’s play two!
Yes, we’ve got our first doubleheader of the season following the postponement of Monday night’s scheduled series opener between the Nationals and Diamondbacks. That game is being made up this afternoon at 1:05 p.m., with the originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. game still on tap for this evening.
Keep in mind all doubleheader games are once again scheduled for nine innings after two years of the seven-inning trial during the peak of the pandemic. That means pitching is of the essence, and the Nats will need to get length from their starters today.
With that in mind, Davey Martinez is sticking with both of his originally scheduled starters for the first two games of this series. It’s Josiah Gray in the afternoon game, then Joan Adon in the nightcap. They’ll have to find a spot starter sometime this weekend, likely Saturday, but they’ll delay that decision for now.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (Game 1)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 51 degrees, wind 19 mph out to right field
Anthony Bemboom starts behind the plate tonight as the Orioles begin a four-game series in Oakland.
Anthony Santander is in left field, Austin Hays is in right and Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman. Trey Mancini is serving as the designated hitter.
Mountcastle and Santander have reached base in all nine games.
The infield also includes Ramón Urías at third base. Rougned Odor is at second after yesterday’s pinch-hit two-run single in the eighth inning that broke a scoreless tie against the Yankees.
Spenser Watkins gets his second start after allowing one earned run, but four total, in three innings against the Brewers. He’s never faced the Athletics.
PITTSBURGH – It’s cold. Really cold. Like, there were snow flurries this morning cold. But there’s a series finale to play this afternoon, and the Nationals and Pirates will be bundled up when they take the field at 1:35 p.m.
The Nats really could use this one. After winning two of three in Atlanta, the last thing they want to do is lose three of four in Pittsburgh. It’s going to take a much better start from Patrick Corbin, though, to give them a chance. The left-hander was battered around by the Braves last time out. He was working in the bullpen with pitching coach Jim Hickey on some things the other day. At this point, the Nationals will take any improvement they can get from him.
They’d like to score a few more runs than they did Saturday night, as well, when they went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and needed a two-run rally in the ninth just to get to four total for the game. They’ll be going up against Pirates left-hander Jose Quintana, who held the Cubs to one earned run in 5 1/3 innings in his season debut.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 42 degrees, wind 8 mph out to right field
NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
3B Maikel Franco
LF Lane Thomas
SS Alcides Escobar
C Riley Adams
CF Victor Robles
PITTSBURGH – The weather has taken a major turn for the worse here over the last 24 hours. It’s been cold and rainy all day, miserable weather for baseball. The good news, however, is that it’s supposed to clear out before first pitch tonight. It’s still not going to be very pleasant conditions when the Nationals and Pirates play the third game of their four-game series, but they should be able to play.
It’ll be Josh Rogers on the mound for the Nats, making his second start and hoping to pick up right where he left off in Atlanta on Monday night, when he held the Braves to one run and two hits in 5 1/3 innings. Rogers’ future in the rotation isn’t 100 percent certain beyond this, but you have to think a halfway decent start tonight buys him more time here regardless.
Bryse Wilson starts for the Pirates. The 24-year-old right-hander previously pitched for the Braves, so several of the Nats regulars have a little bit of experience against him. Maikel Franco is 2-for-3 with a homer and a walk against Wilson. Lane Thomas is 1-for-3 with a homer. César Hernández, who will be looking to reach base to lead off the game for the sixth consecutive day, is 1-for-6 with a triple off Wilson.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Rain ending, 52 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field
NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Maikel Franco
LF Lane Thomas
SS Alcides Escobar
CF Victor Robles
ATLANTA – It doesn’t really mean much in the larger scheme, but in your mind, wouldn’t a 3-4 start to this season sound a whole lot better than a 2-5 start? Especially given the competition they’ve faced, if the Nationals emerge one game under .500 from this gantlet, you’d have to consider that a modest success, right?
Well, they have a chance to do just that this afternoon when they seek a series victory over the Braves in a matinee finale. They’ll obviously need to play a much better game than they did Tuesday night, when they were shellacked 16-4. But then again, they won the opener in convincing fashion, 11-2, so anything’s possible.
It’s a stiffer challenge today facing Braves ace Max Fried, though the lefty struggled on opening day, giving up five earned runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings to the Reds. He actually faced the Nationals six times last season, going 3-1 with a 4.08 ERA.
Josiah Gray starts for the Nats, who could certainly use some quality innings from the right-hander. The good news: The entire A bullpen is available, none of them having needed to pitch in either of the first two games of this series.
Nelson Cruz is back in the starting lineup after being scratched from last night's game with groin tightness. The slugger is batting third as the designated hitter.
