After a thrilling Tuesday night at the ballpark - thrilling, at least, once Trea Turner completed his second career cycle in the bottom of the seventh - the Nationals are right back at the park this morning for what promises to be a long day and night of baseball. Monday's rainout - did it ever actually rain during the evening hours? - forced them to schedule a day-night doubleheader today.
The good news: The Nats were able to avoid burning up their bullpen during an 11-1 win over the Rockies. Wander Suero threw 10 pitches in a scoreless seventh, and newcomer Michael Blazek threw 40 pitches over two innings to finish it off. Everybody else is fresh and ready to go.
The Nationals, of course, will hope Erick Fedde provides some quality innings in the opener and takes some pressure off the bullpen. Fedde gets the nod after a solid start last week in Baltimore, where he allowed one run over six innings and did it on only 66 pitches. You would think Davey Martinez will be willing to push him farther today, given the circumstances.
All the regulars are in the lineup for the opener, including Matt Adams at first base and Kurt Suzuki behind the plate. I'd imagine we'll see a couple of changes in the nightcap, almost certainly Howie Kendrick and Yan Gomes. Also, the Nationals have added Adrián Sanchez to the roster as the designated 26th man for the doubleheader. He's available for both games, so perhaps if things get lopsided at any point he could give Trea Turner or Anthony Rendon a breather.
COLORADO ROCKIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 10 mph in from center field
NATIONALS (53-46)
SS Trea Turner
RF Adam Eaton
3B Anthony Rendon
LF Juan Soto
1B Matt Adams
C Kurt Suzuki
2B Brian Dozier
CF Victor Robles
RHP Erick Fedde
ROCKIES (47-53)
RF Charlie Blackmon
SS Trevor Story
CF David Dahl
3B Nolan Arenado
1B Yonder Alonso
LF Raimel Tapia
2B Ryan McMahon
C Tony Wolters
RHP Jon Gray
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