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Washington Nationals News: Mike Rizzo reiterates confidence in club, Matt Williams

By Pablo Roa

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Good afternoon DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.

In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses general manager Mike Rizzo’s continued confidence in the Nationals. As Ladson writes in his article, Rizzo still believes that the Nationals have what it takes to win the NL East and is confident that he has the right players and manager to do just that.

The Nationals have struggled mightily over the last month, falling from first place in the NL East to 4.5 games out of first with 45 games left to play. Mathematically, the Nationals still have plenty of time to turn things around and defend their NL East title. But the team is currently riding a six-game losing streak and appears to be struggling in all aspects of the game—while the first-place Mets have turned their season around for the better over the last three weeks.

Despite the gloomy outlook, Rizzo still believes the Nationals can win the division. After all, the Nationals were heavily favored to win the World Series going into Spring Training and still boast great talent, such as MVP candidate Bryce Harper and Cy Young Award candidate Max Scherzer.

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But for the Nationals to turn their season around, every player has to contribute at a higher level than what we’ve seen in recent weeks. The team needs to find consistency in the batter’s box as well as on the pitcher’s mound. As Rizzo says, the Nationals still have time to turn things around. But for that to happen, the team needs to improve in every aspect of the game in a very short period of time—a feat which may prove to be impossible for the underperforming Nationals..

Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Scott Allen discusses Nationals superstar shortstop prospect Trea Turner. As Allen notes, Turner has been tearing it with the bat at Triple-A Syracuse and is ready to help the Nationals at the big league level if the team decides to call him up this season.

Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as alway, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.

Rizzo reiterates confidence in club, Williams

(Bill Ladson, MLB.com)

SAN FRANCISCO — Don’t tell manager Matt Williams and general manager Mike Rizzo that the Nationals have hit rock bottom. Even though Nationals were swept by the Giants this weekend, culminating in Sunday afternoon’s 5-0 loss, Williams and Rizzo still believe the Nationals can win the National League East title.

Entering Tuesday’s action against the Rockies, the Nationals are 58-59, 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Mets. Washington is riding a six-game losing streak.

Nothing is going right for the Nationals on both side of the ball. In the four-game series against the Giants, for example, not one member of the starting rotation went five innings. Their last quality start came from right-hander Stephen Strasburg on Thursday against the Giants, and that ended up being a loss. Read full article here.

If called upon, Trea Turner ready to provide whatever Nats need

(Scott Allen, Washington Post)

Joe Ross struggled to fool hitters the second time through the batting order on Sunday and allowed four runs — three more than Giants starter Madison Bumgarner needed — before departing in the fifth inning of the Nationals’ 5-0 loss at San Francisco.

Meanwhile on the East Coast, shortstop Trea Turner, the other prospect the Nationals received in the three-team deal that sent Steven Souza Jr. to Tampa Bay, joined Grant Paulsen on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio and described his offensive game. Read full article here.

Next: Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez Win Pitcher Of The Week Awards

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