Washington Nationals Series Preview: Nats at Rockies (8/18-8/20)
Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
It has been a difficult road trip, to say the least, for the Washington Nationals (58-59). This past weekend, the Nats were swept at AT&T Park against the San Francisco Giants. While Bryce Harper hit his 30th home run of the season on Friday, the Nats offense was not able to come back in that game as Max Scherzer had the shortest outing of his season (three innings).
The series culminated on Sunday when Giants’ ace Madison Bumgarner struck out 14 batters, threw a complete game three-hit shutout, and went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. The Nationals are 1-6 on this West Coast trip and have been shutout three times in their last six games. Fortunately, they remain 4.5 games back of the Mets in the NL East after the Mets were swept at Citi Field this past weekend against the Pirates.
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To end this ten game road trip, the Nationals are in Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies (48-68) for a three game series, which begins tonight. Before the Nats went out west, the Rockies took two out of three games at Nats Park from August 7-9. Nats’ setup man Drew Storen gave up six runs in the two games he pitched (both losses).
For the Rockies, the player to watch in this series is left fielder Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez is hitting .304 since the All-Star Break with 14 home runs and 32 RBI’s. He went 4-for-12 in the Nats’ series with three home runs and six RBI’s.
While Colorado did win that series against Washington, the Nationals may be catching them at the right time. Walt Weiss’ club had lost six straight games before shutting out the Padres, 5-0 on Sunday. If there were a series where you think the Nats would get back on track, this would be it.
Let’s take a look at who has the edge in each of the three pitching matchups in this series:
Next: Tonight's Matchup
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Zimmermann (8-8, 3.34 ERA) vs. David Hale (3-4, 5.69) – 8:40 PM ET, broadcast on MASN2
In his last start against the Dodgers, Jordan Zimmermann pitched great, but he was unable to get any support from his offense, which was going up against Clayton Kershaw. On August 12, Zimmermann went seven innings, gave up one run on two hits, struck out nine, and walked one on 93 pitches in the loss.
While the 29-year-old right-hander has pitched well in his last two starts, he has not had a win to show for it. Against the Rockies on August 7, Zimmermann went 6.2 innings, gave up one run on four hits, struck out six, and did not walk a batter. However, he got the no decision in that game because Drew Storen gave up a grand slam to Carlos Gonzalez in the top of the eighth inning.
It’s just been more bad luck for Zimmermann, who is now 0-3 with a 3.68 ERA in six starts since the All-Star Brea. However, he has had 33 strikeouts to six walks in those games and held opponents to a .224 batting average. He is 5-0 with a 2.10 ERA in nine starts against the Rockies. Third baseman Nolan Arenado (.278, 29 HR, 86 RBI’s) is 4-for-9 with a double and a home run against him.
The Rockies will be sending David Hale to the mound in tonight’s game. Hale will be making his first start since july 9 after being on the disabled list due to a mild groin strain. However, Hale has been a pitcher who has given up more than two runs in every outing since May 23 against the Giants (nine appearances).
The 27-year-old right-hander is in his third season in the league after being with the Braves each of the last two seasons. Tonight’s start will be the 17th start of his career. According to Fangraphs, Hale is a pitcher that has an average velocity about 91 miles per hour on his fastball and he has a slider and changeup in his arsenal.
Hale made three appearances (one start) against the Nats in his career and has not given up a run in those 6.1 innings. Ian Desmond is 2-for-2 against him with a double.
Advantage: In that three game series against the Rockies, the Nats did score 14 runs, so you would have to think this would be the series where the offense turns it around. Jordan Zimmermann should be able to put together another strong outing and he will finally get his first win since the All-Star Break.
Next: Tomorrow's Matchup
Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Stephen Strasburg (6-6, 4.62) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (7-5, 4.75) – 8:40 PM ET, MASN2
While Stephen Strasburg ran into some trouble in the first inning of his last start, he was able to settle down and put together a quality outing. Against the Giants on August 13, Strasburg went six innings, gave up two runs on seven hits, struck out six, and walked two. However, the Nats only scored one run, which caused Strasburg to lose his first outing since May 23 against the Phillies.
In his last six starts, Strasburg has given up no more than two runs in any outing. He made his return to the rotation from a left oblique strain on August 8 against the Rockies. In that game, he went seven innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out 12, and did not walk a batter in the win.
Strasburg is 3-3 with a 2.77 ERA in six starts against the Rockies, but he is 0-2 at Coors Field with a 5.56 ERA. Second baseman D.J. LeMahieu (.319, 5 HR, 45 RBI’s) is 4-for-12 with a home run and two RBI’s against Strasburg.
When you look at Jorge De La Rosa’s numbers, he is by far the best pitcher in the Rockies’ rotation. The 34-year-old left-hander has given up seven earned runs in his last three starts combined. Against the Mets on August 12, De La Rosa went six innings, gave up two runs on four hits, struck out seven, and walked two in a loss.
In the series against the Nationals, De La Rosa went up against Jordan Zimmermann, and got a no-decision in that game. On August 7, he gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits, struck out one, and walked two. While De La Rosa has been good away from Coors Field, he has a 6.62 ERA in ten home starts this season (3.17 road ERA in ten starts)
De La Rosa is 5-2 with a 4.12 ERA in nine career starts against Washington. Ryan Zimmerman is 5-for-16 against him with three doubles, a home run, and five RBI’s.
Advantage: While I expect Stephen Strasburg to put up another good outing in this game, the Rockies are a team that can take advantage of any mistakes a pitcher makes. That being said, De La Rosa’s ERA of 6.62 at home has to make Nats’ fans feel a little confident about the outcome of this game. It may be a high scoring game, but I like the Nationals to get the win.
Next: Thursday's Matchup
Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Max Scherzer (11-9, 2.73) vs. Yohan Flande (2-1, 4.19) – 8:40 PM ET, MASN2
Max Scherzer had an excellent first half for the Washington Nationals, but his second half has been anything but excellent. In his last six starts, the Nats’ ace is 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA and has allowed opponents to hit .279 against him. He has a 7.80 ERA in his last three starts this month, with opposing batters hitting .306.
In his last start against the Giants on August 14, Scherzer had his shortest outing of his season. He went three innings, gave up six runs on seven hits, struck out three, and walked none on 58 pitches. It now begs the question whether or not he is tired from all the innings he has thrown this season (165 – second most in the National League).
Scherzer faced the Rockies on August 9 and got a no-decision. He went six innings, gave up four runs on eight hits, struck out ten, and walked one. However, he gave up three home runs, which is the second time he has done that this season. In that game, Carlos Gonzalez hit two home runs against him and he’s 3-for-9 with three home runs against Scherzer lifetime.
As for Yohan Flande, he has had no-decisions in back-to-back starts and has not lost a game since July 3 against the Diamondbacks. In his last start against the Padres on August 14, the 27-year-old left-hander went six innings, gave up four runs on eight hits, struck out four, and walked one.
Flande did face the Nationals on August 9 when he went up against Scherzer. He went 4.2 innings, gave up three runs on six hits, struck out two, and walked none.
Flande gave up three home runs in that game, two to Ryan Zimmerman and one to Jayson Werth. However, one thing that the left-hander has been able to do in his last two starts is induce hitters into groundball outs. In his last two starts, Flande has 25 groundball outs combined.
Advantage: I have to reverse my trend of picking Scherzer in games this season. While Scherzer is due for a great outing, he has lost some of his command and in a ballpark like Coors Field, some of those mistakes will end up being home runs. The Nats could use a sweep of the Rockies, but I think Flande is able to bet Scherzer and the Rockies salvage the series.
Next: District Daily: Scherzer Discusses Recent Struggles