Washington Nationals May 2016 Month In Review
We look back at the month of May for the Washington Nationals as they went 16-14 in 30 games
After going 16-7 in the month of April, the Washington Nationals managed to go 16-14 in the month of May. Last night, the team increased their current win streak to four games after they swept the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Even though there were some low moments this past month such as Jonathan Papelbon’s blown save in Kansas City, being swept all four games at Wrigley Field, and Bryce Harper being suspended one game for his behavior after a walk-off home run by Clint Robinson on May 9.
By far, the best moment of the month for the Washington Nationals was back on May 11 when Max Scherzer struck out 20 Detroit Tigers in a win over his former teammate, Jordan Zimmermann. There was also the first six meetings between the Nats and the Mets this season. Washington went 3-3 in those games and they currently have a three game lead in the NLEast.
As far as who was the best player on the team this month, that was second baseman Daniel Murphy. Murphy hit .416 in 29 games with seven home runs and 23 RBI’s en route to winning NL Player Of The Month. It’s been a common theme of Nats’ player winning NL Player of the Month as Bryce Harper was the recipient for that award during the month of April.
Just as we did for the month of April, here our my grades for the Washington Nationals offense, starting rotation, and the bullpen for the month of May:
Next: Offense
Offense: B
Even though the Washington Nationals only hit .251 in May, they were one of the better teams in the league in driving teams in and hitting the long ball. The Nats’ 133 runs were the fourth most in the National League and they hit the most home runs in the NL (43).
After a bad month of April, first baseman Ryan Zimmerman had a much better month of May. He was tied with Murphy for the most home runs on the team (seven), had 17 RBI’s, and hit .262. His .542 slugging percentage was also the second highest on the team behind Murphy. He even had one of the team’s two inside the park home runs (Stephen Drew had the other).
Before the first series against the Mets at Citi Field, Dusty Baker made a lineup switch as he put Jayson Werth in the number two spot and Anthony Rendon batting sixth. Since that switch happened, Werth is hitting .263 with two home runs and six RBI’s while Rendon hit .333 with two home runs and nine RBI’s. So far, that move has changed both hitters for the better.
Another positive for the month was the play of Wilson Ramos. The Nats’ catcher hit .333 (second behind Murphy) with four home runs and 17 RBI’s in 27 games. Despite these great offensive performances, there were some negatives.
For one, the Nats still haven’t gotten anything out of the leadoff spot as Ben Revere hit a mere .170 in 23 games.
As for the reigning NL MVP, while he did have four home runs and an on-base percentage of .422, Harper hit only .200 in 28 games as he went through a slump after teams started to pitch around him. It started back on May 8 against the Cubs when he reached base seven times and was walked six times in a 13-inning loss. All in all, it was still an above average month offensively for the Nats even without great power numbers from Harper.
Next: Starting Pitching
Starting Pitching: B-
While the best pitching performance of the month was Scherzer’s 20 strikeout game against the Detroit, he still had the second highest ERA of any pitcher on the staff as he went 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA in six outings. Still, his 60 strikeouts were ten more than anyone else on the staff (Stephen Strasburg had 50).
Speaking of Strasburg, he kept his undefeated record in tact as the Nats have won 15 straight games he has started dating back to last season. The right-hander, who got a seven-year, $175 million extension earlier in the month, was 5-0 with a 3.11 ERA in six starts. Plus, he had three double-digit strikeout games, including 11 K’s in two of those games.
When you look at the Nats’ success in the rotation, it has been their two pitchers at the back end of the rotation in Tanner Roark and Joe Ross. Roark was 2-2 with a 3.23 ERA in six starts, but he ended the month giving up four runs in his final three outings. As for Ross, he was 2-4 with a 3.32 ERA in six outings, but he gave up three runs or fewer in five of those six starts.
Even though the Washington Nationals’ starting five was not as strong in May, they still are getting good contributions from the back end of the rotation and Strasburg is continuing his progression from last season. Now, the Nats need Gio Gonzalez to get back on track. The left-hander had a 5.23 ERA in six May starts and has allowed 13 runs in his last two games.
Next: Bullpen
Bullpen: B+
Just like in the month of April, the bullpen continued to be a pleasant surprise in the month of May. Despite Papelbon’s one blown save against Kansas City, the Nats’ closer still had six saves in 11 appearances. That outing on May 3 was his only bad outing of the month as three of the four runs he gave up ultimately came in that game.
While Shawn Kelley finally gave up an earned run this month, he was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 12 games. However, those three runs came in two of his final three appearances of the month.
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The pitcher with the highest ERA in the month of May was Felipe Rivero(3.65). Despite the high ERA, Rivero had the most strikeouts of any reliever on the team with 18 and he held opponents to a .182 batting average. In the eighth inning this year, Rivero has 22 K’s to just three walks.
As for the rest of the members in that bullpen, long man Yusmeiro Petit continued his consistency and had a 2.08 ERA in the eight appearances he had. When you look at the bullpen as a whole, no one had an ERA of four or higher, which is impressive.
Next: Reaction: Nats Getting It Done With The Glove
When you look at the bullpen as a whole, their 2.93 ERA right now is the second best in the National League, only behind the Chicago Cubs (2.60). Plus, this is without Matt Belisle, who has been on a rehab assignment. The pitcher who was called up for Belisle (Sammy Solis) had a team-best 1.59 ERA in 11 appearances and hitters only hit a mere .128 against him.