Washington Nationals June 2016 Month In Review

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Jun 29, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches against the New York Mets in the sixth inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Starting Pitching: C

For the first time this year, the Washington Nationals had to deal with a significant injury to a starting pitcher. Last Sunday, Stephen Strasburg was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of an upper back strain. In three starts during June, Strasburg was 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA.

With Strasburg out, that gave the opportunity for top prospect Lucas Giolito to make his MLB debut. Last Tuesday, Giolito only went four innings because of the rain delay, but he gave up only one hit and made a good first impression.

The star of the month in the rotation was Max Scherzer. In six starts, the right-handed ace was 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA, had 58 strikeouts to seven walks, and held opponents to a .158 batting average. Scherzer gave up only two hits in 7.1 innings against the Mets on Wednesday and has four straight double-digit strikeout games.

Although Tanner Roark had a rough first start in the month of June, he finished the month giving up seven runs in his final four starts. He filled in for Strasburg last Sunday and threw seven shutout innings against the Brewers to stop the losing streak.

As for Ross, he gave up five runs in his first start of June against the White Sox, but he gave up only 12 runs in his final four starts and has not lost a game since May 18.

The reason I drop the Nats pitching down to a C was largely because of Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez got his only win of the month last night and had a miserable June. The left-hander was 1-4 with a 6.95 ERA in six starts.

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