Washington Nationals vs. Padres Preview (7/22-7/24)
The Washington Nationals will wrap up their nine game homestand this weekend with a series against the Padres
This week, the Washington Nationals (57-39) lost two out of three games in their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reynaldo Lopez made his debut on Tuesday and while he looked impressive at times with his nine strikeouts, he did give up six runs in five innings in a loss.
Plus, Stephen Strasburg picked up his first loss of the season in yesterday’s game. The positives from the Dodgers series were that Bryce Harper hit a mammoth home run, Trea Turner stole home, and Gio Gonzalez gave up one run over six innings in Wednesday night’s win.
The Washington Nationals are 3-3 on this homestand, which they will wrap up this weekend against the San Diego Padres (41-55). Last month, these two teams split a four-game series at PETCO Park with the Padres winning the final two games of the series.
After sweeping the Giants in their first series after the All-Star Break, San Diego was swept in a four game series against the Cardinals. Andy Green’s club is 16.5 games behind the Giants in the NL West and they are one of the sellers as we head into the trade deadline.
Last week, San Diego traded starter Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox for Boston’s top pitching prospect, Anderson Espinoza. Espinoza is now pitching in high-A for San Diego. One of the rumored names that the Padres could deal before August 1 is starter Andrew Cashner.
During the month of July, the Padres have scored the second most runs (81) and home runs (28) in the National League. Two players that have had big months for San Diego are second baseman Ryan Schimpf (.306, seven home runs, 12 RBI’s) and third baseman Yangervis Solarte (.333, six home runs, 16 RBI’s). Plus, they have two 20-home run hitters in right fielder Matt Kemp and All-Star first baseman Wil Myers.
On the mound, the Padres starting pitchers have a 4.61 ERA, which is tenth in the NL. Their team ERA of 4.37 this month is 11th in the NL. No starter who has made more than one starters has an ERA under three (Luis Perdomo has the lowest at 3.78).
In the bullpen, Brandon Maurer has three saves this month now that Fernando Rodney is the setup man with the Marlins. Another name to watch in the bullpen is left-hander Brad Hand, who has not given up a run this month (ten games) and held opponents to a .107 batting average.
Before this series starts tonight, here is my breakdown of this weekend’s pitching matchups:
Next: Tonight's Matchup
Luis Perdomo (3-4, 7.36 ERA) vs. Tanner Roark (9-5, 2.82) – 7:05 p.m ET, broadcast on MASN
Tonight, the Washington Nationals will be facing Perdomo for the first time. Perdomo made his Major League debut this season back on April 4, but he has only started in eight of his 23 appearances.
In his last start against the Giants on July 16, the 23-year-old right-hander went 4.2 innings, gave up three runs on eight hits, and struck out two in a no-decision. He has only 58 strikeouts in 69.2 innings and teams are hitting .350 against him this year. According to Fangraphs, Perdomo has an average velocity of about 92 miles per hour on his fastball to go with a slider and changeup.
As for Roark, he is coming off of a dominant start against the Pirates on July 16. In that game, he went eight shutout innings, gave up five hits (no extra-base hits), struck out five, and walked one in a win.
By going eight innings in that outing, he has pitched seven innings or more in five consecutive starts. He had 12 groundball outings in the win, which is the most he has had in a start since June 26 against the Brewers.
Back on June 16, Roark went six innings, gave up four runs on seven hits, struck out five, and walked two in a win over the Padres at PETCO Park. One run in that game was on a Wil Myers solo home run.
Prediction: It will be interesting to see how the Washington Nationals lineup adjusts to Perdomo as the game goes on. If they can find a way to get a couple early runs for Roark, I like the Nats to get the win in the series opener.
Next: Tomorrow's Matchup
Edwin Jackson (1-1, 4.76) vs. Max Scherzer (10-6, 2.94) – 7:05 p.m, MASN
Jackson was released by the Marlins on June 2 and signed by the Padres 18 days later. After the Pomeranz trade, Jackson went into the rotation and threw a good game against the Giants on July 17. He went 6.1 innings, gave up two earned runs on one hit, walked five, and struck out four in a win.
In his brief stint with the Marlins, Jackson was used mainly as a reliever, but he gave up seven runs in his eight appearances (10.2 innings). The last time Jackson was used as a starter was back in 2014 when he was in his second season with the Cubs.
Jackson is 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA in ten appearances (two starts) against his former team. Daniel Murphy is 5-for-20 (.250) with one home run and two RBI’s against Jackson in his career.
In Scherzer’s first start since his All-Star appearance at PETCO, he went seven innings, gave up one run on six hits, struck out seven, and walked one in a no-decision. That was the game that the Washington Nationals lost in 18 innings.
Over his last four starts, Scherzer has been dominant. He has given up a total of two earned runs and has 33 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. The right-hander currently leads the National League in strikeouts and has held opponents to a .183 batting average in July (0.90 ERA).
Scherzer faced the Padres on June 18 at PETCO. He went six innings, gave up one home run (Myers) on four hits, and struck out ten in a no-decision. That was the game where Felipe Rivero gave up five runs in the bottom of the eighth that prevented Scherzer from getting the win. Myers is 4-for-6 with two home runs against him.
Prediction: Even though Jackson had a good outing against San Francisco, the erratic command of his pitches will be something to keep an eye on. If the Washington Nationals can capitalize on those walks, I think Scherzer pitches another gem in a win, even if Myers does hit another home run.
Next: Sunday's Matchup
Christian Friedrich (4-6, 4.55) vs. TBA – 1:35 p.m, MASN/WUSA9
Freidrich will come into this Sunday’s start having lost four games in a row. Against the Cardinals on July 18, he went 5.1 innings, gave up three earned runs on six hits, struck out two, and walked five in a loss.
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Over the course of this four game losing streak, the 29-year-old left-hander has given up 15 earned runs in 20.1 innings. This momth, he has a 6.46 ERA in three starts with opponents hitting .302.
Against the Washington Nationals on June 17, Friedrich went six innings, gave up six runs on nine hits, struck out three, and walked two in a loss. Jayson Werth is 3-for-4 with a couple of RBI’s against him in his career.
Next: Washington Nationals Prospect Profile: Greg Ross
There will be no prediction for this game because the Washington Nationals have yet to name a starter for Sunday. Dusty Baker told the media before today’s game that the starter won’t be announced until that day:
With Reynaldo Lopez recently sent back down for Koda Glover and Joe Ross starting a rehab assignment on Sunday in Hagerstown, I would guess that we could see Lucas Giolito back in the Majors on Sunday. On Tuesday, Giolito went 6.2 innings, gave up no earned runs (one run) on seven hits, struck out seven, and walked two in a win for triple-A Syracuse.