District On Deck
FanSided

Washington Nationals vs. Braves Preview (8/12-8/14)

By Ricky Keeler

Aug 7, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Matt Kemp (27) celebrates with first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) after scoring during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Matt Kemp (27) celebrates with first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) after scoring during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next

 

Washington Nationals
Aug 6, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) throws to the San Francisco Giants during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Mike Foltynewicz (5-5, 4.37 ERA) vs. Stephen Strasburg (15-2, 2.80) – 7:05 p.m ET, broadcast on MASN/WUSA9

Foltynewicz was able to put together a strong outing in his last start against the Cardinals on August 7. He went six innings, gave up one run on six hits, struck out four, and walked two in a win. He has alternated wins and losses in each of his last four starts and he has a 5.52 ERA in five starts since the All-Star Break.

The 24-year-old right-hander was traded to the Braves in January 2015 that sent Evan Gattis to the Astros. Last season, Foltynewicz went 4-6 with a 5.71 ERA in 18 games (15 starts). This season, he has struggled away from Turner Field as he has a 4.87 ERA in eight starts with an opponents batting average of .313 (.186 average by opponents in six starts.

Foltynewicz has an average velocity of 95 miles per hour on his fastball (according to Fangraphs) to go with a slider, curveball, and changeup. He has never faced the Washington Nationals in his career, but Ben Revere is 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple against him.

As for Strasburg, he is coming off of a loss in which he had his shortest outing of the season. On August 6 against the San Francisco Giants, he went 4.2 innings, gave up four runs on eight hits, struck out eight, and walked one in his second loss of the year.

In that start, he only threw 13 first pitch strikes to the 23 batters. Out of the eight hits he gave up, only four were for extra bases and three came from Eduardo Nunez. That being said, it was the first time all season that Strasburg didn’t finish five innings in a start.

Strasburg has faced the Braves twice this season and is 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA in those outings.  Freeman is 12-for-31 (.387) with two doubles, three home runs, and nine RBI’s against the right-hander in his career.

Prediction: With Foltynewicz struggling to find consistency, I think the Washington Nationals offense will find a way to get to him early. Plus, it’s tough to expect Strasburg to have two bad outings in a row. He gets the series started on the right note with a win.

 

Next: Tomorrow's Matchup

Home/Nationals News