Washington Nationals at Braves Series Preview (8/18-8/21)
After taking two of three games from the Braves at home last week, the Washington Nationals begin a four game series in Atlanta tonight
At Coors Field this week, the Washington Nationals (70-49) didn’t get more than four innings out of any of their starting pitchers as they lost two out of three games to the Colorado Rockies. ‘That being said, the offense scored 17 runs and hit five home runs.
During the series, Bryce Harper had a home run and four RBI’s in the three games and Jayson Werth comes into tonight with a 45-game on-base streak. Tonight, the Nats are at Turner Field as they begin a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves (44-76). Last weekend, the Nats took two out of three against the Braves at Nationals Park.
Against the Nats last weekend, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman went 5-for-9 in the three games with two home runs and five RBI’s. Since the All-Star Break, Freeman is hitting .295 with eight home runs and 22 RBI’s and he’s hitting .327 since August 1.
Two other players to watch on the Braves offense are right fielder Nick Markakis and center fielder Ender Inciarte. Markakis is hitting .304 with three home runs and 12 RBI’s this month while Inciarte is hitting .359 with 13 runs scored in his last 15 games.
Since last weekend, the Braves played two home games against the Minnesota Twins and lost both of those games by a combined score of 13-5. Last night, Atlanta called up top prospect Dansby Swanson to be their shortstop after they traded Erick Aybar to the Tigers. Swanson went 2-for-4 in last night’s loss.
On the mound, the Braves have a 4.87 team ERA (seventh in the National League) and they are going to get Julio Teheran back in their rotation on Friday. In the bullpen, they activated Arodys Vizcaino (10-for-13 in saves), who has not pitched since July 15 because of an oblique injury.
Before this series starts tonight, check out my breakdown of the four pitching matchups this series:
Next: Tonight's Matchup
Reynaldo Lopez (1-1, 5.74 ERA) vs. Rob Whalen (1-1, 7.31) – 7:10 p.m ET, broadcast on MASN
The pitching matchup tonight is a rematch of last Saturday’s game when the Washington Nationals beat the Braves 7-6. Let’s start with Lopez, who picked up his first Major League win in that game. The 22-year-old right-hander went seven innings, gave up one run on five hits, struck out two, and walked two on 100 pitches in the win.
Even though Lopez didn’t get many strikeouts Saturday night, he still showed good command of the strike zone. Out of the 28 batters he faced, he threw 19 first-pitch strikes. He did give up a Freddie Freeman home run in the first, but was able to recover nicely.
As for Whalen, he had a rough outing against the Nats offense. Whalen went five innings, gave up six runs on six hits, and struck out five on 84 pitches in the loss. In that outing, Whalen gave up a pair of home runs to Daniel Murphy and Trea Turner.
Saturday night’s outing was the third start of the careers of both of these pitchers. The 22-year-old right-hander has thrown at least five innings in each of his first three starts. Since walking four in his Major League debut, Whalen has only one walk in his last two games.
Prediction: This matchup is interesting because the Washington Nationals are going to need Lopez to eat some innings due to the bullpen being taxed in Colorado. Tonight, the Nats will have A.J. Cole in the bullpen after they sent Brian Goodwin down to triple-A.
The #Nats have recalled RHP A.J. Cole and optioned OF Brian Goodwin to Triple-A Syracuse.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 18, 2016
Cole made his Major League debut last year against the Braves at Turner Field and was awful (two innings, nine runs, nine hits). I expect Lopez to go at least five innings, but I will take the Braves to win the series opener.
Next: Tomorrow's Matchup
Tanner Roark (13-6, 2.81) vs. Julio Teheran (3-9, 2.81) – 7:35 p.m ET, MASN
Roark had a dominant outing against the Braves in last Sunday’s game. He went seven innings, gave up one run on five hits, struck out three, and walked two on 109 pitches in the win. Roark has now won four straight games and five of his last six starts.
Since the All-Star Break, Roark is 5-1 with a 2.23 ERA, which is the lowest ERA of any starting pitcher in the Washington Nationals rotation. He has given up one earned run or less in four of those six decisions. Plus, he has pitched into the seventh inning in four straight starts.
Against the Braves this season, Roark has made two starts and he is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA (one run allowed in 14 innings). Matt Kemp is 3-for-8 against him with two home runs and five RBI’s.
The Braves are expected to activate Teheran off the disabled list for tomorrow night’s game. The 25-year-old right-hander has not made a start since July 30 due to a lat injury. He threw only nine innings in his two starts prior to going on the DL.
Some thought Teheran could have been moved at the trade deadline, but he has been the ace of the Braves rotation when healthy. He has held opponents to a .205 batting average and he had a sub-two ERA in the months of May and June.
Teheran is 3-3 with a 3.95 ERA in 13 career starts against the Washington Nationals. In his two starts against the Nats in 2016, he is 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA. Bryce Harper is 12-for-28 (.429) against Teheran with three doubles, five home runs, and ten RBI’s.
Prediction: For tomorrow night’s game, I will go with the Washington Nationals to get the victory. Teheran has yet to win a game at Turner Field this year (0-5, 3.07 ERA in 12 starts) and is coming off injury. Meanwhile, Roark has been the most consistent starter for the Nats in the second half. Roark leads the Washington Nationals to a win.
Next: Saturday's Matchup
Max Scherzer (12-7, 2.95) vs. Tyrell Jenkins (2-3, 4.89) – 7:10 p.m, MASN
For the first time in 2016, Scherzer did not complete five innings in his last start against the Rockies. He went four innings, gave up four runs on seven hits, struck out three, and walked two on 97 pitches in a no-decision.
During that start against the Rockies, Scherzer gave up three runs in the first inning and needed 30+ pitches to complete two of the four innings. Plus, the three strikeouts were tied for the fewest he has had in any start this season (April 21 against the Marlins).
Scherzer is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in two starts against the Braves this season, which were his first two outings of the season. In his career against Scherzer, Nick Markakis is 7-for-24 (.292) with four doubles and two RBI’s against Scherzer.
Jenkins faced the Washington Nationals last Sunday and he struggled mightily. He went 4.2 innings, gave up seven runs on six hits, struck out one, and walked three on 84 pitches in a loss.
In that start, the Washington Nationals did a great job of getting ahead early as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Jenkins en route to a 9-1 win. Plus, it is the fourth time this season that Jenkins only had one strikeout in an outing, whether it is as a starter or a reliever.
Prediction: Even though Scherzer struggled against the Rockies, he has done a good job this season of avoiding back-to-back bad games. Plus, he has not lost back-to-back games this season. If the Nats have the same gameplan as last week against Jenkins, I expect the Nats to get the win here.
Next: Sunday's Matchup
Gio Gonzalez (8-9, 4.28) vs. Joel De La Cruz (0-6, 3.72) – 1:35 p.m, MASN/WUSA9
Gonzalez’s quest for the 100th win of his career on Tuesday was cut short due to a long rain delay. The left-hander went three innings, gave up two runs on four hits, and struck out two on 60 pitches in a no-decision.
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The lone mistake that Gonzalez made during the game was a two-run home run in the third by DJ LeMahieu. Gonzalez has pitched well in the second half (3-1, 2.97 ERA in six starts), but he has not won a road game since May 18 (eight starts since). He is 3-5 with a 4.41 ERA on the road this season.
Back on April 12, in his first start of the season, Gonzalez went six innings, gave up three hits, struck out four, and walked one at Nats Park in a win. Freeman is 9-for-31 (.290) with four doubles, two home runs, and ten RBI’s against him.
On Sunday, De La Cruz will be making the seventh start of his Major League career, but he has yet to record his first Major League win. Against the Twins on Tuesday, the 27-year-old right-hander went 5.2 innings, gave up one run on four hits, struck out four, and walked two in a loss.
Back in November, the Braves signed De La Cruz to a minor league deal after being in the Brewers, Nationals, and Yankees organizations since 2006. At triple-A Gwinnett, he only made five starts (21 appearances). He only had 20 strikeouts this season and has not gone past six innings in any game.
Prediction: The question will be whether or not Gonzalez will have a strong road outing and pick up the road win. If the Washington Nationals offense can adjust and have success against De La Cruz, I will take the Nats to win this game and take three out of four in the series.