Washington Nationals vs. Rockies Series Preview (8/26-8/28)

Tonight, the Washington Nationals begin a three game series at home against the Rockies, who took 2 of 3 from the Nats last week at Coors Field

It was a rough series for the Washington Nationals (74-53) against the Baltimore Orioles as they lost three out of four games. There were some positives in the series such as Trea Turner going 10-for-17 and Max Scherzer throwing eight shutout innings last night to avoid the sweep.

Despite losing the series, the Washington Nationals still lead the Miami Marlins by eight games in the NL East with 35 games to go. Tonight, they wrap up their short homestand as they begin a three game series against the Colorado Rockies (60-67).

From August 15-August 17, the Rockies beat the Nats two games out of three at Coors Field and scored 22 runs in the three games. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu was 9-for-12 in the series with a home run and three RBI’s. Plus, the Rockies had three different players drive in four runs.

Since that series, Walt Weiss’ club has lost four of their six games and they lost three straight games this week to the Brewers. Despite the losing, third baseman Nolan Arenado (.286, 34 home runs, 108 RBI’s) has four home runs and ten RBI’s in his last four games.

This month, the Rockies have scored 131 runs, which is second in the National League (Nats are first with 133). Center fielder Charlie Blackmon is hitting .378 with nine home runs and 16 RBi’s this month and LeMahieu is hitting .429 in his last 20 games.

While the offense has been successful for the Rockies, their pitching has the second highest ERA of any team this month (5.64). Right now, Jorge De La Rosa (tonight’s starter) has the lowest ERA of any starting pitcher on the club this month (3.60 in four starts).

Before this series starts tonight, here is my breakdown of the three pitching matchups:

Next: Tonight's Pitching Matchup