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
Jeff Hoffman (0-1, 13.50 ERA) vs. Gio Gonzalez (8-9, 4.30) – 7:05 p.m ET, broadcast on MASN2
Tonight, the Washington Nationals will face Hoffman, who will be making just his second Major League start. Hoffman was one of the prospects acquired in the Troy Tulowitzki deal with the Blue Jays back in July 2015.
The 23-year-old right-hander made his Major League debut on August 20 against the Cubs. He went four innings, gave up six runs on seven hits, struck out two, and walked one on 77 pitches in a loss.
At triple-A Alberqueue, Hoffman was 6-9 with a 4.02 ERA in 22 starts, but he had 124 strikeouts in 118.2 innings. Over his last five starts in the minors, he was 2-2 with a 3.98 ERA. The ERA seems high, but the Pacific Coast League is generally known as a hitter friendly league.
As far as what Hoffman brings to the pitcher’s mound, he has an average velocity of almost 94 miles per hour on his fastball (according to Fangraphs) to go with a slider, breaking ball, and changeup.
Gonzalez’s quest on his 100th career win fell short against the Braves on August 20. He went 5.2 innings, gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits, struck out eight, and walked three on 112 pitches in a no-decision.
If the Nats bullpen could’ve protected the three run, Gonzalez would’ve picked up his fourth win in seven starts since the All-Star Break. Plus, the defense let him down in a game where the team made five errors. This month, the 30-year-old left-hander is 2-0 with a 4.35 ERA in four starts.
Back on August 16, Gonzalez had his outing against the Rockies at Coors Field cut short because of rain. He only went three innings and gave up a two-run home run to D.J. LeMahieu. Gonzalez is 2-0 with a 4.20 ERA in three starts against Colorado. Ryan Raburn is 7-for-14 against him with three home runs and four RBI’s.
Prediction: While I expect the Nats lineup to have some difficulty against Hoffman in his first career road start, I think they will find a way to adjust and get one big inning. Gonzalez will put together a quality outing and finally get his 100th win.
Next: Tomorrow's Matchup
Jorge De La Rosa (8-7, 5.07) vs. A.J. Cole (0-1, 5.14) – 1:05 p.m, MASN2
De La Rosa picked up the win in his last start against the Cubs on August 21. He went eight innings, gave up two runs (both solo home runs) on four hits, struck out six, and walked one on 106 pitches.
Since the All-Star Break, De La Rosa does have a 4.18 ERA, but he is 3-1 over the course of eight starts. Plus, he has had a quality start in four of his last six outings. One of the keys for him has been the groundball outs when you consider he has 10+ groundball outs in three of his last four outings.
Against the Washington Nationals on August 15, De La Rosa went six innings, gave up four runs on six hits, struck out four, and walked four in a no-decision. He is 5-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 11 starts against the Nats (3-0, 4.70 in four starts at Nats Park). Jayson Werth is 7-for-19 against De La Rosa with two home runs and six RBI’s.
Tomorrow, Cole will be making his second start in place of Stephen Strasburg. Against the Orioles on August 22, the 24-year-old right-hander went seven innings, gave up four runs on five hits, struck out eight, and walked two on 108 pitches in a loss.
Cole had a good final five starts at triple-A Syracuse (2.80 ERA in his last five starts). While he gave up a couple of home runs, he did a good job of keeping the Nats in the ball game and giving them seven innings, which gave most of the bullpen a night off. He will be making his first start against the Rockies.
Prediction: De La Rosa has shown some consistency lately for the Rockies, but he also has struggled on the road this year (5.40 ERA). If the Nats can have success with the long ball on a hot afternoon, I think they do enough to get Cole his first Major League win.
Next: Sunday's Matchup
Chad Bettis (10-7, 5.29) vs. TBA – 1:35 p.m, MASN2
In his last start against the Brewers on August 22, Bettis lost for the first time since July 2. He had a rough outing in terms of command as he went five innings, gave up three runs on four hits, struck out three, and walked seven on 111 pitches.
Bettis has struggled with his command since the All-Star Break. In eight starts, he has walked 24 batters, which is one fewer than his first half walk total (18 starts). Like De La Rosa, the 27-year-old right-hander had bad numbers away from Coors Field (5.21 ERA in 15 starts).
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Back on August 21, Bettis faced the Nats and went only three innings because of the rain delay. He gave up two runs on two hits in a no-decision. Anthony Rendon is 2-for-4 against him with a pair of doubles and two RBI’s.
With Reynaldo Lopez now at triple-A , that means Lucas Giolito (0-0, 4.91 ERA) is more than likely going to be back in the Major League rotation. Giolito hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since July 24 and he has never gone past four innings in any of his three starts.
Next: Scherzer Dominant In Win Over Orioles
Over his last six starts in the minors, Giolito is 1-2 with a 2.76 ERA and has 35 strikeouts. This includes having ten in one outing back on August 17 against Toledo. But, the one thing I’m most impressed with about his recent outings is that he only has nine walks in those six games.
Prediction: This is the one game I think the Rockies win in this series because of their offense. Right now, I need to see Giolito go more than four innings against a great offense before I can pick him to win a game. Colorado gives Bettis enough runs to salvage a win in this series against the Washington Nationals.