Washington Nationals: 5 To Watch Against Arizona

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Apr 26, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) celebrates scoring a run with left fielder Jayson Werth (28) and catcher Jose Lobaton (59) in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

After losing two of three to the New York Mets, the Washington Nationals will host the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game series.

The Washington Nationals (17-8) lineup was lethargic during the initial two games against the Mets this weekend, tallying just eight runs in the two contests. However, the lineup erupted for 23 runs in the series finale to avoid being swept by their division rival.

The Nats are pacing the Senior Circuit with 170 runs scored, and their +48-run differential is tops in the Majors. Their lineup can explode for a bountiful of runs at any moment as they have some dangerous hitters.

But, it wasn’t all good news this week as they did lose a vital player for the remainder of the year as outfielder Adam Eaton recently tore his ACL.

It’s a significant blow to lose Eaton, considering he provided a sparkplug at the top of the lineup and played solid defense.

The Arizona Diamondbacks (16-11) come into this series against Nats as one of the surprises in MLB after the first month. Their starting rotation is leading the way as they’re second in the National League with a 3.34 ERA from their staff.

The rotation has been surprisingly effective but will be without one member for the rest of this season. Shelby Miller has a torn UCL and will undergo Tommy John surgery.

So far, Arizona’s success in 2017 isn’t only because of their pitching but the offense as well. They’re second in the NL in runs scored and run differential at 141 and +29, respectively.

Their new manager Torey Lovullo has them playing an inspired brand of baseball, and it’s reflected on the diamond.

The D-backs did lose their last series against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field, but will look to turn things around facing the Nats on Tuesday.

Before we give you the pitching matchups and our players to watch, we want to hear from you. What are your thoughts on this upcoming series? Send us your predictions in our comments section.

Here are the pitching matchups for this series:

Tonight: Taijuan Walker (3-1, 3.94 ERA) vs. Tanner Roark (3-0, 3.64) – 7:05 p.m ET, broadcast on MASN2

Tomorrow: Robbie Ray (2-1, 3.56) vs. Gio Gonzalez (3-0, 1.62) – 7:05 p.m ET, MASN2

Thursday: Zack Greinke (2-2, 3.19) vs. Max Scherzer (3-2, 2.94) – 1:05 p.m ET, MASN2

Paul Goldschmidt

Goldschmidt is among the elite at first base for the Diamondbacks. He is a gold glove defender over at first, hits for power and is a deceptive runner. He was struggling to produce at the plate as he had a .236 batting average and .800 OPS on April 19^th.

However, Goldschmidt has found his stroke, by compiling a robust .315 average, .983 OPS, and 19 RBI to close out the first month.

Goldschmidt’s running skills were already mentioned with him swiping seven bases and has yet to be thrown out. He is extremely agile and possesses impressive baserunning instincts for someone his size. He will rarely make a mistake while running and it’s one of the tools he has that makes him a complete player.

The D’Backs first baseman has performed well in his career against the Washington Nationals. He has accumulated a .297 average and a .749 OPS in 31 games facing the Nats. Also, he has a .339 average with 27 total bases, nine RBI, and 21 hits in 16 career games at Nationals Park.

Recently, Goldschmidt finished a stretch in which he had five consecutive games with two or more RBI’s. He represents the biggest threat in the lineup for the Diamondbacks.

If the D-backs are going to have any success in this series against the Nats, Goldschmidt will need to continue having solid at-bats and coming through when scoring opportunities arise.

While Goldschmidt might get overlooked due to his club struggling the past couple of seasons, he’s an incredible player on a team that’s started the season in good fashion.

Ryan Zimmerman

If there is one person sad to see the April gone that would be the Nationals third baseman. Zimmerman was hot as a volcano at the plate during the first month.He leads the NL in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS +, hits, home runs and RBI at .420, .886, 1.345, 244, 37, 11 and 29, respectively.

The significant difference between the start of the new season and last year is that he’s healthy and is playing with a ton of confidence. Zimmerman played in 115 games last year as he spent some time on the disabled list. He also looked lost at the plate and had a hard time getting into a comfortable rhythm.

The comfort level has skyrocketed for Zimmerman with him crushing everything in sight and opposing pitchers haven’t figured out how to cool him down. He is an early candidate for National League MVP and may earn NL Player of the Month honors for April. The high average is incredible, but the display of power is a difference maker.

He hit 15 home runs and tallied just 46 RBI’s all of last year. Zimmerman can easily surpass those marks during May if he remains on fire.

The Washington Nationals already had a solid lineup, but with Zimmerman tearing the cover off the baseball, it makes their lineup more potent.

It doesn’t look like he will be slowing down in the upcoming series against the Diamondbacks. He is hitting .307 with 12 home runs, 30 RBI and 13 doubles in 48 career games against the D-backs.

Archie Bradley

It’s relatively rare for an MLB team that their best reliever isn’t the closer. This is the situation the Diamondbacks are in with regards to Archie Bradley. Bradley has been their ace in the bullpen by a wide margin this year.

The right-hander has a minuscule 1.13 ERA in 16 innings with 19 K’s, three walks yielded, two home runs allowed, a 3.02 FIP and 0.75 WHIP.

The club’s closer Fernando Rodney has a 12.60 ERA in 10 innings with two home runs surrendered, seven walks issued, a 5.42 FIP, a 2.30 WHIP and two blown saves.

Bradley looks nothing like the pitcher who posted a 5.02 ERA in 26 starts one year ago. He’s blowing away opposing hitters with a great fastball in the high 90s and throwing his curve for strikes.

The D-backs have allowed Bradley to throw multiple innings this year. In a way, it’s similar to how the Cleveland Indians utilized Andrew Miller in the postseason last year.

The main reason Bradley hasn’t been named their closer with Rodney struggling is they don’t have anyone to assume Bradley’s role and remain productive as him.

It would also seem logical to put Bradley in the rotation with Miller done for the year. However, there are question marks if Bradley could dominate opposing teams over the length of a start. The longest relief outing for him this year is three and one-third innings.

The role that Bradley has currently is working for the club as he can throw multiple innings and allow other relievers in the bullpen to get some rest.

Trea Turner

Turner is one of the most exciting players to watch in MLB due to his ability to fly around the bases. The speed he possesses is a tremendous asset, and it creates nightmares for opposing teams.

The young shortstop has swiped four bases without being caught and I expect him to be running more as the season progresses. This is something the Nats will need to see more from him, given the heart-breaking injury suffered to Eaton.

Eaton and Turner each ignited the top of the lineup and created a plethora of scoring opportunities for the club. Since Eaton is out for the season, it will be Turner’s responsibility to ensure the team has that spark at the top of the batting order.

Turner has started the first month off with a bang as he’s proven to be a difficult matchup for opposing pitchers.

The supremely talented player is hitting .317, and his OPS is .904 in 15 games with 10 extra-base hits, 13 RBI, and 15 runs scored. He also hit for the cycle during the last road trip against the Rockies.

The one area where Turner has done a good job is with runners in scoring position as indicated by his .267 average and .846 OPS in this situation.

In a small sample, Turner has excelled in seven games against the Diamondbacks. He has accumulated a .313 batting average and .833 OPS with six RBI, one home run and five runs scored.

Turner was expected to play a crucial role for the Nats before the season started. Now, with Eaton gone, his role will intensify.

Bryce Harper

Harper began the season strong and has been a force in the Nats’ lineup since Opening Day. The outfielder is hitting a crisp .391 in 25 games with nine homers, 26 RBI, a 1.281 OPS and leads the NL with 32 runs scored.

He is getting on base at a high rate, as indicated by his league-leading .500 on-base percentage. He has a keen eye at the plate and is putting together solid at-bats.

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However, Harper did strikeout six times against the Mets over the weekend. He seems to press when facing them, but it’s not something to be concerned about.

The unusual aspect about Harper’s first month was that he walked (22 times) more than he struck out (20 times).The struggles Harper endured in 2016 have vanished as his approach at the plate is reminiscent of the MVP campaign in 2015.

In his career, the stellar outfielder has thrived facing the Diamondbacks. In 21 career games, he boasts a .338 average, .430 on-base percentage and .923 OPS with nine extra-base hits, eight RBI and 14 runs scored.

The Washington Nationals are a better team when he is performing at peak level, and it’s not a surprise they have the best record in the Majors through the first month.

Next: Top 5 Baker Quotes From April

This upcoming series against the Diamondbacks will present another challenge for the Nats. The D-backs are a quality team, who’ve shown the ability to comeback numerous times this year and it should be an exciting series to watch.

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