Washington Nationals: 5 to watch in Oakland

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The next part of this long Washington Nationals road trip moves to Oakland. Here are five players to watch as they tangle with the Athletics.

You could not ask for a better start to a long west coast road trip as the Washington Nationals enjoyed.

Okay, there was the Bryce Harper/Hunter Strickland fight on Memorial Day. Harper saw an initial four-game suspension reduced to three and will miss the first two games of this weekend’s series.

On the other hand, the Nats swept the San Francisco Giants. Highlighted by Max Scherzer’s 100-pitch complete game Wednesday night, Washington has total control of the National League East. As we ease into June, the Nats command a double-digit lead.

Next up on the schedule are the Oakland Athletics. In a rare case where the team did not need to change hotels between series, the Nats come into the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum at 33-19. Between Scherzer’s magic and another great outing from Tanner Roark, the starting pitching is on fire.

Perhaps bigger, Koda Glover has slammed the door every game since becoming the closer full time. Is it possible the biggest worries come October are melting? We will see.

As rosy as things are for Washington, Oakland is mired in the American League West basement. While the Houston Astros are making mincemeat out of the division, the Athletics are 23-30. The rebuilding project continues.

The Nationals catch a break as the designated hitter is in play. It will be curious to see who Dusty Baker gives a small rest too before next week’s big series in Southern California against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Still, you cannot overlook Oakland who is better than their record shows. At least we get two late-afternoon games on the weekend to go with another late-night Friday.

As we settle in with more coffee, here are five you should watch as Washington invades the East Bay.

SONNY GRAY

You could make a reality show out of all the times teams have asked about or had Sonny Gray dangled in front of them.

Still just 27 and under team control through 2020, Gray will spend the next eight weeks wondering if he will need to fill out change of address cards as Oakland ponders what to do. After a bad 2016, he bounced back this year to get back on the radar.

Over six starts, he is 2-2 with an ERA of 4.72. That number is misleading to a degree as his FIP is 4.00 and the WHIP is 1.252. Not as good as his third-place Cy Young effort of 2015—1.082, if you are wondering—but better than last year’s 1.496.

Before getting shellacked by the Cleveland Indians on Monday for seven runs over 4.2 innings, Gray’s ERA was 3.34. His last home start came on May 24 against Miami where he dazzled. Fanning 11 over seven innings, he held the Marlins to three hits a run and a walk.

Gray gets the call Sunday with scouts in attendance. Although Washington is not actively shopping for another starter, you never know.

This is not Gray’s first start against the Nats. In 2014, he threw seven innings of six-hit ball drawing no decision. Over 29 batters, he struck out three and walked two.

RYAN ZIMMERMAN

Every time you think Ryan Zimmerman is about to come back to earth, he gets hot again.

April’s NL Player of the month hit .319 in May with four homers and 15 RBI. As the overall offense cooled with the loss of Adam Eaton, Zimmerman hit .366 when making contact with the ball.

The last two weeks, he is smashing everything hard. With a slash line of .341/.378/.512, he clocked two homers in the last five games and fills the void left with Harper’s short suspension.

We marveled together at his remarkable April, knowing he could not keep the pace over a full season. But, the improved launch angle and approach at the plate has continued. Every time he makes contact, it is a rocket off the bat.

His defense is not spectacular. A bunch of throwing errors have not helped the cause. But, if you thought of this team of superstars Zimmerman would be fourth in WAR come June, you are lying. Yet his 2.2 WAR is ahead of Stephen Strasburg and behind Anthony Rendon.

In 1458 career games, would you have guessed this is his first time playing Oakland? Along with the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers, the Athletics are new to Zimmerman.

YONDER ALONSO

Another player possibly on the trade block for Oakland is Yonder Alonso.

The free-agent-to-be is having a career year for the Athletics. Already with a career-high 14 home runs, Alonso is the heart of the Oakland offense. A slash line of .291/.391/.657 translates to a whopping OPS of 1.048. When you adjust it, it comes to 186. His OPS is fifth in the AL.

Traded from the San Diego Padres with old friend Marc Rzepczynski before the 2016 season, not much was expected. Sixth in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in 2012, he never found that level of production again until now.

As we start June, this is his first ever ten-plus home run season. He is a free swinger with 34 strikeouts, but has a good eye with 21 walks. He found the regular playing time and success here that he could not with the Padres. Staying healthy helps.

Alonso loves Oakland. At home, he is hitting .304 and eight of his homers have come at the not-so-friendly confines of the Coliseum.

With his time in San Diego and Cincinnati, Alonso has 22 games under his belt against Washington. With a robust .306 average, he swatted four homers and seven doubles versus the Nationals.

JOE ROSS

Which Joe Ross will we see on Saturday afternoon? The one who dazzled over eight innings against the Seattle Mariners or the pitcher who stunk facing San Diego last Sunday.

Fifth starters are quirky. If they give you five innings and a chance to win, they have done the job. Ross, in five starts mixed with two stints in Syracuse, has pitched past the fifth twice.

He throws strikes, 67 percent by Baseball Reference’s count, but they are flat. Over 27.2 innings, he allowed 37 hits, 19 runs but a scant five walks. When things work, he induces the grounder. It is the flyball that gets him in trouble.

Over his first 25 pitches this year, opponents are hitting .370. The rest of those numbers are slightly better but not great. By starting the game on the wrong foot, he loses confidence and concentration early. The Nats score by the bushel for him and the bottom line is not hurt by his starts. Still, you cannot expect six runs of support a start.

The large foul territory of Oakland will help. So will being on the road and an Athletics lineup not full of bombers. But, mindset is an issue. He must control the game on his end, something he did not do against the Padres.

ANDREW TRIGGS

Andrew Triggs loved the University of Southern California so much that he was drafted three times before finally signing a big-league contract. Selected by Cleveland and San Francisco before signing with Kansas City after graduation, he was picked up off the scrapheap by Oakland before becoming a major-league pitcher.

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The Athletics claimed him off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles last year. They returned him to the starting rotation this spring where he has excelled.

In 10 starts, Triggs is 5-4 with an ERA of 2.64 in 58 innings. He is not a strikeout artist, the nine he tossed at Houston over seven shutout innings is a season high. Oakland is holding his pitch count around 90 as he only topped 100 twice and averages 91.5 a start.

He does not feature a fastball. Instead, Triggs has a mix of sliders and sinkers with a curve thrown in. An offspeed paradise.

He faces Stephen Strasburg Friday night—not a junkball pitcher—for what should be an entertaining matchup.

Next: A closer look at Clarke Schimdt

With Gray’s future in Oakland perpetually uncertain, Triggs has the chance, along with the injured Kendall Workman, to be the ace for a while. Although hammered in his last two starts by the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, he will give Oakland six good innings this time.

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