District On Deck
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Washington Nationals: 5 to watch back home against the Reds

By Ricky Keeler

Jun 20, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA;Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price (38) comes to the mound to take out Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Amir Garrett (50) during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 20, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA;Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price (38) comes to the mound to take out Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Amir Garrett (50) during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Drew Storen

One of the more intriguing storylines in this series is how Storen is going to be received by the D.C. fans. Personally, he should get a standing ovation despite some of his postseason failures because he was part of the 2009 draft class that helped the Nats get to the postseason for the first time in 2012.

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Storen has made 31 appearances with Cincinnati this season and has a 2.64 ERA. He has only 26 strikeouts and has walked 13 over 30.2 innings. With Cincinnati, he has been mainly the setup guy because Raisiel Iglesias is the closer.

But, in his role in the eighth inning, Storen has flourished with less pressure. Teams are hitting .175 against him in that inning with three earned runs (one earned run). His best pitch this season has been his slider. According to Brooks Baseball, opposing hitters are hitting .184 against that pitch and have struck out 20 times.

While Storen couldn’t help the Washington Nationals bad bullpen now and he didn’t end his D.C. tenure on a great note, he should not be booed by the fans. Of course, everyone still wonders what would’ve happened if he stayed the closer in 2015 and the Nats didn’t acquire Jonathan Papelbon.

Next: 2017 trade deadline preview

We want to hear from you. Who are the players you are watching in this series between the Nats and the Reds. Let us know in the comments section below.

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