The Washington Nationals moved back into a tie for first place in the NL East. Now the San Francisco Giants come to town, and a key Nat is due back for it.
With the Washington Nationals sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays, they moved back into joint-first place in the National League East. Now they’ll host the Francisco Giants this weekend, and on the DoDCast, Blake is joined by fellow Brit, Darius Austin.
On this episode, they discuss the following:
- Adam Eaton‘s impending return a huge boost
- Michael Taylor heating up at the plate finally
- Who should we be keeping an eye on for the Giants
- Pudge Rodriguez’s son plays in D.C.
- Preview and predict each matchup
More from District on Deck
- Washington Nationals Minor League Spotlight: Robert Hassell III
- Washington Nationals Tuesday Q&A
- 3 Free Agents the Nationals Should Gamble On
- A Washington Nationals Christmas Wishlist
- Washington Nationals: Is Seth Lugo Still an Option?
The Giants made some big moves in the off-season in order to try and bounce back from a down year last year. The big acquisitions were Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen. Longoria, the long-time Tampa Bay Ray has a sub-par batting average of .245 but has brought thump with 10 homers.
McCutchen looks a lot like the player he was in his prime with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s hitting .253 with 32 runs, 27 RBI and even five steals this year. A lot of Nats fans were keen for him to join the team a couple off-seasons ago, but now they see him lining up against them.
One of the cooler stories of the series will be Dereck Rodriguez making just his second big league start this weekend. Dereck is the son of former Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez, but you probably know him as Pudge. And he’ll be looking forward to returning to the stadium that he spent two seasons in and around the clubhouse.
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Next: Predicting how the outfield plays out
The Washington Nationals have now tied again, with the Atlanta Braves, for first in the NL East. The Nats could move back into sole possession of the lead after this key series.