The Washington Nationals bats have flown out of the gates since the All-Star break. Now, can the Cincinnati Reds pitchers calm down the Red hot hitters?
After disposing of the New York Mets, the Washington Nationals face a tricky set against the Cincinnati Reds. Former Nationals skipper, Jim Riggleman, has made them a tough to beat outfit of late. Don’t expect an easy series.
Joining Blake Finney on the podcast to look ahead to the series is Site Expert from Blog Red Machine, Drew Koch. You can check it out here.
They discuss the following topics on the podcast:
- Tommy Milone outdueling Noah Syndergaard for the sweep
- The 25 run outburst on Tuesday
- The Nats trade deadline activity
- Which Reds to keep an eye on at Nats Park
- Preview and predict each pitching 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 Reds sent three All-Star representatives to D.C. for the mid-summer classic. The most dangerous in their lineup this year is Eugenio Suarez, who leads the team’s hitters in home runs, RBI and OPS. That’s no mean feat with Scooter Gennett and Joey Votto on the team and helps make the middle of the order potentially deadly.
The Nationals will also get a look at old nemesis Matt Harvey in this series. After a disastrous start to the season with the Mets, they flipped him to Cincinnati for Devin Mesoraco. Since joining the Reds, he’s been very hit-or-miss with a 4.44 ERA, so it’ll be interesting to see which Harvey we get on the mound.
You could argue the Nationals best hitter since the All-Star Game has been Daniel Murphy, who’s coming off another demolition of the Mets. Since the break, he’s hitting .368 with three home runs, 11 RBI, and a 1.073 OPS. He’s been hitting seventh a lot of the time lately, giving him more pitches to hit, so even though having a bat that hot that low seems odd, it’s best to stick with what’s working for now.
Want to hear more about the Washington Nationals on our DoDCast? You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play and have episodes automatically downloaded for you. You can also listen to us on other podcast platforms such as Stitcher and Spreaker.
The Washington Nationals continue to chase down the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. These types of series are must-win, especially with a four-game set, a 3-1 victory is a must.