Washington Nationals: Nationals May Road Trip is Brutal
The Washington Nationals had a disappointing April. The schedule-makers did not do the team any favors with their May opponents.
The Washington Nationals enter May with a 13-17 record and are 4.0 games back of first place in the National League East.
This past month, the Nats did not face many tough opponents. To start the season, the Nats played four consecutive series against the Mets and Phillies.
After that, the Nats played host to the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants before setting off on a road trip against the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies.
The latter two series were against two of the worst teams in baseball, and the Nats managed two wins in six games. No doubt, that was a wasted opportunity to gain ground in the division.
After that, the team played host to the San Diego Padres. Down two games in the series and down 6-0 in game three, it was arguably the lowest point in the season for this team.
Luckily, the team scored seven unanswered runs and salvaged the game and the series with a Matt Adams 11th inning walk-off home run.
April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but the Nats are wilting right now.
And in the forecast, a win drought seems likely.
The schedule gets much tougher as the team does not play a below average team until May 24. Additionally, the Nats get their first off-day in the new month on the 13th and don’t get another one until May 30.
In this piece, we will dive deeper into the teams the Nats will play on their upcoming road trip.
May 3-5: The Philadelphia Phillies
The Nationals begin the first game of a ten-game road trip in the City of Brotherly Love against the division-leading Phillies.
It’s early in 2019, but the Nationals are 3-2 against the Phillies. The run differential is Nationals +13. However, that is mostly due to a 15-1 drubbing that occurred on April 10.
Both teams won and lost a one-run game against each other, further demonstrating how closely these teams have played each other (for the most part).
The margins are razor thin, and the Nationals will need to be on the good side of variance as they must win this series to remain competitive in the N.L. East.
Player to Watch: Rhys Hoskins
The best hitter on the Phillies to start this season is Rhys Hoskins.
Hoskins is slashing .278/.409/.602 with a 166 wRC+. Hoskins’ wRC+ mark ranks eighth among qualified hitters in all of Major League Baseball.
However, the Nationals have done an excellent job of keeping him in check. In his short, yet productive, career, Roskins has recorded 142 plate appearances against the Nationals.
In those appearances, Hoskins has a .191 batting average and a .809 OPS.
The projected starters for the Nationals in this series are Jeremy Hellickson, Patrick Corbin, and Anibal Sanchez.
May 6-8: The Milwaukee Brewers
After a 2:05 afternoon game in Philly, the Nats will hop on a plane to Wisconsin to take on the Milwaukee C̶h̶r̶i̶s̶t̶i̶a̶n̶ ̶Y̶e̶l̶i̶c̶h̶’̶s̶ Brewers.
The Nats went 2-4 with a negative nine-run differential last season against the Brewers. The Brewers, of course, went on to make the NLCS, falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.
This season, the Brewers sit in third place in the NL Central with a 17-16 record.
The Brewers may be without reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich in this series as he is dealing with lower-back discomfort.
Player to Watch: Jesus Aguilar
Through April 28, Jesus Aguilar had a wRC+ of two. Yes, t-w-o. That is unfathomable for a player who hit 35 bombs last season and drove in 108 runs.
The interesting part is that Aguilar’s peripheral stats looked up to par. He has a tremendous hard-hit rate, and he was not hitting the ball on the ground. The issue was that he is getting unlucky with his batted balls finding defender’s gloves nearly every single time.
However, on April 29, he broke out with good luck on his side by hitting two home runs off of Kyle Freeland.
Aguilar can swat a home run off of anybody due to his insane raw power. If he’s on his game, he’ll be a nightmare for Nats pitching to deal with.
May 9-12: The Los Angeles Dodgers
After losing to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series last season, and the Houston Astros in 2017, the Dodgers are still looking for their first world championship since 1988.
They are off to a fantastic start in 2019, leading the NL West by one game. They are tied for most wins in the MLB with 20.
The Dodgers are as close to a complete team as there is in baseball.
They have elite starting pitching with Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and Kenta Maeda.
Their lineup is stacked from top to bottom, and Kenley Jansen looms in the bullpen looking to pad his saves number.
Player to Watch: Cody Bellinger
If you’ve been following baseball even remotely for the past month, this pick should come as no surprise.
Last Monday, Cody Bellinger recorded his 37th RBI. Bellinger now owns the record for the most RBI’s in a season before May 1.
At the time of that RBI, Bellinger ranked first or tied for first in the following statistical categories: Home runs, RBI’s (obviously), runs scored, hits, and all three slash line stat categories.
Next. Nats Fire Derek Lilliquist. dark
In high leverage situations, it would not be surprising to see the Nats give Bellinger the Barry Bonds treatment and give him a free base, and not let him inflict further damage.