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Nats in town, first time we're seeing them since a four-game series at CF in early July. Mets out-scored them in Game 1 of that set where neither Bartolo nor Lucas Giolito, then making his 2nd ML start, were any good. They then proceeded to lose the next three while scoring a total of four runs in what was pretty much their standard operating procedure back in July.
After a mediocre July (13-12) the Gnats are coming off a 17-11 August and are headed for a 95-win season, and I think I may have stumbled across their secret for having five consecutive winning months and just their overall successful season in general (stay with me here cuz this gets complicated): HAVE YOUR PLAYERS STAY OFF THE DISABLED LIST AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!! Then, as a side note, when you do need the 15-day DL have that stay actually take just 15 days.
Both are radical concepts, I know, but, just to illustrate how helpful this can be, here are the highest number of consecutive games missed by each of their opening day starters:
C - Wilson Ramos -- 7 (bereavement list)
1B - Ryan Zimmerman -- two DL stints, missing 13 games & 16 games (and I think it helped the team more than hurt when he was out)
2B - Daniel Murphy - 2
SS - Danny Espinosa - 1
3B - Anthony Rendon - 2
LF - Jayson Werth - 2 (from a guy who I believe was once a roadie for 'Buffalo Springfield')
CF - Ben Revere - 27 (starting on opening day)
RF - Bryce Harper - 5 (mostly a string of Dusty-mandated mental health days IIRC)
I wonder what color the sky is in such a world where DL news doesn't require nightly updates?
We do actually catch a break in that Steven Strasburg is on his 2nd DL stint -- more a precautionary trip than a required one and, like his first stint, this one is expected to last exactly 15 days.
So tonight we'll see AJ Cole instead vs Syndergaard in what will be the only game where we have the decided edge in pitching match-ups.
Cole is a guy the Nats originally drafted, then traded away (for Gio Gonzalez) then traded back for. This will be his 3rd start of the year, his 4th of his ML career.
Saturday - 7:10 -- Tanner Roark - Robert Gsellman
Roark actually has the lowest ERA on their staff this year despite Strasburg's 13-0 start and Scherzer's seemingly weekly no-hit bids.
Sunday - 8:10 (ESPN) -- Max Scherzer vs Seth Lugo ... and won't it be fun for the players if this one gets delayed by rain given the short turn-around time?!?
The biggest change since we last saw them is that Trea Turner, supposedly their SS of the future, is playing pretty much everyday in CF and he's given them a boost in their leadoff spot (.344 BA, .364 OBA) which had really sucked for the first half of the year when manned by Michael Taylor and/or Revere with their combined .266 OBA !!
And we all know the problem, that our shitty mid-season has put us in position where winning 1-of-3 while 'hanging tough' or moral victories won't cut it. We need at least two of these here (or one plus a lot of rain).
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