SORRY FOR THE LONG BREAK NATS LOVERS! I was with my sister as she had a baby and I was obsessing over my adorable little niece for a long time but I’m here now!
So much has been going on since we last met and I honestly do not even know what to talk about. Taking the series against the Giants, losing all games in St. Louis, splitting with the Braves, the great pitching and the need for more hitting. I think I will focus on the pitching and hitting.
| East | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 40 | 35 |
| Atlanta | 38 | 37 |
| Miami | 38 | 38 |
| NY Mets | 35 | 41 |
| Philadelphia | 34 | 41 |
The Nationals are sitting atop the NL East at 40-35, two games ahead of the Braves. Right now, they are in the midst of a three-game winning streak.
The pitching can be thanked for that. In the last three games, the Nationals’ pitching has held opponents to a total of four runs.
It is not all about the starting pitchers, either. The closer can’t be ignored, with Rafael Soriano recording 17 saves so far.
Newcomer Doug Fister is also having an impressive start to his Nationals career. In his eight starts, he has gone 6-2. His latest win against the Braves has gotten attention. Mostly because the Nationals also seem to have problems when facing them (they don’t like to win). He held the Braves to only five hits and no runs.
While the pitching is doing its part, the hitting is lacking. The highest batting average on the team belongs to Adam LaRoche at .310. That is pretty good, but that being the highest causes concern. As a team, the average is a weak .247. That is not going to cut it when we get to the postseason. Monday against the Brewers, Danny Espinosa struck out three times. THREE.
Also do not get me started as to how they had the bases loaded with no outs and didn’t score. However, the called strikeout for Espinosa was questioned by Nats’ manager Matt Williams, which later got him ejected from the game. That was his first time ejected as manager. I did not see the throw, but I am sure he had good reasons for wanting to talk.
Hopefully the return of Bryce Harper and Wilson Ramos will bring some power back into the lineup.
The Nationals will hope to add to their win streak as they face on the Brewers again today at 2:10 p.m. at Miller Park.
Baltimore Birds 