Game 105: Diamondbacks at Nats
After a disappointing loss Friday night, the Nationals turn to Foster Griffin to get themselves back over .500 and within 2 games of Arizona
Every game is important for the Nationals right now, but today’s contest took on some added significance once they lost Friday night’s series opener against the Diamondbacks. That 3-2 loss left them three games behind Arizona for the final wild-card berth in the NL, and dropped them back to .500. Another loss today would drop them even further down the standings and leave them under .500 with barely a week to go until the trade deadline. That’s not a position you want to be in this time of year.
The good news: Foster Griffin starts this afternoon. The left-hander has been a model of consistency, with eight consecutive starts allowing zero or one run. And that streak began June 5 at Chase Field in Phoenix, where Griffin retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced, got a quick hook at 62 pitches due to some lower back stiffness but still emerged with the win. The Nats would love to get a repeat performance (and more) today against the Diamondbacks.
Arizona, meanwhile, is starting the second of three straight left-handers this weekend. Friday night, it was crafty veteran Eduardo Rodriguez, who had his way with the most-productive lineup in baseball. Today, it’s crafty rookie Mitch Bratt, whose fastball averages only 91 mph. This is the 23-year-old’s fourth career start, and he has yet to complete five innings or total 85 pitches as the Diamondbacks bring him along slowly. We’ll see if Torey Lovullo extends the leash at all today.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right
DIAMONDBACKS
RF Corbin Carroll
SS Geraldo Perdomo
DH Gabriel Moreno
2B Ketel Marte
1B Ildemaro Vargas
3B Nolan Arenado
CF Tim Tawa
C James McCann
LF Ryan Waldschmidt
LHP Mitch Bratt
NATIONALS
DH James Wood
3B Curtis Mead
1B Andrés Chaparro
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
CF Jacob Young
LF Daylen Lile
2B Nasim Nuñez
C Keibert Ruiz
LHP Foster Griffin
From today's Trade Rumors:
TODAY: “Extension talks…fizzled quickly” between Griffin and the Nationals, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Since it isn’t surprising that a long-term deal wasn’t reached, it doesn’t necessarily mean Griffin is any more likely to be trade, especially since the Nats are still considering being deadline buyers to some extent.
Most definitely time for a CURLY W. Let's get one today. GO NATS!!