Game 74: Royals at Nats
Foster Griffin faces the club that drafted him more than a decade ago, hoping to help the Nationals win yet another series
The Nationals’ march to three games over .500 has been a slow-and-steady one. They haven’t really gone on any major winning streaks. They just keep winning two out of three against most every opponent they’ve faced over the last month, which certainly works in the long run. And tonight, they have yet another opportunity to clinch yet another series if they can beat the Royals again and win their fourth straight overall.
Foster Griffin gets the ball for the Nats, and this would be a good night to get some length from the lefty after Blake Butera made the decision to pull Andrew Alvarez after four innings and use Brad Lord for three in Monday’s opener. You want to make sure your bullpen is still in good shape for Wednesday afternoon’s finale with Zack Littell on the mound, so six innings (minimum) would be awfully nice from Griffin, who you may or may not remember was Kansas City’s first-round pick way back in 2014.
Speaking of long-ago first-round picks … Michael Wacha starts for the Royals. The right-hander was a high pick of the Cardinals way back in 2012 and made his MLB debut the following season, one that included a near-no-hitter against the Nationals. (Thank god for Ryan Zimmerman’s infield single with two outs in the ninth that night at Busch Stadium.) Wacha has fashioned a solid career, including a 115-80 record and 3.87 ERA. He’s now working on his fifth consecutive season with a sub-4.00 ERA.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left
ROYALS
RF Lane Thomas
SS Bobby Witt Jr.
1B Jac Caglianone
3B Maikel Garcia
DH Starling Marte
C Salvador Perez
2B Nick Loftin
LF Tyler Tolbert
CF Kameron Misner
RHP Michael Wacha
NATIONALS
RF James Wood
1B Luis García Jr.
3B Curtis Mead
SS CJ Abrams
LF Dylan Crews
DH Daylen Lile
CF Jacob Young
C Drew Millas
2B Nasim Nuñez
LHP Foster Griffin
Nasim Nunez was going to go for the triple there no matter what, but it helped to have a speedy catcher like Drew Millas being able to score from first and clear the way for Nunez behind him. Add a James Wood sac fly, and the Nats have a 2-0 lead.
He wasn't his absolute sharpest, but Foster Griffin delivered when he needed to tonight: 6 innings of 1-run ball on an even 100 pitches. His ERA is down to 3.32. Nats lead 3-1.