The Washington Nationals return from their road trip out west this week. They start off the homestand hosting the current division leader New York Mets. Before we get into that, here are the quick highlights from the Angels series.
Angels Series Notes:
- Juan Soto stole a base. He is now at 35 stolen bases for his career.
- Kyle Finnegan got some in game three. After giving up a leadoff single to Taylor Ward, he struck out Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Anthony Rendon.
- The Nationals walked leadoff hitter Taylor Ward six times in this series. They walked 16 total Angels. Hard to win ball games when you walk the guy hitting before Mike Trout.
- Josh Bell climbed to fifth in OPS in the National League after hitting a home run on Saturday.
Tuesday, May 10, LHP Patrick Corbin (0-5, 7.16 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-1, 3.30 ERA) | First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET
Patrick Corbin has recorded a 3.21 ERA (5 ER / 14.0 IP) across his last two starts. He has done this by striking out 11 batters and walking just two in those two starts. He has lowered his ERA from 11.20 to 7.16 and his 4.46 FIP to a respectable 3.29. His sinker still rates as one of the worst pitches in the league, with Baseball Savant giving it a Run-Value of seven (he gave up seven runs because of it). It is tied for sixth-worst in the majors and Joan Adon’s four-seamer, among many others.
Carlos Carrasco is finally healthy after being hurt most of last season. That is most clear in his 3.30 ERA and his even better 2.87 FIP. He does not walk many opposing batters and gets batters to chase on pitches outside of the zone at an above-average rate. He mostly relies on a four-seam, slider, and changeup but mixes in a sinker and curveball every now and then.
This game will be televised on MASN, and you can listen on 106.7 The Fan.
Wednesday, May 11, RHP Aaron Sanchez (1-2, 8.56) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (4-1, 2.43 ERA) | First Pitch 7:05 p.m.
Aaron Sanchez has struggled since coming to the Nationals. An 8.56 ERA just will not cut it at the big-league level. Thankfully for him, his expected statistics look good. A 3.80 xERA and 3.89 xFIP are both very good. Despite facing six of the Mets position players throughout his career, this will be Aaron Sanchez’s first career start against the Mets.
Before Jacob deGrom got hurt, Megill would not break into the rotation. Now, he has been one of the most dominant starters in baseball this season. He strikes batters out and does not walk them, a recipe for success. He, too, is a four-seam, slider, and changeup pitcher, with a rarely used curveball as well.
This game will be televised on MASN, and you can listen on 106.7 The Fan.
Thursday, May 12, RHP Joan Adon (1-5, 6.99) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker |First Pitch: 1:05 p.m.
Walks remain a massive issue for Adon, who is looking more and more like a bullpen piece as the season goes on. While his 63.1 strand rate is unsustainably low, he might not have the opportunity to prove that.
After a hot start in the first half of last season, Taijuan Walker has been mediocre. He throws an array of pitches, his splitter being his bread-and-butter pitch. He occasionally sets up the splitter with a four-seam and a slider while mixing in a sinker and curveball.
This game will be televised on MASN and MLB Network, and you can listen on 106.7 The Fan.
Other Notes:
- The Mets starting pitching and lineup have been the key to their success this season. The lineup is third in MLB in runs scored, and the starting pitching is fourth in ERA.
- 2B Robinson Canó was released after he cleared waivers. The $24 million AAV this and next season hits the Mets’ luxury cap. He hit .195/.233/.268 in 43 plate appearances before getting released.
- Juan Soto is four doubles away from 100.
- Edwin Diaz is two saves from passing Tug McGraw on the all-time saves leaderboard.
