Series Preview: Washington Nationals at Baltimore Orioles (June 21-22, 2022)

The Washington Nationals had a tough homestand, winning three of their eleven games. On the bright side, the Zimmerman retirement ceremony was amazing. Congratulations Mr. National, we hope retirement treats you well. On to the two-game set against the AL East rival, Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles are currently 30-38 in the loaded AL East. The lineup is structured around an underrated group of Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Austin Hays, and Ryan Mountcastle. The pitching staff is missing their ace in John Means, who is currently recovering from Tommy John. On to the pitching matchups.

Tuesday, June 21, RHP Erick Fedde (4-5, 4.88 ERA) vs TBA | First Pitch: 7:05 PM EDT

Erick Fedde’s struggles continue, giving up three runs in five and a third inning in his last start. Walks remain his biggest struggle and will continue to hinder his true breakout year. This is still a remarkable year from Fedde, who is currently 0.5 fWAR away from matching his career-high. He is doing this by limiting barrels at a better rate than in years past.

Speaking of career years, Jordan Lyles, the Orioles projected starter, is quietly having one. Sure his 5.10 ERA looks rough, but Lyles is on pace to set a career-high in innings pitched. Doing this with solid peripherals is a career year, and a sure-fire way to get that club option picked up. He is by no means an ace, but Lyles is a solid number five who can consistently give the O’s five innings of three-run baseball.

You can catch this game on MASN2 or listen on 106.7 The Fan.

Wednesday, June 22, LHP Patrick Corbin (3-9, 6.59 ERA) vs TBA | First Pitch: 7:05 PM EDT

Patrick Corbin continues to put together awful performance after awful performance. None of his pitches rate particularly well by Statcast metrics. Corbin continues to release the ball way too late, which is the primary belief in why this issue continues to plague him.

Tyler Wells, the projected starter for the Orioles, is quietly having a solid year. He has done it on lots of weak flyouts and contact, having a 15.1 K%, far below the league average of 22.2%. More so, he is on quite the hot streak lately, with his last truly terrible start over a month ago. This should be an intriguing matchup, with a struggling vet facing off against a young up-and-coming starter.

You can catch this game on MASN2 or listen to 106.7 The Fan.

Other Notes:

• Dee Strange-Gordon was released.
• Go watch Adley Rutschman, him and Soto are two of the future faces of baseball and it will be a great series.