Monday: Haren versus Lannan
Tuesday: Detwiler versus Lee
Wednesday: Gonzalez versus Kendrick
(Starting pitchers subject to change)
Losing two of three this past weekend at Cleveland just reinforced more of the same. The Nationals are a .500 team, still. Key guys like Harper and Espinosa are still injured. Rendon, however, is showing more confidence & surprising power to the opposite field. Will he start pulling the ball with power?
Pitchers like Detwiler and Strasburg came back in the last week, and looked good in short stints. Ohlendorf gave the team a lift in a spot start, and may be a great fit as a middle-innings reliever.
Now, the Nats head into the City of Brotherly Love. Philly just finished losing the last two of a 3-game set in Denver, giving up 15 runs in those two games. The Phillies are one of the few teams missing even more regulars than Washington. Utley, Halladay and Ruiz are huge losses from the lineup and pitching staff.
Domonic Brown has arrived (19 HR, team-leading .876 OPS), at least for now. John Mayberry and Ryan Howard have also supplied some power, but Howard as 75K. Whoa.
On the mound, Lannan (the former National) gets his first start in two months. His 1.23 WHIP this year isn't horrible. His early numbers are skewed by his last start, 17 April at Cincinnati (1.2 IP, 8H, 6ER). He doesn't strike out many hitters.
Cliff Lee is outstanding. He just might throw a no-hitter against Washington. Lee still throws hard, still mixes pitches well. Get to him early, as the cliche goes, before he gets into a rhythm. Kendrick is competitive, but has had trouble against Washington. In his last start against the Nats (24 May), he gave up 8H and 4BB in 5 innings.
I really believe Washington can get to Lannan and Kendrick. Lee will be problematic to Washington's chances to win. If these are the actual starters, Washington can/should win Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday? I'm not so sure.
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