Nats Notebook- April Anguish.
The season isn't sliding away after 19 games but there are a few disturbing Nats trends.

Nats Notebook- April Anguish.

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Perhaps April just isn’t the month for the Washington Nationals under Manager Davey Martinez. After Sunday’s 4-0 loss at the New York Mets the team slips to 30-41 in April since he took over in 2018 (they went 3-4 in July of last year). The series with the Mets saw the Nats get shut out twice, meaning they’ve been blanked five times this year (or twice more than in all of the 2020’s sixty game slate) in 19 games (over 25% of the time). The bats continue the quantity over quality as the lineup ranks 11th in the majors in batting average and 29th in runs scored. The consistently uneven rotation’s 5.04 ERA is the sixth highest in the bigs and the team’s -24 run differential is the second-highest in MLB. Sometimes April clouds pass and we can enjoy the rest of the day while other times they double down and continue to pour until weekend plans are ruined. The absence of Juan Soto in the lineup and Stephen Strasburg in the rotation have certainly hurt, and it’s still early (not even one eighth of the season has been played). But anxiety in April can be magnified with a messy May.

Digesting the Division- Two games separate first from last place in the topsy-turvy NL East. The New York Mets (9-8) own a gone game lead over Philadelphia (10-11) while Atlanta (9-12) and Miami (9-12) are both percentage points out of last place with the Nationals (8-11) bringing up the rear. This sets up a Nats-Marlins matchup next weekend that might determine who sits in the division cellar, or if the Mets forget how to score again while the Phillies continue their fold there’s an outside chance it could be for first.

O’s Woes- Baltimore (9-12) avoids getting swept by Oakland and ends the A’s 13-game winning streak (longest in the big leagues this year) thanks to another solid outing by John Means (the lefthander owns an April ERA of 1.50 and has posted a pair of scoreless performances). Meanwhile Trey Mancini is the classic case of quality versus quantity: he may be hitting .215 but the slugger has 4 homers with 15 RBI.

Sully From Southie Speaks- you can discount one week or even two, but the 14-9 Sox are atop the AL East and own the third best run differential (+20) in the majors. The best offense in the big leagues (MLB-best .276 batting average and 119 runs scored) continues to hum and the pitching staff while not awesome still owns an ERA under four. Can the run continue against the first place Mets and the last place Rangers?

Say isn’t that? Michael A. Taylor is hitting .288 for Kansas City but doesn’t have a homer or RBI since the season’s opening weekend. Adam Eaton has 18 RBI in 19 games with the Chicago White Sox. Sean Doolittle is 2-0 with a hold and a blown safe for Cincinnati.

Last Week’s Heroes- Brad Hand notched a pair saves while Daniel Hudson tallied a win and a hold. Max Scherzer struck out nine over six scoreless innings in a 1-0 game where they needed him to be sharp. Joe Ross bounced back from allowing 10 runs Monday to scatter five hits over six innings in the team’s lone win at New York. Alex Avila hit a pair of doubles Wednesday: one of which brought home the game’s lone run and the other which surprisingly didn’t earn him the nickname “wheels”.

Last Week’s Humbled- Patrick Corbin after tossing six shutout innings Tuesday coughed up four runs over four innings against the Mets. Trea Turner hit .190 and left Sunday’s game after getting hit by a pitch. Kyle Schwarber despite plenty of big plays recently in leftfield and a hard hit shot to centerfield in Sunday’s loss hit .091. Yan Gomes hit .077 and Victor Robles made a baserunning blunder to help end a rally before it began Sunday when he tried to take third on a double.

Game to Watch- This week wraps up with Max Scherzer on the mound Sunday against Miami. He’s 13-5 in his career against the Marlins with an ERA of 3.11 and has also homered against this NL East foe. And after posting a dominant April, Max is ready to become Mister May.

Game to Miss- Saturday Patrick Corbin (0-3 with a 10.47 ERA this year) pitches against the Marlins, and even though Virginia Gold Cup has been postponed to May 29 the Kentucky Derby will still be run on the first Saturday of May. The famed Madras jacket (not to be confused with the infamous red suit) will be worn along with the breathable fedora (major game-changer in the spring heat).

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