This Friday the (52-47) St. Louis Cardinals and the (34-66) Washington Nationals will play game one of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 7:05 PM EST inside Nationals Park. This is also the first time that these two teams have faced off this season.
The St. Louis Cardinals are coming into this one after splitting their short two-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Cardinals looked great in this series, as they forced a split even without Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup. They ended up winning the second game, 6-1.
The Washington Nationals are entering this one after winning their previous series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Nats struggled in game three but looked outstanding at the plate in the first two games. They will need their bats to stay hot if they want to challenge the Cardinals in this one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The St. Louis Cardinals will welcome their two-star players back into their lineup, as they are no longer playing in Toronto. They have been up and down in their last 10, as well. They are (5-5) and looking to start a winning streak. The Cardinals are also in second place in the NL Central, as they are only 3.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place. At the plate, the Cardinals have been driving in runs all season. They are currently scoring 4.67 runs per game and hitting .252 as a team. This is the ninth most runs scored per game and the ninth highest overall team batting average. They have shown that they aren't one-dimensional at the plate, as they have multiple guys that can step up and change the game with one at-bat. They have also done a great job of stringing together hits and driving in runs when they have men in scoring position. St. Louis has a ton of power inside their lineup, as they are averaging 1.1o bombs per game. I also expect them to stay aggressive once they have reached base safely, as well. They have already recorded 64 stolen bases this season, which is the fifth most. The Cardinals will do whatever it takes to move runners into scoring position.
In the field, the Cardinals have also been outstanding. They currently have the fifth highest overall fielding percentage, as they have done a great job in the field this season. The Cardinals are also allowing the eighth least amount of runs per game. They support their starting pitchers and don't make many mistakes that come back to hurt them. St. Louis also has speed all over the field and their infield is one of the best in the MLB. They have only recorded 41 errors this season, which is the second least in the league. They keep the ball in front of themselves and always know where to go to get the nearest out.
According to MLB.com, the Cardinals will be starting Miles Mikolas on the mound in this one. He has gone (7-8) this season and only has a 2.87 ERA. It has been very difficult to score on him, but it has been even tougher to reach base safely. He has a .99 WHIP, as he has kept his opponents off the base paths for the majority of the season. He was banged up in his last start, though. He pitched for 5.0 innings and surrendered seven hits and six earned runs to the Cincinnati Reds.