Washington will be looking to play spoiler when it opens its three-game series in Atlanta on Monday night. The Nationals are coming off a rare series win, taking two out of three against Miami over the weekend. Atlanta kept itself in contention for the National League East title with a series sweep against Philadelphia.
Washington might have entered the All-Star break with a terrible record and no motivation to play well in the second half of the season after trading star slugger Juan Soto, but the Nationals have not quite tanked completely. They won six games in an eight-game stretch from the end of August to the beginning of September, and they are now coming off a series win over Miami, winning two out of three. Washington wrapped up a five-game homestand and will be on the road for its next six games. The Nationals are 1.5 games worse than Oakland, giving them the worst record in the majors.
Joey Meneses looking like Ryan Zimmerman pic.twitter.com/8DuKM6LTHo
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 18, 2022
Their offensive numbers have remained respectable since trading Soto and Josh Bell, so they still rank No. 11 in team batting average (.251). Second baseman Cesar Hernandez leads the team with 132 hits, while left fielder Lane Thomas has 111 base knocks. They are facing an Atlanta pitching staff that is No. 5 with an ERA of 3.47. Right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott is going to be on the mound for Washington in this game. He allowed two runs on five hits and three walks across three innings in a loss to Baltimore last Tuesday. Abbott has a 2.00 ERA in nine innings out of the bullpen this season, but he has posted a 5.19 ERA through 26 innings in six starts.