This Sunday the (41-80) Washington Nationals and the (66-56) San Diego Padres will play their final game of this four-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 4:10 PM EST inside Petco Park. This is also the second series between these two teams this season, as the Padres were able to steal two of three games the last time they matched up.
The Washington Nationals are coming into this one after a brutal series with the Chicago Cubs. They dropped two of three games, as their pitching struggled in game two and their bats stayed quiet in game three. They will need to be better on the mound and at the plate if they want to finish this series strong against the Padres. The Nationals have also won the first two games of this series.
The San Diego Padres are entering this one after losing to the Miami Marlins in their previous series. The Padres lost the first two games, as their bats were col d to begin that series. They will have to improve their play at the plate if they want to finish this series strong.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Washington Nationals have been inconsistent since the trade deadline, as they traded two of their best players to the San Diego Padres. They are now (5-5) in their last 10 and sliding in the wrong direction. They are also 24.5 games out of the final Wild Card Spot, as the Nats will most likely miss the playoffs this season. They can still finish this series strong, though. At the plate, the Nationals are scoring 3.90 runs per game and they are hitting .248 as a team. This is the 25th least amount of runs scored per game and the 12th highest overall team batting average. They are consistently reaching base, but they have had issues driving in men when they are in scoring position all season. They also have very little home run power, as they have stayed one-dimensional at the plate. The Nationals have to string together multiple base hits to score the majority of their runs. They are averaging .85 home runs per game, which is the third l owest average in the MLB. I also expect them to stay fairly conservative once they have reached base safely, as they haven't been that aggressive on the base paths this season. They have only stolen 51 bases, which is the 21st least in the league. They can't risk losing these potential runs, as they have struggled to score all season.
According to MLB.com, the Nationals will be starting Patrick Corbin in this one. He has had issues all season, as the former All-Star has not had it working throughout this season. He is currently (4-16) with a 6.96 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Opposing teams are hitting him consistently and he has struggled to get out of jams since the trade deadline. He has also lost eight starts in a row and he has given up at least four earned runs in seven straight games. Corbin also gets worse when he is on the road, as he is (1-9) with a 9.44 ERA. He isn't performing well in his opponent's ballparks, as he has only achieved one roa d victory this season. I would NOT consider him to be a road warrior. I don't have much faith in their bullpen, either. They are allowing the 24th most runs per game, as they have also continued to struggle this season. They are allowing 4.20 runs per game, as the Padres should be able to consistently score throughout this game. As a team, the Nats are allowing the most runs per game, with 5.66.