The Washington Nationals (47-87, 59-74 RL, 63-65-5 O/U) battle the St. Louis Cardinals (79-55, 77-57 RL, 64-65-6 O/U) in the second of a three-game series on Tuesday evening. The Nationals will have Paolo Espino on the mound. The Cardinals reply with Jose Quintana, seeking his fifth win of the year. The season series is even at 2-2.
Paolo Espino will be on the hill in the second game of the series. Espino was outstanding in his latest effort, holding the Athletics to only one run in five innings, but didn’t get much help from the offense and finished with the no-decision. The veteran right-hander has been decent in his last few performances but rarely pitches more than five innings and has posted a 4.22 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP accompanied by a 0-6 record in 96 innings on the year. Espino has squandered four runs in 4.2 innings against the Cardinals this season, marking his only career meeting against the rivals.
The Nationals are playing with confidence. They won two of three against the Athletics, followed by a surprising triumph against the Mets on the weekend. The pitching staff held the Mets to only nine runs in the series win. The Nats have won four of the last five games.
Lui s Garcia continues to reach base, accumulating 10 hits in his last seven games. The 22-year-old shortstop is now hitting a stellar.298 on the season and has 30 RBIs and a solid .753 OPS. Garcia is 1 for 8 against the Cubs this season. Nelson Cruz is questionable.
The Nationals are posting an average of 3.80 runs per game, ranking them 25th overall. The pitching staff enters with a 5.06 team ERA which remains last.