A look at the Nationals matchup with the always solid Cleveland Guardians
Guardians Bring Clutch Wins and Questionable Pitching to D.C.
The Cleveland Guardians roll into D.C. sitting second in the American League Central at 20-14. Each of their last nine victories has come by two runs or fewer. That’s especially funky considering their bullpen hasn’t exactly been lights out, with a 4.18 ERA in the 9th inning or later. The Guardians are just finding ways to win.
- Pitching: Cleveland’s staff has been average at best. Their 4.20 team ERA ranks 18th in the majors. They’ve allowed the 12th most runs (154), 11th most home runs (40), and are right in the middle of the pack with 283 strikeouts (15th overall).
- Hitting: The offense hasn’t been dominant, but it’s starting to heat up. Cleveland is batting .232 as a team (8th worst in MLB), yet they’ve managed to hit 38 home runs (12th most) and score 131 runs (9th fewest).
Key Players to Watch
- José Ramírez made his return to the lineup after dealing with a sprained right ankle. He’s slashing .265/.318/.754 with 5 home runs and 15 RBIs.
- Kyle Manzardo, the rookie acquired in the Aaron Civale trade, leads the team with 8 homers and 20 RBIs.
- Steven Kwan has been Cleveland’s most consistent bat, slashing an impressive .333/.384/.851.
Head-to-Head History
These teams have been evenly matched in recent years, splitting their last six meetings. The Nationals hold a slight edge all-time, 13-12 across 25 games. Their most recent series came in June 2024, when Cleveland took two of three. Cleveland’s biggest recent win was a 7-1 rout on May 31, while the Nationals’ last major victory in the series was an 8-2 blowout back in 2019.
Game 1 – Monday, 6:45 PM
- CLE starter: Luis Ortiz Jr – 5 GS, 4.78 ERA, 36 SO and 1.41 WHIP
- WAS starter: Jake Irvin – 7 GS, 4.01 ERA, 33 SO and 1.13 WHIP
In Ortiz’s last outing he threw 6.1 scoreless innings only allowing 3 hits and striking out 5 against the Twins. Which was best outing to date this season. In his last four outings he has struck out 31 batters.
Irvin in his last start against the Phillies got knocked up, after having three straight solid outings. He still managed to go six innings against the Phillies, Irvin is good at eating innings. Hopefully this next start against Cleveland Irvin can settle back to himself.
Game 2 – Tuesday, 6:45 PM
- CLE starter: Ben Lively – 7 GS, 3.72 ERA, 25 SO and 1.27 WHIP
- WAS starter: Brad Lord – 5 GS, 4.43 ERA, 17 SO and 1.66 WHIP
Lively threw 5.2 scoreless innings against the Twins in his last start. This season so far for Lively has been very up and down. He has held opponents scoreless in three of his seven starts.
Lord got his first win in his career vs the Phillies, keeping them off the board through the first four innings. He then proceeded to give up to give up a couple of runs later in the game but it did not matter. Still only going maximum 5 innings as he only through 69 pitches. With Michael Soroka nearing his return from the injured list Lord’s days are numbered in the rotation.
Game 3 – Wednesday, 12:05 PM
The starters for both teams have yet to be announced for Wednesday. For the Nats, this would be Mitchell Parker’s turn in the rotation. However, with Michael Soroka’s return looking imminent after an 11 strikeout rehab start, this could be his return start.
Parker has had a couple rough starts in a row where his command has been shaky. Maybe this could be a chance to give him a breather and iron out some things mechanically. We will see who gets the ball for the Guardians on Wednesday.
A big home stand would really help the Nationals in their road back to .500. The Nats have played well at home, with a 9-7 record. If they keep up their good home play, the 16-19 Nats could start to make some real noise.