The Washington Nationals launched their first West Coast swing of the season with a series win in San Francisco. After losing two of three to the Reds, Pirates and Phillies to begin the year, the Nationals took the first two games against the Giants before losing Wednesday. Their 5-7 record after 12 games has the Nats in third place in the NL East as they head to Oakland for a weekend series.
The good, the bad and the ugly
A dozen games is a small sample size, but the Nats’ early results suggest that CJ Abrams might be on an all-star track. Despite missing three games, Abrams leads the team in hits and RBI, and his three homers have him tied with Joey Gallo for the team lead. Trevor Williams has won both of his starts, and bullpen newcomers Dylan Floro and Derek Law both have sub-2.00 ERAs.
Washington has been extremely aggressive on the basepaths, leading the majors with 25 steals, but with the exceptions of Abrams and one or two other Nats, the team’s offense has been inconsistent, to say the least. The Nats are 21st in the majors with a .221 batting average.
Injuries aren’t helping. Opening Day starter Josiah Gray and outfielder Victor Robles have joined third baseman Nick Senzel on the DL. Reliever Hunter Harvey took a scary-looking line drive off his wrist and had to leave the second game of the Giants series, but it appears he won’t miss any time.
Oakland awaits
The A’s have started the season 4-8. The Nats should add another series win this weekend. And they’d better, because they head to Los Angeles to face the hot Dodgers next week.
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