The Nationals lead the National League East by seven games already and look like one of the main contenders for the title. They get this three-game series at home and will aim to at least win the majority of the contests if not sweep Seattle.
The Mariners sit in last place in the American League West with a 20-25 record and can’t far too much further behind or they will be forced to become sellers at the trading deadline.
This series will be contested from Tuesday, May 23 through Thursday, May 25, 2017 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
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Pitching Matchups
The series will begin on Tuesday with Seattle sending Christian Bergman to the hill. He is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA on the season, throwing 7.1 shutout innings against Oakland last time out. It was an impressive performance and Bergman would love to duplicate it. The Nationals will counter with Joe Ross, who is 1-0 with a 7.47 ERA. He has only started three games on the season and has a career ERA of 3.83, so his numbers should come down.
On Wednesday, the Mariners are slated to start Sam Gaviglio. He started his first game of the season last week and was great, throwing five scoreless innings against the White Sox. It will be tough to duplicate that against a tough Nationals offense. Washington is scheduled to send Tanner Roark to the mound. He is 3-2 with a 4.73 ERA and was having a solid season until he was lit up by the Pirates last time out.
The finale will feature Seattle’s Ariel Miranda against Washington’s Gio Gonzalez. Miranda is 3-2 with a 4.28 ERA and has only given up a total of two runs in his past two starts. Gonzalez is 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA, although his peripheral numbers suggest he could be in for some regression as the season moves forward.
Unfamiliar Names In The Rotation
The Mariners are using a bunch of guys with little starting experience because their pitching has been racked by injury. James Paxton, Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Drew Smyly are all currently on the shelf, robbing Seattle of its top four pitchers.
Guys like Gaviglio and Bergman have pitched well since getting the nod, but the league figures to catch on to them as they put more starts on tape. The Mariners are hoping that the element of surprise will work to their advantage in this series, although the Nationals could very well tee off on a group of hurlers who might be better served in the bullpen.
Missing The Aces
The Mariners catch a break in that they won’t have to face Nationals star pitchers Stephen Strasburg or Max Scherzer. Strasburg has gone 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP on the season, striking out nearly a better per inning. Scherzer has been even better with a 4-3 mark, a 3.02 ERA and 76 strikeouts in only 59.2 innings pitched. Scherzer will likely be in the running for the Cy Young award this season as he continues to prove he’s one of the best in the game.
While the Nationals won’t have the benefit of using those two horses on the mound, they still boast the top offense in the major leagues. Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and the rest of the potent bats will aim to score enough where the absence of Scherzer and Strasburg in this series won’t matter.
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