Game of the Week: April 14: WAS @ SEA
Jan 22, 2021 12:41:48 GMT -5
Grubs - Philly and sfdave like this
Post by Commissioner Erick on Jan 22, 2021 12:41:48 GMT -5
Washington Nationals (9-6) @ Seattle Mariners (14-3)
WAS: Eric Pena (2-1, 1.93)
SEA: Jeifry Nunez (1-1, 5.06)
The Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners are each off to excellent starts. Each club leads their division as their star players are crushing the ball. However, those star players are likely to miss today’s contest with injuries.
That means that a Seattle Mariners team missing Francisco DeJesus and a Washington Nationals club without Bryce Harper will square off for the Game of the Week.
Seattle enters 14-3 and on top of the American League. They haven’t fattened up against an easy schedule either, with the Royals, Twins, White Sox, Rangers, and Red Sox as opponents. However, they’ve needed DeJesus’ heroics in many of those wins, as the slugger is second in the league in WPA and leads the league in RBIs in close and late situations. Most recently, DeJesus hit the go-ahead eighth-inning home run on Friday as Seattle nipped the Red Sox in a 5-3 win. DeJesus was pegged in the foot by a Phil Cabrera heater, leading to him missing this game and Seattle needing reinforcements.
Fortunately for Seattle, several core players are producing. Lourdes Gurriel is hitting .350 and has 15 runs batting in front of DeJesus. Tomoya Mori has a .278 average and four home runs shaking off a down 2024. Finally, newcomer Brian C. Miller has been terrific, serving as a corner outfield bat Seattle has lacked the past few seasons. He’s hitting .353 in the early going with a pair home runs. Those three will need to continue their production, however, to replace DeJesus’ prodigious offensive numbers though.
Washington will be in a similar plight without Bryce Harper. The future Hall-of-Famer was rebounding off a slightly down 2024 with a .476 2025 with five home runs in six games. However, he’s still suffering the effects of concussion and hasn’t played since April 2. Washington hasn’t needed him and they still lead the division, but they’re also 6-0 against the Marlins. Harper’s absence as the schedule gets tougher is a concern.
Only two of Washington’s expected regulars are hitting over .200 aside from Harper, and Juan Soto is batting just .217. That’s an offense that’s not getting on base. They’re surviving because Kyle Seager is hitting .333 in close and late situations, and .533 with men in scoring position vs .029 with the bases empty. Seager’s produced a number of big hits that have been the difference between close wins and narrow defeats.
Washington may not need much offense today with Eric Pena on the mound. Pena has been absurd to begin the season with 47 strikeouts in 23.1 innings to begin the year. Despite only three starts, he’s on pace for 508 strikeouts on the season, a year after striking out 393. It seems absurd that Pena may strikeout 508 hitters this year, but Pena led the league with 233 whiffs in 2023 and then struck out 160 more the following year (!!!).
Pena’s also allowed only six hits on the year, and three are home runs. He’s dominated hitters on balls in play with how unbelievable his stuff is. Sometimes Pena will hang a pitch and a hitter can punish a high changeup or turn around a sinker that stays up, but that’s all a hitter can do at this point. However, Seattle has a much better offense than the Mets or Marlins do, which will be a fun test for how exceptional Pena is.
Questions for the GMs:
For Jake Pennel, with Bryce Harper still showing symptoms from a concussion, who will start in Right Field today?
Matt Olson is only hitting .148 without an RBI. Are you thinking of making a change?
Mike Morin looked awful for Baltimore last year, but has been strong to you. What do you make of Morin thus far?
For Jeff Thomas, with Francisco DeJesus out, who will play First Base today?
You’re facing a Nationals lineup with a bunch of veterans having down years and Harper out of the lineup. What’s the key to slowing them down?
Aramis Adelman has been 0-3 in stolen base attempts this year. Will you curtail his attempts at all?
TRIVIA: Which pitcher has the most strikeouts in a single-season in the American League?
WAS: Eric Pena (2-1, 1.93)
SEA: Jeifry Nunez (1-1, 5.06)
The Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners are each off to excellent starts. Each club leads their division as their star players are crushing the ball. However, those star players are likely to miss today’s contest with injuries.
That means that a Seattle Mariners team missing Francisco DeJesus and a Washington Nationals club without Bryce Harper will square off for the Game of the Week.
Seattle enters 14-3 and on top of the American League. They haven’t fattened up against an easy schedule either, with the Royals, Twins, White Sox, Rangers, and Red Sox as opponents. However, they’ve needed DeJesus’ heroics in many of those wins, as the slugger is second in the league in WPA and leads the league in RBIs in close and late situations. Most recently, DeJesus hit the go-ahead eighth-inning home run on Friday as Seattle nipped the Red Sox in a 5-3 win. DeJesus was pegged in the foot by a Phil Cabrera heater, leading to him missing this game and Seattle needing reinforcements.
Fortunately for Seattle, several core players are producing. Lourdes Gurriel is hitting .350 and has 15 runs batting in front of DeJesus. Tomoya Mori has a .278 average and four home runs shaking off a down 2024. Finally, newcomer Brian C. Miller has been terrific, serving as a corner outfield bat Seattle has lacked the past few seasons. He’s hitting .353 in the early going with a pair home runs. Those three will need to continue their production, however, to replace DeJesus’ prodigious offensive numbers though.
Washington will be in a similar plight without Bryce Harper. The future Hall-of-Famer was rebounding off a slightly down 2024 with a .476 2025 with five home runs in six games. However, he’s still suffering the effects of concussion and hasn’t played since April 2. Washington hasn’t needed him and they still lead the division, but they’re also 6-0 against the Marlins. Harper’s absence as the schedule gets tougher is a concern.
Only two of Washington’s expected regulars are hitting over .200 aside from Harper, and Juan Soto is batting just .217. That’s an offense that’s not getting on base. They’re surviving because Kyle Seager is hitting .333 in close and late situations, and .533 with men in scoring position vs .029 with the bases empty. Seager’s produced a number of big hits that have been the difference between close wins and narrow defeats.
Washington may not need much offense today with Eric Pena on the mound. Pena has been absurd to begin the season with 47 strikeouts in 23.1 innings to begin the year. Despite only three starts, he’s on pace for 508 strikeouts on the season, a year after striking out 393. It seems absurd that Pena may strikeout 508 hitters this year, but Pena led the league with 233 whiffs in 2023 and then struck out 160 more the following year (!!!).
Pena’s also allowed only six hits on the year, and three are home runs. He’s dominated hitters on balls in play with how unbelievable his stuff is. Sometimes Pena will hang a pitch and a hitter can punish a high changeup or turn around a sinker that stays up, but that’s all a hitter can do at this point. However, Seattle has a much better offense than the Mets or Marlins do, which will be a fun test for how exceptional Pena is.
Questions for the GMs:
For Jake Pennel, with Bryce Harper still showing symptoms from a concussion, who will start in Right Field today?
Matt Olson is only hitting .148 without an RBI. Are you thinking of making a change?
Mike Morin looked awful for Baltimore last year, but has been strong to you. What do you make of Morin thus far?
For Jeff Thomas, with Francisco DeJesus out, who will play First Base today?
You’re facing a Nationals lineup with a bunch of veterans having down years and Harper out of the lineup. What’s the key to slowing them down?
Aramis Adelman has been 0-3 in stolen base attempts this year. Will you curtail his attempts at all?
TRIVIA: Which pitcher has the most strikeouts in a single-season in the American League?
