Game of the Week: May 29: MIA @ WAS

[mikereds]

Miami Marlins (24-29) at Washington Nationals (15-36)

Tim Cate (3-5, 4.09) vs Nathaniel Labarrie (0-1, 9.53 ERA) Steven Matz (0-0, 0.00)

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New Nationals GM Darby Butynski makes his PBA GotW debut as the National play the final evening of a 4-game series versus the Miami Marlins. The Marlins have taken 2 of 3 so far in this closely contested matchup of the two NL East teams. Can the Nats even up the series and improve on their last place record in the NL?

5 Key Stats for the Marlins:

• 9. The current hitting streak by CF Justin Townes, the Marlins' top-performing hitter this season. The 24-year old has powered the team with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers and 27 RBI's. He has started 51 of the Marlins 53 games so far this year.
  
• +16.3. The zone-rating of the Marlins defense, currently tops in the NL. With a last place offense, the Marlins defense is a big reason the club is still fairly close to the .500 mark.
• 97.2. The most innings starter Dale Messina has ever pitched in a season. This occurred when he was a senior in high school. The lefty has battled injuries, struggled to receive playing time and has toiled as a reliever in the minors before this year's startling emergence as one of the Marlins' top pitchers, notching 7 quality starts. Can he hold up in the majors with this new responsibility and workload?
  
• 3. The number of 5-game losing streaks the up-and-down Marlins have endured in 2028, including an 0-5 start to the season. Can the Marlins offense start to produce enough to stay out of these kind of slumps?
• 82. The number of strikeouts thus far by OF Joc Pederson. This is currently the 3rd highest individual total of all batters in the PBA. Can the veteran cut down his whiffs a little and help out the team?

5 Key Stats for the Nationals:

• 5.84. The ERA of the Nationals bullpen, the worst at this point in the NL. Washington would be wise to keep an eye on the waiver wire for better relief options.
• 135 million. The staggering amount of payroll (barring any contract extensions) that will come off the Nationals payroll after this season is over. 30-something veterans OF Mike Trout, 1B Alex Bregman, SP Joe Ross and SP Peter Solomon (with the A's, but the Nats retained all the salary) all are in their contract years. The Nationals will truly be able to chart their own course starting in 2029.
• 41. The number of walks drawn by Trout, second most in the PBA. The former Angel may be in the latter years of his career, but his ability to put himself on base remains elite.
• 6. The number of errors committed thus far by 2B Javier Guerra. The veteran only committed 3 errors in 2026 and 2027 combined. It's quite an unfortunate spell.
• -108. The NL-worst run differential currently held by the Nationals. Trout, Bregman and the other veteran hitters need to pick up their production in order to keep things respectable this year.

 

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Questions for the GM's:

For Steven Luker, Marlins GM:

• This is your fourth year as Marlins GM. Do you feel the team is close to contending for a playoff spot, or does the rebuild still have a ways to go?
• Joc Pederson still has 2 years remaining on his large contract and is racking up the strikeouts. Do you regret trading with the Cardinals for Joc's services?
• The OSA has the Marlins farm system ranked as the worst in the PBA. What do you think of that evaluation? Do you have plans to bolster the farm going forward?

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For Darby Butynski, Nationals GM:

• You now have 24 games under your belt in the PBA. What have you learned so far about the league? What progress are the Nationals looking to make in the 2028 season under your leadership?
• You recently called up rookie 3B Steven Reed. Do you think he can be the power hitter of the future that the Nationals can build around?
• Star closer Omar Lara is a key part of the Nationals. Will the Nationals sign him to a long-term extension or continue to let arbitration play out?

 

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TRIVIA:

What season featured the Marlins' lone PBA playoffs appearance?

[stevenmarlins]

I been trying to make the team as contender and work on each of the pieces needed. I didn’t expect joc to fall apart but if he wants to get worst I will throw him on the block to get rid of him. I been trying to figure the minors still it a work in progress with that one so I hope I can try to find the right ways to do it.

[darbyb]

Thanks Mike! These first 24 games have gone by fast. I'm still getting to know my team, and continuing to tinker with lineups and rotations, promotions and demotions. This league is definitely different from the others I have been a part of. For starters, I've never had to do an "interview" and preview an upcoming game. It's a different experience, but a good one. The few GMs that I have interacted with so far seem to be good guys and super helpful, especially our Commish, Erick. The 2028 season will be a long one for fans, but I'm looking to build a foundation here, and these things take time.

We called up Reed a bit earlier than expected, due to some injuries. We think he can be a part of that foundation we're building. His emergence in AAA this year is a positive sign of that. We're expecting Reed to have a couple of short call-ups this season.

Lara is a highly rated player, for sure. He's had a rough start to this new season, and dealt with an injury early on. If he can turn things around and pitch the way we think he is capable of, then we can start long-term contract discussions. Otherwise, we will have to go to arbitration once again.

[darbyb]

Also, my SP is TBD

[darbyb]

WAS SP will be Matz

[mikereds]

Updated; good luck to Matz and the Nats!

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA: I correctly guessed 2022

[mikereds]

Nationals 8, Marlins 7

WP: Zaire Datcher (1-0)
LP: Freddy Asiel Alvarez (0-1)

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The Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins, 8-7, at Nationals Park. Bob Beasley, in particular, was impressive. He slugged 2 home runs, while scoring 3 times and driving in 4. The winner in relief was Zaire Datcher. The right-hander allowed no runs on 2 hits in 2.2 innings. He now owns a record of 1-0. The save went to Chad Bryant, his 1st this season.

Beasley had a game-changing home run in the bottom of the seventh. On a first pitch slider from Freddy Asiel Alvarez, he banged a 2-run home run to left, giving the Nationals a 8-7 lead. It was the 8th home run of the year for Beasley.

"We were able to get some things going offensively," said Beasley.

The win puts Washington at 16-36.

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Follow-up questions for GM's:

For Steven Luker, Marlins GM:

• Why was Marlins' RBI leader Townes batting ninth in the lineup for this game? Was the AI management engine to blame or was it intentional?
• The Marlins left 8 runners on base in this game, likely costing them this game.  Will more lineup changes be made to try to bring those runners home?
  
• Veteran Alex Reyes had signed his qualifying offer of $15 million to remain with the Marlins, yet has been relegated to the bullpen and hasn't notched any starts or saves for the team in 2028.  With a respectable 3.51 ERA and 1.11 WHIP this year, will Reyes' role increase, given the major financial commitment to him?
  

For Darby Butynski, Nationals GM:

• Congrats on the win!  Matz is giving up significant runs, but the Nationals manage to win when he starts.  Will Matz continue to hold onto his spot in the rotation?
  
• 35-year old journeyman Marco Hernandez has been swinging a nice bat this year.  If I'm reading things correctly, he's eligible for arbitration in 2029.  Will the Nationals consider retaining him or go with more youth in 2029?
  
• If the super-popular Trout and Bregman leave at the end of 2028, how will the Nats sell jerseys?  Who could be the new face of the franchise?
  

TRIVIA:
Up to this point, how many PBA-era World Series titles has the NL East division won?

[stevenmarlins]

Well not sure I feel the Ai at times make the lineup. I will plan to see what Reyes can do in the rotation. And the lead rbi leader not sure why. Also not sure why that many runners left on base.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 2: Matt correctly guessed 2