Toronto Blue Jays vs. Washington Nationals series preview
This is a huge series for both the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as the Washington Nationals.
Sure, this is an inter-league series and game one of the series did not happen because of inclement weather in D.C. However, the series will commence Tuesday with a day/night doubleheader. It will be a great opportunity for the fans on both sides to see their teams play a different club than what they are accustomed to regularly seeing.
This series could be huge for Washington. The Nationals are playing against Toronto after losing three games in a row against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend. Washington was projected early on to be not only playoff bound but destined for the World Series championship this fall. For Toronto, this could also be a “statement series” as they are entering this series on a two-game losing streak.
Fans north of the border are screaming for some changes to occur. Infielders Chris Colabello and Danny Valencia are forced to play in the outfield right now due to the injury of outfielder Michael Saunders and Jose Bautista‘s inability to play right field.
Jordan Zimmermann has been the Washington Nationals’ best pitcher behind Max Scherzer. He is set to face struggling pitcher R.A. Dickey in the early game, followed by Scherzer going against Marco Estrada for the Blue Jays in the evening installment.
The Nationals (28-22) have lost their last three games, as well as four of their last five efforts. The bullpen is entering Monday’s game after an implosion in an 8-2 loss versus the Reds on Sunday. Over the past eight games, the bullpen has clearly been over used going 27.1 innings and obviously the Nats will need to fix things soon by getting more quality innings out of their starters. That could be equally challenging now with Stephen Strasburg on the 15 day DL.
The feared player that Toronto has to worry about is outfielder Bryce Harper. Harper has hit .360 with 13 home runs and has driven in 28 runners over the month of May.
The Blue Jays best hitter has been third baseman Josh Donaldson. Donaldson has been a phenomenal addition to the team. Since being acquired from the Oakland Athletics, for fellow third baseman Brett Lawrie, Donaldson’s put up some great numbers at the Rogers Centre. He has hit six homeruns and driven in 11 over the past 6 games. Things have not been all that rosey for the team, though. Since April 24, the team has lost 15 of their past 20 road games. The starting rotation has been horrendous as well. To date, they have earned a 6.18 ERA.
Dickey has been a mess for manager John Gibbons and the pitching coaches to figure out. He enters this next start against Washington, with a record of 2-5 and a 5.77 ERA. Over his last four starts, his ERA ballooned to a 7.92. Over his last 25 innings, he has given up seven home runs. He is 0-3 on the road with a 7.43 ERA over his last four road starts. The last time he faced the Nationals, he was a member of the New York Mets on September 11, 2012. The 2012 season was the year that Dickey went onto win the National League Cy Youn award.
Shortstop Jose Reyes enters the series with a couple of bad defensive plays in the field over the weekend against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. He also had some poor base running decisions in the game on Sunday versus the Twins.
Series preview at a glance:
Tuesday 1:05 PM EST: RHP Dickey (2-5, 5.77) vs. RHP Zimmermann (4-2, 3.26)
Tuesday 7:05 PM EST: RHP Estrada (1-3, 3.89) vs. RHP Scherzer (6-3, 1.51)
Wednesday 7:05 PM EST: LHP Mark Buehrle (6-4, 4.97) vs. TBD