2020 MLB Season: Simulating NL Games, June 26-28
By Bill Felber
In this 2020 MLB season, the Cincinnati Reds deals the Nationals’ hopes a setback.
The team that is king met the team that wants to be king in the 2020 MLB season’s NL simulation this weekend. The aspirants had the better of it.
The World Series-winning Washington Nationals took on NL Central-leading Cincinnati for three games at The Great American Ballpark. The Cincinnati Reds won two of those three to retain their advantage in what is becoming an up-for-grabs division. By the end of play Sunday, four teams were separated by just three and one-half games.
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The Reds faced the biggest challenge in their battle with the champs, and for the most part, they responded. On Friday, Trevor Bauer pitched eight three-hit innings, striking out 10, and Cincinnati came away with a 4-1 win. They broke a 1-1 tie with three eighth-inning runs off Nats starter Stephen Strasburg who saw his record fall to 6-7.
Strasburg had allowed just one run and three hits before surrendering the three runs on consecutive hits by Freddie Galvis, Joey Votto, Kyle Farmer, and Bauer.
Starlin Castro got the Nats a 9-7 win Saturday, capping a five-run fifth inning with a three-run home run. That erased Cincinnati’s five-run first off Anibal Sanchez and made a winner of Daniel Hudson, the fourth of six Washington pitchers.
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The pitchers took over Sunday, and Sonny Gray had the better of it. Gray allowed just two hits and got last-out assistance from Raisel Iglesias to button up a 1-0 win over Eric Fedde, who allowed just three hits in his seven innings. The difference was that one of the three hits Fedde allowed was a Mike Moustakas four-bagger in the seventh inning. Gray fanned 11.
In other NL action, the Arizona Diamondbacks took two of three from the Phillies, but the Los Angeles Dodgers drew into a dead heat by sweeping the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Atlanta took advantage of the Phillies’ problems, sweeping the Miami Marlins and opening up a lead in the NL East. The San Diego Padres swept the New York Mets.
The Milwaukee Brewers took two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In interleague play, the Chicago Cubs won two of three from the Yankees in New York, Boston swept St. Louis, and the Minnesota Twins pummeled the Colorado Rockies.