Nationals want to secure a draw against Cardinals in the series
Cardinals vs. Nationals, 4:05 ET
Cardinals vs. Nationals, 4:05 ET
Weekends continue to be the most frustrating part of my MLB season. Maybe it’s because I play fewer games on the weekends, so there’s little chance of going 1-1 on a one-play day. Yesterday, however, was a real low blow, losing in the second half of the 5th inning. The Mariners and Blue Jays had come to terms with an easy five-inning underdog victory before the Mariners scored three runs in the second half of the inning, making my only baseball play of the day a loss. Thankfully, the WNBA continues to print money for me this season, saving me from having a bad day. I hope to have a really strong week of baseball. It’s been a little too long since I’ve had a run, and I want to start it here when the Cardinals take on the Nationals.
The Cardinals are starting to look like the baseball team that loyal baseball fans have come to know over the years. After a dismal season last year and a rough start this year, they are starting to look like the strong Red Birds team they have been for years. Now they are 47-42 and are trying to continue to make up ground on the Brewers, who currently have just a five-game lead in the division. The Cardinals have turned their season around in the last month and finally seem to be hitting and pitching well. Their ERA is finally under 4.00 and their WHIP is just 1.27. Opponents are still hitting pretty well at .248, but it could certainly be worse. Offensively, they are now at a .243 batting average and have found ways to score runs even as their two best hitters (Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado) have lost their hitting ability (Goldschmidt) and power (Arenado). They may not need a perfect offensive performance tonight, but having Miles Mikolas on the mound will help them. Mikolas is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde pitcher. Sometimes he delivers absolute brilliance, like his six-inning, five-hit, two-earned-run performance against the Pirates last week. Then he also delivers a 4.1-inning performance, allowing 12 hits and 10 runs to the Reds two starts ago. Overall, Mikolas has a 6-7 record and a 5.19 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP. He doesn’t walk many hitters, nor has he allowed many home runs, but hitters are batting .269 against him. He’s been better away, with a 4.42 ERA. The Nationals’ hitters have been very good against him in 45 at-bats, posting a .289 average and five extra-base hits.
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas against the Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee. (John Fisher/Getty Images)
The Nationals are facing the Cardinals pretty well. Still, they aren’t above .500. They are 42-48 for the season, which I think is still more impressive and better than the expectations they had going into the season. Baseball is interesting because you can have the same team year after year and sometimes the team hits and sometimes they don’t. Right now, the Nationals are mostly batting at a .239 average and scoring 381 runs on the season. Their pitching staff is very similar to the Nationals’ with a 4.02 overall ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Opponents are hitting them a little better than the Cardinals team at .253. The Nationals are definitely out of the division race, but there is a chance they could make a run at the wild card if the team decides not to trade the cards by the deadline. The starter tonight is Mitchell Parker, one of the many young pitchers the Nationals have on the team. He has had a good season with a record of 5-4 and a 3.61 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. His most recent outing was not the best of the season, as he allowed five earned runs and three home runs in six innings. That was his worst outing of the season. He has been stronger at home so far, with six starts, allowing just 13 earned runs.
I’m going to be completely honest and upfront: I’m not good at predicting Miles Mikolas games, so why do I keep doing this to myself? I’m not really sure, but I think the Nationals can steal this game from the Cardinals. Both teams are playing pretty well. The Nationals are trying to split a series in the four games, and that doesn’t always mean they’ll win or play harder. In this case, though, I think the Nationals can win this game. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they won all five games with Parker on the mound, and I’d rather take that at -125 than the entire game.
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