Power isn’t a problem for Bryce Harper, as shown by his mammoth performance against Miami on Wednesday. He attempts to bring more of that prodigious power again at the plate this coming Friday when the Washington Nationals (14-15) host the Atlanta Braves (14-14) for Game 1 of their three-game series. Will the Nationals open the series with their second win in a row? Or will the Braves tame Harper and company to move back above .500?
Speaking of Washington, the Capitals are also set to play on Friday. You can click here to read a full preview of Game 5 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the New York Rangers.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Eric Stults (1-2, 4.91 ERA) steps on the mound this coming Friday for his second start of the season against Washington. Since 2013, Stults’ teams have a combined record of 4-1 in his last five starts against the Nats. That includes the Braves’ 8-4 win over Washington on April 27, wherein Stults allowed just four hits but gave up two runs in 6.1 innings of pitching duty.
Stults, however, did not have as solid of a game in his most recent outing in an 8-4 loss to Cincinnati on May 2. In that game, Stults took a beating as he surrendered six runs on 11 hits in seven innings of work. Stults’ performance against the Reds reflected the struggle of Atlanta’s pitchers to get past six innings without being blasted by the opposing offense. Braves starters are 15th in ERA (4.03) and 20th in innings pitched so far (156.1) this season.
But if the Braves hit against Washington as well as they have over the last two games, then that’s going to be good news for Stults, who is getting an average of 3.99 RS/9 (run support per nine innings pitched). The Braves have scored 16 runs in the last two games, including their 7-5 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Based on the performance of the current Braves lineup against Washington’s Gio Gonzalez, Stults may just get the scoring support he is looking for. Overall, the Braves are hitting .295/.355/.453 against the Nats’ lefty. In addition, Atlanta is 4-1 in its last five games against lefty starters.
There was too much power at the plate for Washington Wednesday night. And most of it was generated by a bad dude named Bryce Harper, who clubbed a homer in each of his first three at-bats in the Nats’ 7-5 win over Miami. The Nats are now 4-1 in their last five games overall.
Harper and the rest of the Nats will look to win back-to-back when they face Eric Stults later tonight. Harper is just 1-for-5 in his career against Stults, but with him entering Friday’s game with a smoldering bat, one can expect Harper to make things happen again at the plate. Harper is 6-for-25 (.240) with three homers and eight RBIs over the Nats’ last seven games.
Danny Espinosa, meanwhile, may be looking forward to facing Stults again. Espinosa is only 1-for-12 over the Nats’ last three games, but is a career .556 (5-for-9 with one home run) hitter against the Braves’ hurler.
On the mound for Washington will be Gio Gonzalez, who is coming off his best performance this year. Gonzalez (2-2, 3.86 ERA) tossed seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in Washington’s 1-0 win over the Mets on May 2. Gonzalez may have a pedestrian ERA but a big reason for that is Washington’s horrible fielding as evidenced by the pitcher’s 2.91 FIP and .391 BABIP. Washington is currently last in the majors in fielding percentage (.975) and has the most errors with 26.
