Cincinnati @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 16, 2009 ) Washington 5, Cincinnati 4
The Cincinnati Reds may have dropped two of three to the St. Louis Cardinals, but they’re still in first place. The Washington Nationals are just waiting for the circus to begin.
The Reds will be looking to keep pace in the standing when they open a three-game series tonight at Washington.
A popular pick to contend for a wild-card spot prior to the season, few people envisioned that Cincinnati would be able to hang with the Cardinals in the National League Central. But with over two months of the season already in the books and a young roster that’s beginning to jell, it looks as though the Reds might be able to hang around for a while.
Cincinnati leads the NL in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS. Joey Votto anchors the attack with his .320 batting average and 11 home runs while a resurgent Scott Rolen has found the power that he left in St. Louis five years ago, leading the club with 13 homers and 37 RBIs.
Even Jonny Gomes, who barely made the roster in spring training and last saw regular playing time with Tampa Bay in 2006, has helped out, driving in 35 runs and cranking seven homers.
Washington was one of the surprise teams of the first month, playing over .500 ball after finishing with the worst record in the game the past two seasons. But the Nationals began June losing three straight to the lowly Houston Astros and have dropped four of five to fall three games under .500.
They suffered a heartbreaker on Thursday when the Astros scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to secure a walk-off win.
But the Washington fan base has bigger things to worry about, with the impending arrival of No. 1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg just days away on Tuesday. The Nationals have already sold that game out and the hype will likely be drawn out during this weekend’s series.
Aaron Harang will be looking for his third consecutive win tonight when he takes the ball for Cincinnati. The one-time ace turned in his best start of the season against the lowly Houston Astros last Saturday, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings while striking out four as the Reds romped 12-2.
Harang, 32, has not won three straight since September 2006 and has not beaten the Nationals since they moved to Washington, going 0-2 with a 3.99 ERA in five starts against the former Montreal Expos.
The Nationals will counter with veteran Livan Hernandez, who, like his team, has started to come back to earth recently. The hefty Cuban was 4-1 with a 1.04 ERA through his first six starts this season with a .187 batting average against.
But Hernandez has slowed down over his last four outings, going 0-2 with a more normal 4.18 ERA. The ageless right-hander has not fared well against Cincinnati in his career, owning a 2-7 mark with a 5.64 ERA in 13 starts.