Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
There were a lot of people who picked the Washington Nationals to go to the World Series in 2013. The Nationals started strong with a 7-2 record, but have lost four of their last five now including being swept last weekend by the Atlanta Braves. It may be time to temper the expectations a little bit on this team going forward.
Washington is dealing with rough starts by Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche, and that has offset the strong start from Bryce Harper at the plate. Harper has a team-high five home runs. Denard Span has hit .313 to start the year as well and is proving to be the leadoff hitter this team needs. The problem comes in with the team’s bullpen. Rafael Soriano has an ERA of 6.00 while Tyler Clippard’s ERA is 6.35. It was supposed to be those two pitchers that locked down the late innings for the Nationals. It isn’t happening right now and along with Dan Haren’s struggles starting, this Washington team is in a bit of trouble at this point.
There is no doubt that things are going to turn around in short order, but the sweep from Atlanta had to hurt. It is obvious that Washington needs their pitching to be the strength of this team, and that should be the case. Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann are three pitchers that any team would want at the top of their rotation. The worry meter isn’t too high yet, but it will start rising quickly if the team struggles the rest of this week.
Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.
