Cincinnati Reds 30-41 at Washington Nationals 43-29Friday's ESPN Preview:http://www.espn.com/mlb/preview?gameId=370623120Friday will begin a stretch of 17 days in a row of games for the Nationals before the All-Star break starts July 10. ...
In the previous homestand, the Nationals were swept in three games by the Texas Rangers and lost two of three against the lowly Atlanta Braves. First-place Washington (43-29) will look to get started strong on Friday as Manager Dusty Baker will send right-hander Stephen Strasburg (8-2, 3.28) to the mound to face right-hander Luis Castillo, a former Marlins prospect who will be making his
major league debut for Reds manager Bryan Price.
The last-place Reds (30-41) are coming off a loss on Wednesday at Tampa Bay.
Cincinnati was also off on Thursday and has lost 10 of its last 11. Castillo is coming from Double-A Pensacola, where he was 4-4 with a 2.58 ERA in 14 starts. "He's throwing good stuff, he's throwing strikes," Price told reporters of Castillo. "That's really what we need."
Despite overall strong numbers this year,
Strasburg has not been as dominant at home as on the road in 2017.
And he has struggled with the Reds since he got to the majors in 2010. Strasburg has a 4.15 ERA in six starts at home this year and has a 3.40 ERA in his last nine starts overall. Strasburg is 2-1 with a 4.35 ERA in six starts in his career against the Reds, having allowed 28 hits and 13 walks in 31 innings, while striking out 31.
Strasburg, in his last start, got the win as the Nationals beat the host Mets 7-4. He gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings and benefited from three homers by Washington on Saturday.
Current Reds hitters are 7-for-46 (.152) against Strasburg, and that includes shortstop Zack Cozart, who went on the 10-day disabled list Monday with a strained right quadriceps and will miss the three-game series in Washington. Cozart is hitless in 10 at-bats against Strasburg.
The player with the Reds who has the most at-bats against Strasburg is Joey Votto, who is 3-for-14 with two homers. Cincinnati's Scooter Gennett, who hit four homers against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 6, is 2-for-5 against Strasburg with two homers.
Fri, Jun 23 vs Cincinnati Reds 7:05 PMStephen Strasburg (RHP, 8-2, 3.28 ERA, 104 SO, 1.08 WHIP, 90.2 IP)
vs Luis Castillo, age 24 undrafted
MLB DEBUT Minors: (RHP, 21-22, 2.66 ERA, 425 SO, 1.12 WHIP, 460.0 IP)
Sat, Jun 24 vs Cincinnati Reds late matinee 4:05 PM Joe Ross (RHP, 3-3, 5.98 ERA, 47 SO, 1.55 WHIP 49.2 IP)
vs Homer Bailey
Coming off 60-day DL, 1st start of 2017 (Career RHP, 60-54, 4.24 ERA, 859 SO, 1.32 WHIP, 1033 IP)
Sun, Jun 25 vs Cincinnati Reds 1:35 PM Tanner Roark (RHP, 6-4, 4.88 ERA, 69 SO, 1.41 WHIP 86.2 IP)
vs Scott Feldman (RHP, 5-5, 4.20 ERA, 68 SO, 1.33 WHIP, 83.2 IP)
Christina Kahrl, MLB Staff Writer "The Reds' rotation makeover gets underway, with Luis Castillo (No. 94 on Keith Law's Top 100 prospects) going tonight and Homer Bailey coming off the DL tomorrow. With their MLB-worst 6.12 ERA from the rotation, there's nowhere to go but up."
Notable statistics:Washington is #1 in MLB with 47 Quality Starts (QS) by starting pitchers. (At least 6 innings pitched, 3 or less Earned Runs.) The Reds are 27th with 25 QS.
Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto and Scott Schebler each has 20 home runs, (more than Ryan Zimmerman, who is chasing the Triple Crown.)
The Cincinnati Reds are 1st in MLB with 23 triples in 71 games.
