The Dave Martinez era is off to a good start in the nation’s capital, and the Washington Nationals will try to keep it going when they begin a three-game road series against the Atlanta Braves on Monday. The Nationals swept their season-opening three-game set against Cincinnati over the weekend as Martinez made his managerial debut.
Washington survived a scare in the series finale as closer Sean Doolittle gave up a two-run homer to Phil Gosselin before nailing down the save in Sunday's 6-5 victory. The Nationals' rotation was excellent against the Reds, with all three starters posting quality starts and allowing a total of two earned runs over 18 1/3 innings. The Braves took two of three from visiting Philadelphia to open the season, including a wild comeback win on Opening Day and a 15-2 rout in Saturday’s series finale. Atlanta racked up 27 runs and 37 hits in the series, including 13 that went for extra bases.
TV: 7:35 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), FS Southeast (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Tanner Roark (2017: 13-11, 4.67 ERA) vs. Braves LH Sean Newcomb (2017: 4-9, 4.32)
Roark’s ERA crept up almost two runs from 2016 to last season, but the metrics indicate bad luck might deserve a good bit of the blame. His walk rate stayed static and his strikeout rate increased, but he did give up a career-high 23 homers in 181 1/3 innings. The 31-year-old is 6-3 with a 2.88 ERA in 19 career games (13 starts) against the Braves, but he went 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA in four meetings (three starts) last year.
Newcomb showed signs this spring of improved fastball command, which is the key to his ability to take a big step in his second major-league season. The 24-year-old recorded 108 strikeouts in 100 innings over 19 starts as a rookie, but he also issued 57 walks and hit six batters. Newcomb faced the Nationals once last season, allowing four runs in four frames of a loss.
WALK-OFFS
1. Washington CF Adam Eaton is 8-for-13 with two doubles, two homers and five RBIs through three games.
2. Braves CF Ender Inciarte is 9-for-22 with two doubles, a triple and a homer versus Roark.
3. Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman walked seven times in 16 plate appearances against the Phillies.