Atlanta gets 2 out of 3 on the road this weekend(even though the Nats. might need these games more?)!
Need predictions on tonight’s game and the remainder of the series, from you Gents.?
I'll play along... of course, the standard disclaimer. THIS IS is baseball... so anything can happen. However, I'll go the other way on this one... than you Braves homers. I know...no surprise.
Scherzer is a veteran. He is a COMPETITOR to the nth degree. All he needs is some sort of incentive to summon dominance on the mound. For example, earlier this year, he embarrassed himself by bunting a ball off his face in batting practice. So... with a broken nose he marched out there and went 7IP/0ER/10Ks against the Phillies.....mainly (IMO) because there was so much chatter about whether he could "be Max" under those circumstances. This time of year all he needs for incentive is "this time of year". This game matters to the Nationals post-season. He knows he probably only gets 3-4 more starts to impact the National's record over these last 17 games. He is 1-0 v Braves in 1 start. Braves have only seen him ONCE this year. The matchup is good. A strikeout pitcher against a team that strikes out a lot.
Soroka (who I admit I have watch minimally) is a kid. He's never had this workload before. I'd be concerned about his stamina as the heat ratchets up. [Not that there is much heat on Braves tonight... but it is coming soon in post-season] He was 9-1 before AS break... and 2-3 since. He's 0-2 v Nationals in 4 starts. Nationals have faced him 4 times...advantage Nationals.
If I'm betting (I'm not), I say advantage Scherzer. You guys have the right idea, though. Work on running his pitch count up & survive to get to bullpen as early as possible.
Should be another fun weekend of baseball. Nationals have to sweep to win the season series...currently 9-7 in Braves favor. I say Nationals manage to win tonight and one more to take series 2-1. Nationals loss will be tomorrow (Sat) since they'll get hit with the "next next game blues" after arriving home this morning from Minn around 5am.
Go NATS!
Peace and To Hell with Georgia!!