Charlie Morton (7-4, 3.77) vs. Tom Gorzelanny (2-6, 4.18)
James McDonald (5-4, 4.52) vs. John Lannan (5-5, 3.48)
Brad Lincoln (0-0, 0.00) vs. Livan Hernandez (5-8, 3.81)
Kevin Correia (10-6, 3.79) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (5-7, 2.63)
Probable Nationals Lineup:
1. Roger Bernadina, CF
2. Jayson Werth, RF
3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
4. Michael Morse, 1B
5. Danny Espinosa, 2B
6. Wilson Ramos / Ivan Rodriguez, C
7. Laynce Nix / Jerry Hairston, LF
8. Ian Desmond, SS
9. Pitcher
Other notable names on the team are Ivan Rodriguez, the 39 year old future hall of famer. He is pretty much the back-up catcher but he has made 34 appearances this year and I'm sure we'll be seeing him at least once this weekend (Saturday in the double header). Another name that will surely stick out to you Pirate fans is Brian Bixler, the punchline to many a joke. In 41 at bats with the Nationals he has hit .220/.289/.244, so we don't have to worry about this being another Jose Bautista situation, at least for now.
The best player on this team is Ryan Zimmerman. Unfortunately for Washington, Zimmerman missed more than 2 months after undergoing abdominal surgery. He is back in the lineup now and he's been a huge boost. Zimmerman hit .307/.388/.510 with 25 bombs last year and hit 33 homers in 2009. This year he's hitting .245/.321/.404 with 3 homers but is a huge threat whenever he is in the box.
The pitching has been surprisingly pretty good for the Nats this year. All but one of their regular starters (Tom Gorzelanny) have ERAs under 4.00, and they have a budding star in Jordan Zimmermann who has been as good as anybody in the league in the last 2 months. Since April ended, Zimmermann has a 1.85 ERA and a .218 batting average against in 11 starts. He is only 4-3 despite those numbers, which shows some run-support problems. Livan Hernandez is having another good year at the age of 36 with a 3.81 ERA, Jason Marquis has been solid at 3.62 and John Lannan has led this rotation as they expected him to with a 3.48 ERA and 5 wins in his 17 starts. This isn't an overpowering rotation, but much like the Pirates, they keep their team in the ballgame.
A lot of the good numbers I just said might not have been fully true a short time ago. The Nationals are probably the hottest team in baseball and have brought their record up quite a bit in the last few weeks. In their last 28 games, they are 18-10, with an 8 game win streak in the middle of it. They are coming off a series with the Angels in which they got swept, so they may be starting to cool down. Their record sits at 40-41, which isn't going to cut it in a division with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves.
Regardless, the Nationals are a solid team with a lot of young talent. Things are looking way up for them in the future with Steven Strasburg on his way back from Tommy John surgery, and first round draft picks Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon (assuming he signs) in the system, but I don't think they are quite there yet this year. They are certainly no longer a push-over team and should provide good competition for the Pirates this weekend. However, there aren't too many teams playing better baseball than your Buccos lately, they are 6-3 since being swept by the Indians.
The Pirates finished the month of June with a 16-11 record and have a head of steam heading towards the all-star break. If they continue to play good baseball, they should be able to improve their record even more in these last 3 series of the first half. I'm expecting at least a split with the Nationals and then they get the Astros and Cubs before the midsummer classic. Things are looking up.
I will be in attendance at the Saturday double header, so you're going to want to follow my updates on twitter @McEffect.
Check back around game time for tonight's liveblog, lineups, and game notes. Peace out.