NEW YORK – In order for the Nationals to escape The Bronx with at least one win, they’ll need timely hitting and shutdown pitching. It may be too much to ask for both at this point, but either one should give them a decent shot to beat the Yankees this afternoon.
Getting timely hitting might be tough against Yankees starter Max Fried. The All-Star left-hander is 13-5 with a 3.14 ERA over 26 starts in his first season in New York. And he’s coming off an outing in which he shut out the Red Sox over six innings with seven strikeouts. The longtime Brave is 8-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 19 career games (18 starts) against the Nats.
Getting shutdown pitching, on the other hand, may be a real possibility with Cade Cavalli starting on the mound. The right-hander has turned in back-to-back quality starts against the Phillies coming into today. And he has a very nice 2.82 ERA over his first four starts since returning to the majors. The key for Cavalli will be limiting the longball and slugging against this dangerous Yankees lineup.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK YANKEES
Where: Yankee Stadium
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 11 mph out to right field
NATIONALS
TBA
RHP Cade Cavalli
YANKEES
CF Trent Grisham
1B Ben Rice
DH Aaron Judge
RF Cody Bellinger
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.
LF Jasson Domínguez
SS Anthony Volpe
C Austin Wells
3B Ryan McMahon
LHP Max Fried