Why the Nationals on Monday at -114...the Nats open up the series against the Brewers after a Sunday 6-2 W over the Braves at home. Looking to get the road series off to the right start, the Nats will turn to Gio Gonzalez who is coming off of an encouraging road start against the Pirates. In that start, Gio allowed 2 ER over 6 IP on 6 H, 4 Ks and 1 BB. Despite the home/road era splits for Gio, his saber numbers show he has been a better road pitcher with a higher K/BB rate and a lower BABIP against compared to his numbers at home. With an uptick in velocity with all three pitches above SA to go along with the extra days of rest, this is a trustworthy spot to back Gio who sees his career era drop from 3.86 on his normal 4 days rest down to 3.33 on 6+ days of rest where he has allowed 20 HRs over 237 IP. The Brewers will hand the ball to Jhoulys Chacin who will bring his 3.69 home era and .295 home BABIP into Monday's matchup. Chacin is coming off of a quality start against the Pirates in which he allowed 1 H over 5 IP on 1 HR, 2 Ks and 0 BBs. The red flag with Chacin is that he has seen his K/9 on the decline over the course of the season, which does not bode well in this matchup against a hot Nats lineup with a combined 95 ABs vs. Chacin to match a .295 BA/.358 OBP and 3 HRs. Nationals with a league leading 1.29 era over their L14 Days compared to the Brewers 5.21 era over the same span as well as having to use 5 arms in relief in Sunday's 11-2 loss. Nationals currently taking 42% of the action with LM from -104 to -114.
Play on the Nationals at -114
Play on the Nationals at -114
