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Series Preview: Cincinnati Reds (13-9) @ Washington Nationals (10-11)

For the second time this season, the Nationals and Reds will face off - this time at Nationals Park. However, this time the Nationals are coming off of four straight losses including a three-game sweep against the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals. Tonight they kick off a four game series against the Reds which will tell us what this team is made of.

By Jared Book
Rob Carr

The Washington Nationals are 1-5 against teams that wear red and white from the National League Central Division, and are coming off of four straight losses and three straight series losses. It will not be an easy task against the Cincinnati Reds who had their way with Nationals pitching in the previous series. This time, the Nationals have home field advantage and a lot of pressure on them from anxious fans and an angry manager.

Let's take a closer look at the three-game set.

Probable Pitchers
Thursday, 7:05 p.m.
WSH: Gio Gonzalez (1-1, 5.85 ERA)
CIN: Bronson Arroyo (2-1, 3.54 ERA)

Friday, 7:05 p.m.
WSH: Jordan Zimmermann (3-1, 2.67 ERA)
CIN: Homer Bailey (1-1, 3.24 ERA)

Saturday, 1:05 p.m.
WSH: Dan Haren (1-3, 7.36 ERA)
CIN: Mike Leake (1-0, 3.81 ERA)

Sunday, 1:35 p.m.
WSH: Ross Detwiler (1-1, 1.38 ERA)
CIN: Tony Cingrani (1-0, 2.25 ERA)

Projected Reds Lineup (via MLB Depth Charts)
1. CF Shin-Soo Choo
2. SS Zack Cozart
3. 1B Joey Votto
4. 2B Brandon Phillips
5. RF Jay Bruce
6. 3B Todd Frazier
7. LF Chris Heisey
8. C Devin Mesoraco

Reds Bench
C Corky Miller
3B/1B Jack Hannahan
IF Cesar Izturis
OF Xavier Paul
OF Derrick Robinson

Reds Bullpen
LHP Aroldis Chapman
RHP Jonathan Broxton
RHP J.J. Hoover
LHP Manny Parra
RHP Alfredo Simon
RHP Logan Ondrusek
RHP Sam LeCure

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
Gio Gonzalez 4 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .400 .400 1.000
Bryce Harper 20 74 13 26 4 0 7 15 10 13 1 1 .351 .429 .689
Steve Lombardozzi 14 29 2 10 3 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 .345 .367 .448
Wilson Ramos 6 20 3 6 0 0 2 3 3 1 0 1 .300 .391 .600
Ian Desmond 21 81 10 22 8 1 3 5 2 20 3 0 .272 .286 .506
Denard Span 19 71 9 19 2 0 0 5 11 9 2 1 .268 .366 .296
Jayson Werth 21 81 15 21 2 0 4 9 4 18 2 0 .259 .302 .432
Kurt Suzuki 15 40 5 10 3 1 2 5 8 9 1 0 .250 .380 .525
Stephen Strasburg 5 8 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .250 .250 .375
Ryan Zimmerman 15 53 3 12 2 1 1 11 7 14 0 0 .226 .311 .358
Jhonatan Solano 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200 .200 .200
Tyler Moore 12 21 2 4 3 0 0 4 1 10 0 0 .190 .227 .333
Adam LaRoche 18 59 6 10 1 0 3 8 7 23 0 0 .169 .258 .339
Danny Espinosa 17 58 5 9 5 0 1 3 2 10 0 0 .155 .197 .293
Dan Haren 4 7 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .143 .143 .286
Anthony Rendon 4 15 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 .133 .133 .200
Chad Tracy 13 23 0 3 0 0 0 1 3 7 0 1 .130 .231 .130
Roger Bernadina 11 16 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 0 0 .000 .059 .000
Ross Detwiler 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0 0 .000 .111 .000
Jordan Zimmermann 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Craig Stammen 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Drew Storen 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Ryan Mattheus 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Tyler Clippard 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Rafael Soriano 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Henry Rodriguez 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Zach Duke 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000

Pitching

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
Ross Detwiler 1-1 4 4 0 0 0 0 26.0 25 5 4 1 5 13 1.38 1.15
Jordan Zimmermann 3-1 4 4 1 0 0 0 27.0 23 8 8 2 6 15 2.67 1.07
Stephen Strasburg 1-4 5 5 0 0 0 0 31.1 27 15 11 3 8 28 3.16 1.12
Henry Rodriguez 0-0 8 0 0 0 0 0 8.1 4 3 3 1 6 6 3.24 1.20
Craig Stammen 2-1 7 0 0 0 0 1 10.2 10 4 4 1 4 13 3.38 1.31
Ryan Mattheus 0-0 8 0 0 0 0 1 9.1 12 4 4 0 3 9 3.86 1.61
Tyler Clippard 1-0 9 0 0 0 0 0 9.0 3 4 4 1 6 8 4.00 1.00
Rafael Soriano 0-0 8 0 0 0 6 1 8.0 7 4 4 2 2 8 4.50 1.13
Gio Gonzalez 1-1 4 4 0 0 0 0 20.0 18 13 13 2 11 20 5.85 1.45
Zach Duke 0-0 6 0 0 0 0 0 10.2 14 8 7 1 2 8 5.91 1.50
Drew Storen 0-0 8 0 0 0 0 1 8.1 13 8 6 2 1 10 6.48 1.68
Dan Haren 1-3 4 4 0 0 0 0 18.1 32 19 15 5 4 15 7.36 1.96


Washington Nationals Injuries

Questionable

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Rafael Soriano other-excused 04/25/2013

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Ryan Zimmerman hamstring 04/18/2013
Wilson Ramos hamstring 04/14/2013
Christian Garcia forearm 03/22/2013


CINCINNATI REDS

Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
Alfredo Simon 10 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000
Manny Parra 6 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500
Mike Leake 4 10 3 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 .400 .400 .600
Homer Bailey 4 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .400 .400 .600
Shin-Soo Choo 21 79 18 31 6 1 3 9 14 18 2 0 .392 .534 .608
Jack Hannahan 14 20 1 7 0 1 0 3 1 4 0 0 .350 .381 .450
Xavier Paul 16 27 6 9 1 0 1 8 2 7 0 0 .333 .379 .481
Joey Votto 22 78 14 23 1 1 3 8 26 24 1 1 .295 .477 .449
Devin Mesoraco 10 35 6 10 3 0 0 5 6 6 0 1 .286 .381 .371
Brandon Phillips 21 88 14 24 6 0 4 21 8 16 0 0 .273 .327 .477
Jay Bruce 22 92 13 25 7 0 1 11 10 31 0 2 .272 .343 .380
Todd Frazier 21 76 13 20 4 0 6 18 10 22 2 1 .263 .352 .553
Cesar Izturis 11 21 1 5 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 0 .238 .333 .238
Derrick Robinson 13 17 2 4 0 0 0 1 3 7 1 1 .235 .350 .235
Zack Cozart 20 83 11 17 3 0 4 10 3 12 0 0 .205 .230 .386
Chris Heisey 21 71 7 13 3 0 2 5 2 19 2 0 .183 .205 .310
Mat Latos 5 12 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 .167 .231 .250
Ryan Hanigan 12 38 3 3 0 0 0 2 5 5 0 1 .079 .182 .079
Bronson Arroyo 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Johnny Cueto 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Tony Cingrani 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Corky Miller 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Sam LeCure 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Jonathan Broxton 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Aroldis Chapman 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Sean Marshall 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Ryan Ludwick 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .000 1.000 .000
J.J. Hoover 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Logan Ondrusek 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Justin Freeman 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000

Pitching

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
Sean Marshall 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 .00
Aroldis Chapman 2-1 12 0 0 0 4 0 11.1 5 1 1 1 2 20 0.79 .62
Sam LeCure 1-0 7 0 0 0 0 0 9.2 5 1 1 1 4 11 0.93 .93
Mat Latos 1-0 5 5 0 0 0 0 33.1 30 11 8 3 5 33 2.16 1.05
Tony Cingrani 1-0 2 2 0 0 0 0 12.0 10 3 3 2 3 17 2.25 1.08
Johnny Cueto 1-0 3 3 0 0 0 0 17.1 12 5 5 2 6 18 2.60 1.04
Logan Ondrusek 1-0 7 0 0 0 0 0 6.0 3 2 2 1 1 7 3.00 .67
Homer Bailey 1-1 4 4 0 0 0 0 25.0 20 9 9 3 9 26 3.24 1.16
Bronson Arroyo 2-1 4 4 0 0 0 0 28.0 24 11 11 2 3 16 3.54 .96
Mike Leake 1-0 4 4 0 0 0 0 26.0 27 11 11 3 8 18 3.81 1.35
J.J. Hoover 0-3 10 0 0 0 0 0 10.2 11 5 5 3 5 12 4.22 1.50
Alfredo Simon 2-1 10 0 0 0 0 0 11.2 10 7 6 1 2 9 4.63 1.03
Jonathan Broxton 0-1 9 0 0 0 0 2 8.1 6 7 6 2 3 6 6.48 1.08
Manny Parra 0-1 6 0 0 0 0 0 6.2 15 7 6 2 3 7 8.10 2.70
Justin Freeman 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 2 2 1 0 0 18.00 2.00

Cincinnati Reds Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Sean Marshall shoulder 04/08/2013
Johnny Cueto other-excused 04/14/2013
Ryan Hanigan thumb 04/20/2013

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Nick Masset shoulder 03/22/2013
Ryan Ludwick shoulder 04/02/2013


NL East Standings

W L PCT GB STRK
Atlanta 15 6 .714 0 Lost 1
New York 10 9 .526 4 Won 1
Washington 10 11 .476 5 Lost 4
Philadelphia 9 13 .409 6.5 Lost 2
Miami 5 16 .238 10 Won 1

(updated 4.25.2013 at 10:49 AM EDT)


NL Central Standings

W L PCT GB STRK
St. Louis 13 8 .619 0 Won 3
Cincinnati 13 9 .590 0.5 Won 1
Pittsburgh 12 9 .571 1 Won 2
Milwaukee 11 9 .550 1.5 Lost 1
Houston 7 14 .333 6 Won 2
Chicago 6 14 .300 6.5 Lost 1

(updated 4.25.2013 at 10:49 AM EDT)


TEMPERATURE CHECK (Last 7 Days)

Who's Hot
Shin-Soo Choo (CIN): 13/25 (.520/.667/.720), 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 8 BB, 6 K
Xavier Paul (CIN): 5/13 (.365/.467/.462), 1 2B, 2 RBI
Joey Votto (CIN): 10/31 (.323/.389/.516), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 10 K (Votto is 0 for his last 11)

Who's Cold
Brandon Phillips (CIN): 4/30 (.133/.229/.167), 1 2B, 4 RBI, 7 K
Zack Cozart (CIN): 4/26 (.154/.214/.154), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Washington Nationals (WSH): 32/189 (.169/.242/.291), 8 2B, 5 HR, 12 RBI

MATCHUPS TO WATCH

Reds vs Dan Haren

The last time that Dan Haren went against the Cincinnati Reds, the results were not pretty. This time, he has the home field advantage and is not pitching in a home run ballpark. Haren's ERA has been dropping, but he always seems to be hit by one bad inning and when the offense is struggling like it is, no Nationals starter can afford that. Haren will need to continue to keep the ball in the park and get into his groove. Otherwise, Nationals fans already frustrated with his performance will start to get even less patient with the veteran.

Adam LaRoche (or whoever bats cleanup pending a lineup change) vs Reds Pitching

The only bat in the Nationals lineup that seems to be working is Bryce Harper's. And pitchers are noticing. Harper hasn't had very much to hit, and is walking a lot - sometimes even on four pitches. When the Chicago White Sox intentionally walked Harper, Ryan Zimmerman made them pay. Adam LaRoche is not doing that right now, so teams are giving Harper the Giancarlo Stanton treatment. Until the people behind Harper start hitting the ball, Harper might not be able to get much to hit. If Davey Johnson chooses to move Werth back to the 4 hole, it may help but LaRoche may just be the guy the Nationals need to break himself - and the team - out of its slump.

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