Where: National’s Park
When: 1:35 EST
The Starters: Leake (0-1, 4.50) vs. Detwiler (1-0, 0.00)
The Line: Nats -115, Reds 100, O/U 8 Runs, Nats -1.5
Ok, so I jumped the gun a little bit with my sweep comments in yesterday’s preview, there is still one game left in the series. So in the real final game of this series the Nationals will send the young Ross Detwiler to the hill. Detwiler was great in his first start of the season, giving up no runs on just two hits while striking out six in route to the win. I think that Ross has the stuff to be a top of the rotation starter and the Nats have showed that they thought so too when they sent John Lannan and his $5 million salary down to triple A in favor of Detwiler. For the Reds it’ll be 24 year old righty Mike Leake. Leake has been solid so far in his young career, posting a 20-14 record and a 4.04 era in his two seasons in the big leagues. In terms of production, these two hurlers are pretty even but I think Detwiler has higher upside and he’s starting to reach his great potential, so advantage Nats. I keep looking at the Red’s lineup and thinking that it’s way better than the Nats right now (without Mike Morse), but they continue to struggle despite all that talent. So I guess right now based on what we’ve seen in this young season the lineups are about even. I’m convinced that the Nat’s bullpen is the best in the league at this point (even without Drew Storen), and now they’re rested thanks to Edwin Jackson’s complete game Saturday, Advantage Washington. I’ve picked against my beloved Nats twice this series and paid the price for it, so I’m not going to make that mistake again. This young Nationals team has proven that under manager Davey Johnson they know how to win close games, and I think that they’ll prove it again Sunday afternoon. Get your brooms ready Nat’s fans.
Prediction: Nationals 3, Reds 2
Key Players (Stat Prediction): Detwiler (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 2 BB), Desmond (2-4, 2B, RBI, SB), Leake (6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 1 BB), Bruce (2-3, 2B, RBI)
Jesse’s Picks W/L: 5 – 4
Jesse’s Picks ATS: 3 – 5