Nationals Will Take Opener Against Marlins

Nationals vs. Marlins, 7:10 ET

It wasn't a great day, but it was a decent one with a few plays that I alluded to or played. In the Red Sox game, I was invested in Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman. Devers broke out a bit and had two hits which was nice, and Bregman got one, but that wasn't enough. In the other game, I believed a bit too much in the Rockies early in the game, but they didn't break out the bats until late in the game. Oh well. Today is another day and I'm always believing I'm going to start a winning streak. It starts today with the Nationals taking on the Marlins.

If we look back on the Nationals over the past few seasons they remind me of so many teams in the world that have had amazing players walk through the door, but not nearly enough success. Look, with baseball, one World Series is often looked at as a successful stretch. The Cubs in 2016 are happy enough with the results of their young core that is now dispersed to other teams. The Nationals won a World Series as well, but considering in the past 10 years they've had Bryce Harper and Juan Soto on their teams, you would expect that they could've been even better. Last year wasn't that bad for the Nationals, they didn't finish higher than fourth in the division, but they were surprisingly competitive. They are only 5-7 for the season and are just 0-3 on the road. Mitchell Parker is taking the mound for the Nationals today, he is a young lefty pitcher who has looked amazing through his two starts. Parker is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Based on his WHIP, the ERA likely should be a bit higher. What he is doing well through his first two starts is getting out of jams. He has been really good against the Marlins in the few times he has faced them. Marlins hitters are 0-for-16 against him. 

Apr 5, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Cal Quantrill (47) pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

The Marlins are a team that everyone expects to fail this year. I suppose that isn't much of a surprise considering the team has invested basically nothing in the team, trades away young talent for seemingly no reason, and they consistently lack any real desire to field a winning team. It is almost as if the owners are just using the Marlins as a paycheck or money laundering scheme. However, things aren't terrible at the moment in Miami. The team is 6-6 for the season and they are 4-3 at home. Are they going to win the division? Almost certainly not. Will they make the playoffs, probably not. But, oddly enough, being .500 after 12 games really isn't that bad for them. Today they send out Cal Quantrill to the mound. I have to assume they got Quantrill with the intention of dealing him later. However with a 1-1 record, 6.00 ERA, and a 1.44 WHIP, Quantrill will need to improve those numbers to get some value. To be fair to Quantrill, his first start was brutal with four innings allowing six earned runs, but his second start was nice, going five innings and allowing no earned runs.  

These are two teams with rather low expectations, but they are going to play each other a bunch so they can potentially rack up some wins against each other. I really like the way that Parker is throwing the ball at the moment, and Quantrill doesn't show enough consistency typically for me to want to back him. It is possible this game goes under, and Parker has been flirting with disaster, but I'm taking the Nationals to win this game. 

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