WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
OPPONENT – LOS ANGELES DODGERS
The Nationals and Dodgers will face each other six times this year (3 in D.C., 3 in LA)…Bullpen coach Henry Blanco was signed by the Dodgers and his MLB debut with them in 1997…Bench coach Tim Bogar (2001) spent time in Los Angeles (NL) during his Major League career…Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz were acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2021 Trade Deadline…Dominic Smith graduated from Junipero Serra High School in Gardena and won a California State Championship at Dodger Stadium in 2013…He edged out current Dodger Phil Bickford in the California State Player of the Year voting following the 2013 season.
MOVING ON
The Washington Nationals fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1, in the first game of this three-game series on Monday night…CJ Abrams plated the lone run with an RBI-single in the second inning…Trevor Williams allowed six unearned runs in 5.0 inning work and was saddled with the loss.
- Following this series, the Nationals will enjoy a day off on Thursday before welcoming the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks to Nationals Park for a six-game homestand.
STREAKIN’ LANE TRAIN
Lane Thomas has reached safely in a career-high 25 straight games and has hit safely in a career-high 14 straight games…Thomas is hitting .317/.366/.596 with six doubles, a triple, seven homers, 15 RBI, seven walks, one hit by pitch, two stolen bases and 20 runs scored during the on-base streak.
- The hitting streak is the third-longest active streak in the league, while the on-base streak is the fourth-longest active streak.
- Thomas ranks tied for sixth in the National League with eight home runs during the month of May, while his .600 slugging percentage is tied for 11th in the NL during the month.
- On the season, Thomas ranks in the National League in runs scored (T10th, 34) and hits (9th, 59).
STATUS CHECK
The Nationals have won five of the last nine, 10 of 21 and 14 of their last 28 games…They are 18-18 (.500)
dating to April 21 at Minnesota.
- Washington is 22-25 (.468) after losing six of seven games to start the season…That stretch included
series against the Atlanta Braves (1-2) and Tampa Bay Rays (0-3) as well as a 1-0 loss to the Colorado
Rockies on their Opening Day.
OFFENSIVE RANKS
Washington ranks among Major League Baseball in hits (1st, 270), average (3rd, .282), on-base percentage
(3rd, .341), doubles (5th, 56) and OPS (9th, .763) since April 30.
- On the season, Washington’s offense leads the National League in batting average (.264), ranks fourth
in on-base percentage (.328) and has the lowest strikeout rate in Major League Baseball (18.9%).
JOEY HITS
Joey Meneses is tied for fourth in the National League with 63 hits and his .294 batting average ranks
ninth…He’s recorded seven three-hit games this season, tied for second in Major League Baseball behind
Bo Bichette (9).
- Meneses is tied for third in Major League Baseball with 52 hits behind Freddie Freeman (56) and Bo
Bichette (53) since April 15…His .325 batting average since April 15th ranks eighth in MLB. - He is hitting .346/.407/.474 with seven doubles, one homer, 18 RBI, eight walks and 10 runs scored in
his last 19 games.
ROAD RISP
The Nationals lead Major League Baseball with a .323 batting average with runners in scoring position away
from Nationals Park…They rank ahead of the Texas Rangers (.318), Houston Astros (.296) and Boston Red
Sox (.282) in road RISP.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #74 JAKE IRVIN
Tall right-handed starter was added to Washington’s 40-man roster following the 2022 season…Has the “Best Control” in Washington’s system, perBaseball America…Joins other University of Oklahoma pitchers Cade Cavalli (2020 Draft) and Jake Bennett (2022 Draft) in the Nationals organization….Is the 25th pitcher drafted/signed and developed by the Washington Nationals to start a game for Washington (2005-pres.).
LAST START
Allowed two earned runs on two hits with four strikeouts and four walks in 4.0 innings of work on May 25 vs. San Diego…The two hits matched a season-low.
FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE WIN
Earned his first Major League win on May 8 at San Francisco…Tossed 6.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts, three walks and four hits allowed…With the outing, Irvin became the first pitcher in Nationals history (2005-pres.) to finish one of his first two career starts with at least 6.0 scoreless innings.
FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE START
Made his Major League debut at home against the Chicago Cubs…Allowed one run on two hits in 4.1 IP with four walks and three strikeouts…Took a no decision but the Nationals won the game 2-1.
THE STORY OF HIS CURVEBALL
As told to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post: “To Irvin, baseball was more about having fun than plotting a future. He learned his curveball grip by messing around in the backyard. He honed the pitch by throwing it from shortstop to first base during practice, a way of messing with his teammates.”
- Opposing batters are 3-for-24 (.125) with nine strikeouts against his curveball.
ANNOUCING HIS PRESENCE WITH AUTHORITY
With his first Major League pitch, Irvin hit Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner in the back…According to Elias Sports Bureau, Irvin was the first pitcher since 2000 to hit a batter with the first pitch he threw in his MLB debut as a starting pitcher.
2023 IN TRIPLE-A
Irvin made five starts for Triple-A Rochester this season…He went 2-2 with a 5.65 ERA (14 R/22.1 IP).
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
FABULOUS FIFTH: The Dodgers kicked off their six-game homestand (1-0) in style last night, cruising to a 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals thanks to a six-run fifth inning, highlighted by J.D. Martinez’s 11th home run of the season, a two-out, three-run shot off Trevor Williams. Rookie right-hander Bobby Miller turned in his second straight solid performance, giving up just one run on four hits in 6.0 innings. The Dodgers hold a 1.5 games lead in the National League West division over Arizona and are 4.5 games ahead of the third-place San Francisco Giants. Tonight, the Boys in Blue play the middle contest of a three-game series with the Nats as they try to win their fifth consecutive series at Dodger Stadium. Following tomorrow’s series finale and then an off day on Thursday, the Dodgers welcome in the New York Yankees for a three-game weekend series (June 2-4), culminating with ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball to close out the stand. Los Angeles (.600) owns the best record in the National League and the fourth-best mark in the big leagues, trailing Tampa Bay (.696), Texas (.642) and Baltimore (.630). The Dodgers have the best home record in the National League (18-7, .720) and have won 12 of their last 13 contests at the Ravine.
The Dodgers have beaten Washington in 11 of their last 14 meetings since the start of the 2021 campaign. In that time, Los Angeles is 5-2 vs. the Nationals at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are 7-2 vs. the National League East in 2023.
FREDDIE AND J.D. SHOW: The Dodgers collected just six hits last night, with four of them coming in the decisive fifth frame, that saw the Boys in Blue bat around and plate all six runs. Following a sacrifice fly from James Outman, Freddie Freeman laced a two-run double and J.D. Martinez followed with a three-run homer, putting the game out of reach, thanks to a stellar start from Bobby Miller and 1.0 scoreless inning apiece from Victor González, Justin Bruihl and Shelby Miller. David Peralta chipped in two hits for the Dodgers, who lead the National League in runs per game (5.53), runs scored (304), home runs (90, T-1st), extra-base hits (206) and walks (236). Last night, Bobby Miller became the first Dodger pitcher to win his first two career starts since José De León did so on Sept. 4 and 12, 2016.
LOCKED IN: Dodger designated hitter J.D. Martinez went 1-for-4 and put the game out of reach with a three-run homer in the fifth inning last night. Martinez has been on fire since returning from the injured list on May 12 hitting safely in 15 of 16 games while batting .309 (21-for-68) with three doubles, seven homers and 21 RBI during that span. In his career, May has been his most productive month, clubbing 60 homers and driving in 165 runners while recording an .894 OPS. His current 13-game hitting streak is the second longest by a Dodger this season and five shy of matching his career best (April 20-May 17, 2022).
THE GLUE: Dodger catcher Will Smith went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored last night and is now batting .309 (25-for-81) with three doubles and four homers in the month of May with a .920 OPS. The Dodgers are 25-12 (.676) when Smith has appeared in a game and 25-9 (.735) when he starts.
FABULOUS FREDDIE: Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 18 games last night, ripping a two-run double in the
fifth inning. Freeman is batting .441 (31-for-72) with four homers, 11 doubles, one triple, 20 RBI and 16 runs scored during the streak and has hit safely in all but two games in May. Freeman ranks third in the Major Leagues with 45 runs scored, trailing just Ronald Acuña Jr. (48) and Marcus Semien (47). He clubbed his 300th career homer on May 18 and became just the fifth player in franchise history to accomplish that feat in a Dodger uniform. Last night, Freeman clubbed his 17th double of the month, setting a franchise record for doubles in any calendar month. The previous record was held by Babe Herman, who hit 16 doubles in July of 1930. Freeman leads the Major Leagues with 23 doubles, 33 extra-base hits and 125 total bases while ranking second in hits (73) and fourth in batting average (.333). His 300th career homer came in grand fashion, as he clubbed his fourth career Grand Slam to achieve the milestone. Freeman became just the second person in MLB history to hit No. 300 for a Grand Slam, joining Ruben Sierra, who clubbed his 300th on August 28, 2004, for the Yankees at Toronto. His 18-game hitting streak is tied for the third longest of his career and his longest streak as a Dodger: Team Games Started Ended
Atlanta Braves 30 08-24-2016 09-28-2016
Atlanta Braves 20 07-17-2011 08-06-2011
Los Angeles Dodgers 18 05-10-2023 Active
Atlanta Braves 18 08-14-2020 09-04-2020
Atlanta Braves 16 05-19-2018 06-03-2018
LONG BALLS: The Dodgers hit one home run last night and have 90 on the season, which ties them with Atlanta for the second most in the Majors,
trailing only the Tampa Bay Rays (101). Los Angeles recorded their 15th 3+ homer game of the season on Sunday at Tampa Bay, which trails only the Rays (16) for the most in the Majors. The Dodgers also rank second in the Majors with 44 games with at least one homer, behind the Rays (48), who have homered in all but eight games this season.
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs NATIONALS: RHP TONY GONSOLIN (2-1, 1.82 ERA in 6 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
- Got his second win of the season in his start against St. Louis May 19th, tossing five scoreless innings on just one hit, three walks and punching out three…had wins in backto-back starts (5/14 and 5/19)
- 2022 All-Star tossed his first win of the season on May 8th against San Diego after firing five scoreless innings and giving up two hits, one walk, and tying a season-high six strikeouts
- In his rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 20th, he hurled three innings, allowing one hit, two earned runs, two walks while sitting down seven
- Made one Spring Training start, tossing 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits, while walking two and striking out two
VS. NATIONALS:
- Has pitched in two games against Washington (one start) in his career…had produced a 1-1 record with a 5.00 ERA (5 ER/9.0 IP) and eight
strikeouts against six walks • In his last appearance against the club on July 25, 2022, he fired 6.0 innings while giving up six hits, four runs and three walks while striking out four in the loss
