The Washington Nationals kicked off the 2016 season by defeating the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Monday. Bryce Harper reminded us that he is still BRYCE FREAKING HARPER by drilling a first inning homer, and newcomer Daniel Murphy endeared himself to the DC faithful with his game-winning RBI double. Now that real games are finally underway, Nats fans have concrete material for reaction, instead of just mere speculation.
Ryan Zimmerman bats fourth, Jayson Werth sixth
Manager Dusty Baker put together a fairly standard lineup card in his first game as the Nationals’ skipper, with the switch of Werth and Zimmerman coming as the only minor surprise. While 2012 was Zim’s last full, productive season, Werth compiled a stellar 9.7 WAR from 2013-14, which most thought would have awarded him the cleanup spot. Nevertheless, the move shouldn’t make too much of a difference, as both will have plenty of chances to drive in runners.
Ben Revere is now day-to-day
Revere is day-to-day after suffering a minor strain in one of his right rib cage muscles during his first at-bat Monday, according to Baker. After listening to Revere and Baker post-game, the injury does not appear to be serious, with Revere hoping to be back on the field by the end of the week. In the meantime, Michael Taylor will take over in center. Taylor, 25, is more than credible as a fourth outfielder, and will be a fine fill-in throughout the season for both Werth and Revere. Known for his defense and power, Taylor posted a .229/.282/.358 slash line last season in 138 games as a rookie.
Max Scherzer’s home run troubles
Scherzer’s 2016 got off to a solid start on Monday, allowing only two runs and five base runners over seven innings. Those two runs, however, came off a pair of long balls, an issue which has plagued Scherzer since he joined the Nationals. After surrendering only 36 home runs between 2013-14 in 434.2 total innings for Detroit, opponents have now launched 29 bombs off Scherzer in his 235.2 innings in Washington. The home runs haven’t hurt Scherzer yet, because his miniscule walk rate has kept runners off the base paths, limiting the damage to mostly solo shots. Scherzer’s fly ball rate jumped a tick in 2015, which is a red flag. Still, this isn’t a major concern right now; rather, just something the Nats will need to keep an eye on as Scherzer ages.
Felipe Rivero struggles in opener
The left-handed Rivero got the call when Scherzer finally handed the ball over to the bullpen, and boy was he shaky. After striking out Gordon Beckham to lead off the eighth, Rivero walked notorious hacker Jeff Francoeur (career .304 OBP), allowed a single to lefty Ender Inciarte, forced Erick Aybar to pop out, and then drilled lefty Freddie Freeman with a pitch, allowing Baker to mercifully pull him with the bases loaded. Four of the five batters Rivero faced were either pinch hitters or lefties. It’s only one game, so it is nothing close to a trend yet, especially after Rivero put away both lefties and righties in 2015. But the Nats are counting on Rivero to be their top southpaw out of the bullpen, so yesterday’s performance against the lowly Braves was not exactly ideal.