Cincinnati Reds battle Washington Nationals for Wild Card positioning

Previewing the pitching matchups

Anthony DeSclafani (7-6 4.20 ERA) battles Erick Fedde (2-2 4.20 ERA) in Monday night’s opener. While he may be considered the Reds fifth starter, Disco has pitched like anything but over his past seven outings. During that stretch, DeSclafani has compiled a 3.23 ERA, while striking out 43 in 39 innings.

In his career, Disco has been excellent against the Nationals. Over seven games, including four starts, he’s 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA in 29 innings. DeSclafani is also one of the few pitchers in the league to have success against Anthony Rendon. The Nats third baseman is hitless in seven at-bats when facing the Reds right-hander.

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Fedde will be making this second start against the Reds this season. On June 1st, he went  four innings, allowing two runs on six hits while recording three strikeouts and three walks in a Washington 5-2 victory. Left-handed hitters have given Fedde fits this season. Slashing .325/.381/.491, expect to see Jesse Winker and Josh VanMeter get starts Monday night.

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Alex Wood (1-0 5.65 ERA) faces Joe Ross (2-3 6.75 ERA) of the Nationals in the middle of the three-game set. Wood had a tough outing against the Chicago Cubs in his last start. Going just three innings, he allowed five runs on eight hits and walked a batter.

Wood no stranger to the Washington Nationals. Lifetime, Alex Wood is 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 12 starts against the Nationals. Wood will have to tread carefully around Nationals All-Star Anthony Rendon, who’s is slashing .571/.609/.714 in 21 career at-bats against the Reds southpaw.

Joe Ross, a former first-round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2011 draft, has been pitching much as of late. In his last two starts, he has not allowed a run over 11.1 innings, while only being touched for four hits. However, he has walked seven in that stretch. If Reds hitters can show some patience at the plate, they’ll have an opportunity to put some runs on the board.

Wednesday’s late afternoon finale will be must-see TV, as Trevor Bauer (10-8 3.74 ERA) opposes Stephen Strasburg (14-5 3.72 ERA). Bauer was everything the Reds envisioned in his last trip to the mound when he shut down the Chicago Cubs.

Tossing seven innings of one-run ball, Bauer whiffed 11 batters in leading the Reds to a 5-2 win. The California native will be making just his second career start against Washington. He earned a victory over the Nats in 2016 by throwing 6.1 innings of shutout baseball. Let’s hope the Reds receive a similar performance on Wednesday.

It’s hard to believe that Stephen Strasburg is 31-years-old and in his 10th year with the Nationals. The three-time All-Star and former No. 1 overall pick in 2009 has lost to the Cincinnati Reds only once in nine previous starts.

If Reds manager David Bell is considering giving Eugenio Suárez and José Peraza a day off, Wednesday would be the perfect opportunity. The two Venezuelans are a combined 4-for-24 lifetime against Strasburg with seven strikeouts.