The Washington Nationals had one day off scheduled for the last two weeks, but they got an unexpected one Friday when their game at the Colorado Rockies was postponed due to snow.
The teams will now fit their three-game series into two days, starting Saturday afternoon in Denver and concluding with a split doubleheader on Sunday.
Washington will send Brad Lord (0-1, 4.82 ERA) to the mound against Colorado lefty Kyle Freeland (0-3, 4.88) on Saturday.
The Nationals have dropped five of their first seven on their 10-game road trip, including three of four at Pittsburgh this week. Thursday’s 1-0 loss came with manager Dave Martinez serving a one-game suspension after reliever Jorge Lopez was ejected from Wednesday night’s game for throwing at Andrew McCutchen’s head.
Lopez was handed a three-game suspension but is appealing, so he will be available this weekend until his appeal is heard.
Lord made his major league debut in a relief appearance on March 30. He has appeared in five games, the last two as a starter, and took the loss at the Pirates on Monday. He has never faced the Rockies.
“He attacks the strike zone,” Martinez said recently. “He comes after hitters. I like that. I really like that — a lot.”
Washington won’t have infielder Paul DeJong, who was placed on the injured list on Wednesday. DeJong was hit in the face with a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller on Tuesday night and suffered a fractured nose.
Colorado didn’t play Thursday, so Friday gave them an extra day off to regroup after an 0-6 road trip at San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Rockies, at 3-15, have the worst record in the majors. Their .220 batting average is third-lowest in the National League and they’ve struck out 195 times, most in the NL.
That lack of production led the club to relieve hitting coach Hensley Meulens of his duties. He was replaced with Clint Hurdle, who has been serving as a special assistant to the general manager since 2021.
Hurdle managed Colorado from 2002-2009 and led the club to its only World Series appearance in 2007. He is taking over one of the youngest lineups in the majors.
One of those youngsters, first baseman Michael Toglia, has struggled out of the gate. He was hitting .167 after Monday’s loss to the Dodgers and manager Bud Black sat him on Tuesday night to help him reset. Toglia responded with a grand slam in Wednesday’s game, his first home run of the season.
“It’s been frustrating,” Toglia said. “But it’s an incredibly long season, and it’s a game of runs in both directions, unfortunately. So you just have to ride out when it’s not going so well and just trust the process and know it’s going to get better.”
Freeland is familiar with those ups and downs, and this season has been tough on the Denver native. He had a 2.13 ERA through his first two starts but has allowed five earned runs in each of his last two outings.
He has pitched well in nine career starts against the Nationals, posting a 5-2 record and 2.05 ERA.
–Field Level Media
