The Washington Nationals will go for a series victory on Saturday when they take on the host Los Angeles Angels in the second game of their weekend matchup in Anaheim, Calif.
Series wins have been scarce for the Nationals, with the last coming nearly a month ago when they took two of three on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That series also started the team’s June swoon as manager Dave Martinez’s team lost the final game of the series on June 1.
Friday’s 15-9 win over the Angels was just the team’s sixth this month in 24 games.
The win was one for the record books as it marked only the second time in Arizona franchise history that all nine batters each drove in at least one run. It also showed that the team has some resolve left, as it came on the heels of being shut out on three hits in a 1-0 loss Wednesday in San Diego, and the Angels had three leads through the first five innings on Friday.
“These guys, they’re relentless,” Martinez said after the win against the Angels. “They put every game behind them, and they come out ready to play the following day. So today, we could have easily fell apart after they took the lead 5-2, but we came right back. That was a great sign.”
Washington will start Michael Soroka (3-5, 5.06 ERA), who will be vying for his first win since June 6. The right-hander has allowed 10 runs in 16 1/3 innings pitched over his past three starts.
Soroka will be making his first career start against the Angels. He pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief against the Angels last Sept. 25 as a member of the Chicago White Sox. He gave up only a hit and a walk against five strikeouts.
Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.83) will get the ball for the Angels. The 35-year-old is in his first season with the American League West squad. He has three wins in his past four starts.
The former Chicago Cubs right-hander has 11 career starts against the Nationals and is 4-3 with a 3.03 ERA.
Friday’s loss ended a modest three-game winning streak and kept the Angels from climbing over .500 for the first time since April. A key reason why the Angels have gone 14-10 this month has been the improved play of outfielder Jo Adell.
Adell hit his 18th home run of the season and 11th in June on Friday. That ties him with Juan Soto of the New York Mets for the most this month.
Still, interim manager Ray Montgomery was disappointed with the loss after good output by his team.
“I think a night like that, you score nine runs, 11 hits, walk six times, usually you win those games,” Montgomery said. “We didn’t make any errors. Credit those guys over there. They swung the bats tonight. We didn’t get it done on that side of the ball but the offense really swung the bats well.”
The Angels announced Monday that manager Ron Washington will miss the rest of the season due to unspecified health issues. Montgomery will continue to fill the role.
The Angels could get Zach Neto back in the lineup Saturday. The shortstop, who has 12 homers and 29 RBKs, sat out Wednesday after he jammed his shoulder Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. Neto pinch hit Friday, striking out in the seventh, but he did not take the field.
–Field Level Media
