The Washington Nationals finally got some production from their bats in Colorado, and now they hope to escape the thin air with another win.
Washington exploded for 19 hits and 10 runs Friday night in a win over the Rockies, and Saturday they had 11 hits in a 7-6 win. The Nationals wrap up this four-game series at Colorado on Sunday with a chance for a series win.
Washington will send Chad Kuhl (0-0, 7.20 ERA) against his former team, while Ryan Feltner (0-1, 9.64) will start for the Rockies.
Kuhl spent last year with Colorado, going 6-11 with a 5.72 ERA and was better in Denver than on the road. He was 3-4 with a 5.04 ERA in 12 Coors Field starts and threw a three-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 27 for the highlight of his year.
This will be his first post-Rockies start against them and his fifth overall against the organization. He is 1-3 with a 4.64 ERA in his previous outings against Colorado.
The Nationals might be without infielder Luis Garcia, who left Friday’s game after running out a grounder. Manager Dave Martinez said Garcia is day-to-day with hamstring tightness but playing at altitude might keep him out an extra day.
“In this altitude, it could become a problem,” Martinez said. “So we want to make sure that you know, moving forward, it doesn’t become a bigger problem. You come here for four days not used to it, it takes a toll.”
Stone Garrett might get a chance to repeat his performance from Saturday, when he had four hits and five RBIs and was a triple short of the cycle.
“I don’t even think I’ve come close before,” Garrett said of hitting for the cycle.
The altitude has been an advantage for the Rockies since their inception in 1993. Sunday is the 30th anniversary of their first home game, which took place in front of 80,227 fans at Mile High Stadium, where Colorado played until Coors Field opened in 1995.
Feltner will pitch in front of a much smaller crowd in his second start of the season. He struggled with control in his first outing, walking five in 4 2/3 innings at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. He didn’t figure in the decision in the 13-4 loss.
He has yet to face Washington in his career.
Manager Bud Black said Feltner threw well against Los Angeles but his outing lacked consistency.
“You can look at the five walks right and say, hey, maybe sheer performance, probably not (great) but if you look at some segments of the game, some at-bats, you say, yes, he threw the ball,” Black said. “So for him he’s got to take those segments of games, those at-bats and stack them on top of each other and not have the variability.”
Despite Colorado’s slow start with just three wins, one player has gotten off to a good 2023.
Kris Bryant, who was limited to 42 games last season due to various injuries, has hit safely in the first nine games this year and has reached safely in 46 of the 51 games he has played for the Rockies.
–Field Level Media
