The Washington Nationals begin their 60 game title defense on July 24th as they host the New York Yankees in front of an empty Nationals Park.
The MLB season isn’t set in stone but this marquee matchup has been leaked and it has the fans excited. A potential Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer has fans salivating. Having arguably the two best pitchers in the league kicking off the season will bring much needed excitement.
Cole’s last outing was against the Nationals in Game 5 of the Word Series. He struck out 9, allowing just one run. That run came off the bat of Juan Soto who hit a solo homer. At the time Cole’s performance put the Astros up 3-2. The Nationals eventually won the series in 7 games, so Opening Day will be a chance for Cole to get some revenge.
The defending champions do come into the season with a little less fire power than a year ago. Anthony Rendon left Washington in favor of Anaheim. As we know he was a key offensive player all season long, and even more so in the postseason.
The pitching staff has remained in tact. The aforementioned Scherzer is penciled in as the ace, with recently extended Stephen Strastburg not far behind.
Young phenom Juan Soto, who became a national sensation during the postseason, will be the main focal point of the Nationals offense. He will be the guy opposing teams have circled, making sure to pitch around him when possible.
We still have a whole spring training to navigate but the hype surrounding this matchup is next to none.
