Nationals Second Half Preview

With the Home Run Derby and All Star Game in the books, it is time to look ahead to what the second half of the season has in store for the Nats.  Here are a few quick facts and highlights from the schedule:

• 79 games.  47 (~60%) against NL East Rivals.  44 (~56%) against teams with winning records at the break.

July:

• 19 games, 15 divisional games, 10 vs winners, 1 off day.
• July 13-16: 4 game series against the Marlins.
• July 20-22: 4 game series against the Braves.
•  Braves DOUBLE HEADER July 21.

August:

• 29 games, 17 divisional games, 17 vs winners, 3 off days.
• August 3-5: 4 game series against the Marlins.
• Marlins DOUBLE HEADER August 3.

• August 13-15: Road series vs Giants.
• August 30: STRASBURG SHUTDOWN WINDOW OPEN

September:

• 28 games, 12 divisional games, 17 vs winners, 2 off days.
• September 3-6: 4 game series against the Cubs.
• September 5: STRASBURG SHUTDOWN WINDOW CLOSED
• September 7-9: Final Marlins series.
• September 10-12: Final Mets series.
• September 14-16: Final Braves series.
• September 18-20: 3 games against the Dodgers.

October:

• 3 games, 3 divisional games, 0 vs winners.
• October 1-3: Final regular season series.  Versus Philly.

Take Aways:

• July is going to give us two huge 4 games series against our division rivals that could sway the balance of power.
• The Marlins are 9 games back right now.  Depending how their July goes, the 4 game series against us in August could decide their playoff lives.  Giants will be looking for payback.
• Big four game series against the Cubs to pad our record before running the final gauntlet of division rivals.  The Dodgers are thrown in there for good measure.
• The Strasburg shutdown window is based on his current innings projection and assuming no changes/injury to the rotation. Presumed rotation is Zimmermann, Gonzalez, Strasburg, Jackson, Detwiler.