Cincinnati Reds at Washington Nationals Preview

The Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals will play at least 14 innings of baseball on Thursday after the Wednesday night matchup was suspended. Cincinnati trailed 3-0 in that game, and they are facing a tough challenge in the regular game as well.

The Reds came into Wednesday with a record of 21-25 and have been even worse on the road. Cincinnati is starting to fade in the division race, and they have to turn things around in a hurry.

Washington is also having a tough go of things in 2021 as they are just 20-24 on the season. The Nationals have a winning record at home, and they have a dominant pitcher starting Thursday night.

The Nationals are the favorites at -130 on Thursday night against the Reds.

Gray Must Get Going

Sonny Gray is set to start on Thursday night for the Reds, and he has really struggled to begin the 2021 season, and that’s being nice. Gray has gone 0-3 with a 3.96 ERA for the Reds, and this team won’t contend unless he starts to win games.

The Reds are still putting up some impressive numbers at the plate, especially when it comes to the trio of outfielders. There are still some holes in this offense, but the big bats in the middle of the lineup can do some damage.

Nick Castellanos leads the National League with a .359 batting average, and he has also driven in a team-high 30 runs. Jesse Winker has blasted 13 home runs to lead the team, and he has been red-hot at the plate in recent games.

Nationals Not Scoring Runs

Washington has really struggled to score runs all season long, and that could help Gray turn his season around. The Nationals do sport a team batting average of .256, but they are near the bottom of the league in total runs scored.

Shortstop Trea Turner leads the team with ten home runs and 30 RBIs, and Gray will have to find a way to keep him off the bases. The Nationals don’t have a ton of power, which should help the Reds keep it close.

Stephen Strasburg is on the mound for Washington on Thursday night, and he is always capable of being dominant.

Reds Need Bats to Carry Team

Counting on Sonny Gray to pitch well just isn’t going to work for the Reds, even though he is too good to continue to struggle. The Reds were being shutout on Wednesday when the game was stopped, and they must find some offense Thursday night.

Washington is not a great offensive team, and that could allow the Reds to stay in this game until the end. If the Reds can get this game to a bullpen with a lead, then they should have enough offense to pick up an impressive win against Stephen Strasburg.

This is a great chance for both the Reds and Nationals to turn things around, but it’s Cincinnati that would be picking up an upset win if it occurs on Thursday.