What to Watch for: 6/12
Follow @Nationals on Twitter | Like the Nationals on Facebook
Washington Nationals (36-23) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (31-30)
RHP Chien-Ming Wang (1-2, 5.11) vs. RHP Henderson Alvarez (3-5, 3.76)
The Nationals head into tonight’s matchup looking to extend their four-game winning streak. Washington also hopes to remain undefeated (4-0) in Interleague Play this month. A win for the Nationals tonight would not only give Chien-Ming Wang his first win as a starter in 2012, but would also give the team their third consecutive series victory.
STATE OF THE NATIONALS
Washington enters today at a season-best 13 games over .500, the team’s best mark since July 2005 (54-41 after 95 games). The Nationals have not reached 14 games over .500 since they were 54-40 thru 94 contests in July ‘05. The Nats have won four straight and would match their season-best win streak with a victory tonight. A win would also clinch the series; Washington is 13-4-3 in series play this season, including 7-3 in road series.
ZIM CLOSING IN ON 1,000 HITS
Ryan Zimmerman needs just nine hits to reach the 1,000-hit plateau for his career. Since Zim made his debut on September 1, 2005, only two MLB third basemen have posted more hits: David Wright (1,099) and Adrian Beltre (1,021).
In addition, Zimmerman owns the Nationals (‘05-present) mark with 991 hits and will become just the eighth player in Nationals/Expos franchise history to reach 1,000, joining Tim Wallach (1,694), Tim Raines (1,622), Andre Dawson (1,575), Gary Carter (1,427), Jose Vidro (1,280), Vladimir Guerrero (1,215) and Warren Cromartie (1,063).
ESPINOSA HEATING UP
Four games into this Interleague road trip, Danny Espinosa is 5-for-15 (.333) with four doubles, three RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Furthermore, in his last 10 games, Espinosa is batting .297 (11-for-37) with three walks, five doubles, a triple, four RBI, and seven runs scored.
