Cade Cavalli Starting for Nationals on Saturday After Getting Scratched in Opener
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The Washington Nationals didn't have the best start to their series in Florida against the Tampa Bay Rays, as their ace Cade Cavalli was scratched on Friday with what was deemed to be an illness.
That caused left-handed reliever PJ Poulin to open the game, and it appeared like there was going to be some serious stress on the bullpen throughout this set since Miles Mikolas was scheduled to pitch in Game 2. However, manager Blake Butera later said that Cavalli was expected to be back on Saturday since he was dealing with food poisoning, so that allowed them to use Mikolas on Friday instead where he threw six innings after Poulin tossed two.
Now, Cavalli is officially back for the Nationals, and he'll look to get his team back in the win column after they lost the opener, 5-2.
Cade Cavalli Looking to Improve on the Road
Having Cavalli on the mound for this one is huge for Washington, as their loss on Friday means they need a win in Game 2 to give themselves a shot at winning their fifth series in a row. However, the right-hander hasn't been as good on the road compared to at home, which could have an impact on how Saturday's contest turns out.
Cavalli has made seven starts away from Nationals Park. He has an ERA of 4.28 with 16 earned runs allowed across 33 2/3 innings pitched. He's also struck out just 33 batters while walking 14, which is much different from the 3.73 ERA with 48 strikeouts to 11 walks across 41 innings and eight starts when pitching at home.
This won't be an easy mathcup for Cavalli, either. The Rays just put up five earned runs on nine hits against Mikolas on Friday, and they are a lineup that has generated a wRC+ of 105 against right-handed pitchers with a miniscule strikeout rate of 19.4%. And after missing his last start due to food poisoning, it's unclear how Cavalli might perform in this one.
Blake Butera Sticks to His Lineup Splits on Saturday
The Nationals are set to face Tampa Bay left-hander Ian Seymour. That has caused Butera to go with his righty-heavy lineup to counteract that, as Curtis Mead, Dylan Crews and Andres Chaparro are back in action after sitting in the opener.
Lineup
-James Wood: DH
-Curtis Mead: 3B
-Andres Chaparro: 1B
-CJ Abrams: SS
-Dylan Crews: RF
-Daylen Lile: LF
-Jacob Young: CF
-Nasim Nunez: 2B
-Keibert Ruiz: C
As always, Butera could make some changes later in the game to create a better matchup. But it's notable that the red-hot Luis Garcia Jr. is sitting one game after hitting his 10th home run of the year and his fifth in the month of June.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai