From: The Dynasty
This week in DC Sports
Each week, The Dynasty will highlight the top sports stories in Washington D.C.
The D.C. sports scene was quiet for the week of June 6 with only one team in action. Major League Soccer’s brief hiatus means that the Washington Nationals are the only D.C. team to see the field until D.C. United takes on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup on June 15.
The Nationals, however, provided plenty for D.C. sports fans this past week by scoring over ten runs in three straight games while extending their National League East division lead over the New York Mets to three games. Washington batters combined for seven home runs in this three-game stretch and star right fielder Bryce Harper, who endured an extended hitting slump during May, registered seven hits for the Nationals. Another positive for Nationals was the performance of ace Max Scherzer, a winner in the 11-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. Scherzer’s seven innings in which he only surrendered five hits marked the fifth time in his last six starts that Scherzer has pitched beyond the seventh inning. In his second season in Washington, Scherzer is finally putting together the performances Nationals fans expected when the team paid the Detroit Tigers $210 million for the 2013 Cy Young winner.
While the Nationals are experiencing success on the field, they are also hoping their first round draft picks Carter Kieboom and Dane Dunning can follow in the footsteps of former first rounders Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon. The Nationals received those picks as compensation for the departure of pitcher Jordan Zimmermann and shortstop Ian Desmond during free agency. Kieboom, a high school shortstop from Marietta, Georgia, is the younger brother of Spencer Kieboom, a highly rated catching prospect in the Nationals organization. Dunning, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Florida, offers flexibility as he has appeared as both a starter and reliever for the Gators.
