Winner: Washington Nationals
In four of MLB’s six divisions, the top two teams are separated by a game or less. The Houston Astros closed April with a three-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West. But no team’s cushion is bigger than Washington’s. The Nats hold a five-game lead over the second place Philadelphia Phillies.
While the pitching has been an overall disappointment, the Nationals’ offense has been overwhelming.
The Nationals scored 170 runs in April, their most in a month since moving to Washington in 2005. pic.twitter.com/WZcxHFZIXx
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 30, 2017
That’s 6.8 runs per game. You’re not going to lose many games that way, even with a disappointing rotation.
Anthony Rendon closed April out with a bang. Slashing at .343/.378/.590 with five home runs, Daniel Murphy picked up right where left off in 2017. At .391/.509/.772 with nine long balls, Bryce Harper is again showing the form that won him the MVP in 2015.
But Ryan Zimmerman has been the real spark plug. He leads the team in home runs (11), RBI (29), average (.420) and slugging (.668). Perhaps most impressive is that the oft-injured Zimmerman played in 24 of the team’s 25 games.
Now, the starting pitching has been disappointing, notably in ERA. The Nationals’ 3.92 mark is 16th in the league. The front four of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark have compiled a 3.02 ERA, which would be the best total in the league by far. In other words, Washington’s starters are top notch in 80 percent of the team’s games.
It’s safe to say that April was a good month.