Miles

Mikolas

Mikolas gave up nine hits, including a pair of homers. He struck out three and handed out a pair of free passes. He’s unlikely to take the ball again later this week as he’s facing a five-game suspension for his on-field actions during last week’s brawl with the Red Sox that will go into effect once the appeal process concludes. It’s possible he could start this weekend against the Yankees if his five-game ban is reduced on appeal. He’s obviously not a recommended fantasy option at this point.

It sounds like the Nationals are going to take a chance that the appeal on Cavalli’s seven-game suspension for his actions against the Red Sox earlier this week won’t be heard until after the holiday weekend, which is why he’s being moved up to take the ball against the Pirates. They’re ostensibly going to have Cavalli take the ball on regular rest and skip Miles Mikolas, who is also facing a suspension. There’s always the possibility that the league decides to jump in at the last minute, but it appears that Cavalli is going to start later this weekend. He struck out a career-high 13 and allowed one run over seven innings against Boston earlier this week.

Cavalli was also suspended for seven games, while Miles Mikolas got a five-game ban and Nate Eaton was levied a three-game suspension and all were handed undisclosed fines for their roles in the fracas. All of the suspensions will start on Friday unless they are appealed. Even if Contreras does have his suspension reduced by a game or two, he’s still going to miss at least a handful of games, much to the detriment of fantasy managers.

Mikolas coughed up a three-run blast to Willson Contreras as part of a four-run opening frame and was tagged for six runs total across the first three innings. He managed to spare Washington’s bullpen by making it through seven frames frames, but the damage was already done. He’ll face the Pirates on Sunday to finish off a two-start week. He can be safely ignored in all fantasy leagues.

Mikolas didn’t walk anyone, lowering his ERA to 5.29. PJ Poulin served as an opener as Mikolas hasn’t made an official start since May 12. The performance was impressive, but the veteran righty will remain well off the fantasy radar in his next outing against the Rays on the road.

It’s the third time in his eight bulk appearances that Mikolas has gone without allowing a run. He entered the season looking like the best 20-loss candidate in many years and then dropped each of his first three starts, amassing a 12.41 ERA in the process. However, since becoming primarily a bulk guy, he’s 1-2 with a 4.28 ERA in 48 1/3 innings over 11 appearances. He’s due to next pitch against the Mariners on Sunday.

Richard Lovelady will serve as Washington’s opener. Mikolas was tagged for six runs over six innings by the Marlins his last time out. The 37-year-old veteran holds a cringe-inducing 6.39 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 36/16 K/BB ratio across 56 1/3 innings this season. He’s not a recommended streaming option.

Mikolas gave up six hits, walked two and struck out four. He fell to 1-5 with the loss. Mikolas entered a scoreless game in the third inning as the bulk pitcher. The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, when Mikolas allowed three home runs and the Marlins took a 4-0 lead. Mikolas has a 6.39 ERA. He’s lined up to pitch against the Giants on the road next week.

The shorter outing allowed Mikolas to throw a little harder today, as he averaged a season-high 93.9 mph with his fastball. The runs all came in his final inning of work, which started with a Curtis Mead error. Richard Lovelady replaced him with one out and one run in and then allowed an inherited runner to score. Mikolas took the loss despite not allowing an earned run and is now 1-4 with a 5.72 ERA. He’ll probably next pitch Tuesday against the Marlins.

Mikolas genuinely pitched well here. He kept the ball down, consistently got ahead in the count, and worked mostly quick and painless innings against this tough Braves lineup. It’s always dangerous playing this game, but if we took out Mikolas’ 11-run blow-up against the Dodgers in early April, he’d have a 3.99 ERA. That’s a lot different than the 6.17 ERA he currently has. That start against the Dodgers is also the only time he’s allowed more than four earned runs in any start this year. Again, that’s not the best way to approach this, but his command has been good and has a deep enough repertoire to be moderately effective… sometimes. Just be ready for the next blow-up that’s lurking around the corner