Game 1 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

It’s a beautiful (if a bit chilly) day for baseball in the nation’s capital, where the 2023 season begins when the Nationals take the field shortly after 1 p.m. to host the Braves. This is expected to be another long season featuring far more losses than wins, but if you can’t be optimistic on Opening Day, what’s the point?

The Nats had all kinds of trouble against the Braves last season, going 5-14 while being outscored 116-67. (To be fair, they had all kinds of trouble with everyone from the National League East last season.) Patrick Corbin in particular was awful in his four matchups with them, going 0-3 with a 9.42 ERA and 2.372 WHIP. Oof. Suffice it to say, the veteran left-hander has his hands full this afternoon. His goal: Go as far as he can, and just keep his team in the game.

On the bright side, the Nationals did have some modest success against Max Fried last season, scoring 10 runs on 20 hits over 18 innings vs. the Atlanta left-hander. They'll hope to continue some of that this afternoon with a new-look lineup that isn't heavy on power but does have some contact and speed to work with.

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 48 degrees, wind 8 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
DH Joey Meneses
3B Jeimer Candelario
1B Dominic Smith
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Alex Call
2B Luis García
CF Victor Robles
SS CJ Abrams

LHP Patrick Corbin

BRAVES
RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
1B Matt Olson
3B Austin Riley
2B Ozzie Albies
C Sean Murphy
RF Marcell Ozuna
CF Michael Harris II
DH Travis d'Arnaud
SS Orlando Arcia

LHP Max Fried