Game 111 lineups: Nats at Reds

CINCINNATI – Don’t look now, but the Nationals are playing some pretty good baseball. Seriously. They’ve won nine of their last 14 games, and they’re 19-16 since June 24, when they opened up a solid West Coast trip in San Diego and Seattle. That’s actually the sixth-best record in the National League during that time frame, 11th-best in the majors.

They’ll look to keep the good vibes going tonight and capture another series against a quality opponent if they can defeat the Reds again, though they’ll do so with something of a surprise starter on the mound: Joan Adon.

This was supposed to be Trevor Williams’ turn in the rotation, but the right-hander isn’t expected back from bereavement leave until Sunday, so the team needed a fill-in for this game. That fill-in is Adon, who makes his first big league start of the season, his third overall appearance. The 24-year-old right-hander wasn’t exactly tearing it up at Triple-A Rochester (3-5, 4.62 ERA, 1.506 WHIP in 17 starts) but his strikeout numbers of late (13 in his last 11 innings) have been good, so maybe that’s a sign of something.

The Nationals face a good young left-hander in rookie Andrew Abbott, a University of Virginia alum who enters with a 6-2 record, 2.35 ERA and 1.031 WHIP over his first 11 big league starts. Davey Martinez counters with a right-handed-heavy lineup that includes Joey Meneses at first base, Keibert Ruiz as DH, Riley Adams behind the plate and Stone Garrett in left field.

One other note: To clear a spot on the active roster for Adon, the Nats placed Mason Thompson on the 15-day injured list with a left knee contusion. The reliever hadn’t pitched since Monday, but IL moves can only be backdated three days, so that means he’s eligible to return Aug. 17.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Great American Ball Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 86 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Meneses
DH Keibert Ruiz
LF Stone Garrett
C Riley Adams
3B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Alex Call
2B Michael Chavis

RHP Joan Adon

REDS
SS Elly De La Cruz
CF TJ Friedl
2B Matt McLain
LF Spencer Steer
1B Joey Votto
DH Christian Encarnacion-Strand
RF Will Benson
3B Nick Senzel
C Tyler Maile

LHP Andrew Abbott