Game 15 lineups: Nats vs. Guardians

The Nationals are losing more far more games than they win right now. But those losses all have been close. Four of their last five defeats have come by one run, including Friday night’s 4-3 margin to the Guardians. And the other was a 2-0 loss to Shohei Ohtani.

So they’ll try to reverse that trend this afternoon in the second game of the weekend series, hoping perhaps their lineup can actually sustain something throughout the game instead of settling for a few early runs and then shutting down the rest of the way. They'll face right-hander Zach Plesac, who was roughed up by the Athletics in his season debut but then pitched seven strong innings against the Mariners his next time out. So who knows what to expect today?

Chad Kuhl becomes the final member of the Nats rotation to make his third start of the season. The right-hander gave his team a chance last time out in Colorado, getting through five innings allowing three runs, but then he faded quick in the sixth and wound up with two more runs charged to his name. Given how much the “A” bullpen has been used, particularly Friday night, it’ll be interesting to see if Davey Martinez tries to push Kuhl into the sixth again if the situation arises.

It’s Jackie Robinson Day across all of Major League Baseball, so both teams will be wearing No. 42 jerseys. That can make for some confusion among broadcasters and reporters trying to figure out who’s who, but obviously it’s for good reason.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 76 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

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

RHP Chad Kuhl

GUARDIANS
LF Steven Kwan
SS Amed Rosario
3B José Ramirez
DH Josh Naylor
1B Josh Bell
2B Andrés Giménez
RF Will Brennan
CF Myles Straw
C Cam Gallagher

RHP Zach Plesac