Game 4 lineups: Nats at Blue Jays

TORONTO – The Nationals’ first road trip of 2025 takes them north of the border for their biannual series at Rogers Centre, longtime home of the Blue Jays. The current wind chill here in 38 degrees (Fahrenheit, not Celsius). Fortunately, the roof is closed and will remain closed.

The guy on the mound tonight isn’t bothered by cold temperatures or metric conversions. Michael Soroka is from Calgary, so his Nats debut is sort of a homecoming for him, even if we’re clear on the other side of the country from his hometown. Soroka looked very good most of the spring before stumbling in his final tune-up start. The Nationals are banking on the right-hander to be a stabilizing force in their rotation. We’ll get our first real look at him tonight against a Blue Jays lineup that boasts a formidable 1-2 punch in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander.

The Nats lineup, which surprisingly outhomered the Phillies 6-5 in the opening series, will now try to take aim at the hitter-friendly dimensions here. They face an unfamiliar foe in Toronto right-hander Bowden Francis, who went 8-5 with a 3.30 ERA in his first full big league season. Only four members of the current Nationals roster have ever faced Francis before, and only Nathaniel Lowe has more than three plate appearances against him.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Where: Rogers Centre
Gametime: 7:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Paul DeJong
RF Dylan Crews
CF Jacob Young

RHP Michael Soroka 

BLUE JAYS
SS Bo Bichette
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
DH Anthony Santander
2B Andrés Giménez
C Alejandro Kirk
RF George Springer
3B Will Wagner
CF Nathan Lukes
LF Alan Roden

RHP Bowden Francis