Game 43 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

Reunion Month continues for the Nationals this weekend. Already in May they’ve faced Anthony Rendon and Dusty Baker for the first time as opponents, and now they’ll be facing Trea Turner and Daniel Hudson over the next three days with their new club.

Turner, as you’d expect, is smack dab in the middle of the Dodgers lineup, batting third behind Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. (Avert your eyes if seeing a 1-2-3 like that makes you shudder.) Hudson, meanwhile, continues to pitch well, with a 2.57 ERA and 0.857 WHIP in 14 appearances out of the bullpen, with two saves to his name as well. Both members of the 2019 World Series roster should receive a lot of love from the Nationals Park crowd all weekend.

As for the home team, Davey Martinez is sticking with most of the lineup that scored eight runs Sunday in Milwaukee, with Keibert Ruiz (facing the Dodgers for the first time) again batting second and Juan Soto batting third. Nelson Cruz returns after departing Sunday’s game with a sprained right ankle.

The one significant change is atop the order, with Lane Thomas batting leadoff and César Hernández bumped down to the No. 8 spot. Thomas, as noted in this morning’s blog post, had a really nice weekend in Milwaukee, and it sounds like he could get more opportunities to hit leadoff moving forward, especially against left-handers like Los Angeles’ Tyler Anderson.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain arriving, 68 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
CF Lane Thomas
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
LF Yadiel Hernandez
3B Maikel Franco
2B César Hernández
SS Alcides Escobar

RHP Joan Adon

DODGERS
RF Mookie Betts
1B Freddie Freeman
SS Trea Turner
DH Edwin Ríos
C Will Smith
3B Max Muncy
CF Cody Bellinger
LF Chris Taylor
2B Gavin Lux

LHP Tyler Anderson