Game 55 lineups: Nats at Braves (Madson activated)

ATLANTA - And a very pleasant good afternoon to you from SunTrust Park, here in beautiful unincorporated Atlanta. The hometown Braves have been among the biggest surprises in baseball so far, with the youngest roster in the sport playing an exciting brand of ball and (until last night) holding first place in the National League East division.

That changed last night when the Nationals finished off their sweep of the Orioles and the Braves lost to the Mets, but that doesn't make this weekend's four-game series any less compelling. This will be a good measuring stick for Atlanta and a good test for a Nats team that has been feasting on lesser competition for the last couple weeks.

The Nationals' bullpen is getting a boost, with Ryan Madson activated off the disabled list (as expected), making the full, three-man Law Firm available to manager Davey Martinez again. Trevor Gott was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to clear a spot for Madson as the club continues to go with an eight-man bullpen for now.

Tanner Roark gets the start, looking to complete seven innings for the fourth straight start. Roark hasn't actually won a game since April 30 due to a lack of run support. We'll see if the Nationals lineup can do some damage again against Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb, who gave up five runs in the first two innings against the Nats here on April 2.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: SunTrust Park
Gametime: 7:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 5 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
SS Trea Turner
RF Bryce Harper
3B Anthony Rendon
1B Mark Reynolds
LF Juan Soto
CF Michael A. Taylor
C Pedro Severino
RHP Tanner Roark
2B Wilmer Difo

BRAVES
CF Ender Inciarte
2B Ozzie Albies
1B Freddie Freeman
RF Nick Markakis
C Tyler Flowers
3B Johan Camargo
LF Preston Tucker
SS Dansby Swanson
LHP Sean Newcomb