Game 63 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Usually when a team is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, they’ll look to their starting pitcher to be the stopper. Well, Mitchell Parker pitched well enough last night to do just that, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. It’s the Nationals offense – which has scored two or fewer runs in 25 of 62 games – that has been this team’s undoing.

Jake Irvin is the next starter up to try and stop this losing skid. He will make his second start against the Braves in his last three times taking the hill, striking out a career-high 10 batters over six shutout innings last week in Atlanta. The right-hander used a balanced mix of his four-seam fastball and curveball in that fantastic start, so it will be interesting to see how he decides to attack Braves hitters tonight. And how they adjust to him after having little success facing Parker for the second time.

Chris Sale makes his 12th start for the Braves after he was acquired in December via a trade with the Red Sox and signed a two-year, $38 million extension with an $18 million club option for the 2026 season. The veteran left-hander is 8-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 0.946 WHIP, which are actually inflated after he was charged with eight runs, nine hits, a walk and four strikeouts over just four innings in his last start against the Athletics.

Sale leads the National League with a 2.49 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), 1.3 walks-per-nine-innings rate and 8.20 strikeout-to-walk rate. That’s a statistical way of saying he throws strikes, so the Nats need to get him in the zone. He also gets deep into games, pitching into the sixth inning in all but one of his starts so far and completing seven frames six times. He is averaging just over 93 pitches per start, so if the Nats attack early in the count, they better make sure it’s worth it.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 81 degrees, wind 15 mph from left to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
3B Nick Senzel
1B Joey Meneses
2B Ildemaro Vargas
DH Keibert Ruiz
LF Jesse Winker
CF Jacob Young
C Drew Millas

RHP Jake Irvin

BRAVES
CF Michael Harris II
3B Austin Riley
DH Marcell Ozuna
1B Matt Olson
2B Ozzie Albies
LF Adam Duvall
SS Orlando Arcia
C Sean Murphy
RF J.P. Martínez

LHP Chris Sale