Game 77 lineups: Nats at Padres

SAN DIEGO – It’s another beautiful day in beautiful San Diego, and nothing would make this weekend any more beautiful for the Nationals than a surprising series win over the Padres. They put themselves in such a position thanks to Saturday night’s 2-0 victory, in which they got two early solo homers and then rode Josiah Gray and their top three relievers the rest of the way.

A duplicate performance might be too much to ask for, but a quality start out of MacKenzie Gore is not too much to ask for. The young lefty has shown plenty of promise this season, but he hasn’t shown consistency. Gore has allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his 15 starts, but he has allowed five or more in two of his last three outings. Emotions will be high today as he faces his former team (against whom he lasted only 4 2/3 innings last month in D.C.). He’ll have to channel those emotions into a better performance today.

The Nationals will try to score more than two runs off Seth Lugo, who gets the start for the Padres. The 33-year-old right-hander is no stranger to the Nats, having faced them for years as a member of the Mets bullpen. He’s now starting in San Diego, where he’s allowed two or fewer runs in three of his last four outings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Petco Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 70 degrees, wind 12 mph left field to right field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
3B Jeimer Candelario
DH Joey Meneses
LF Corey Dickerson
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
CF Derek Hill
SS CJ Abrams

LHP MacKenzie Gore

PADRES
2B Ha-Seong Kim
RF Fernando Tatis Jr.
LF Juan Soto
3B Manny Machado
SS Xander Bogaerts
1B Jake Cronenworth
DH Nelson Cruz
C Austin Nola
CF Trent Grisham

RHP Seth Lugo