Nationals game blog: Offense looks to break through

The Nationals have plated just one run over a current three-game losing streak. They will face struggling Giants right-hander Matt Cain, who has allowed four or more runs in five of his seven starts this season.

Cain is 5-5 with a 3.34 in 14 career regular season starts against the Nats.

Ian Desmond is 4-for-13 (.308) with two homers, three RBIs and two walks over his last four games. The 29-year-old owns a .357 (5-for-14) lifetime average off Cain with a home run.

Jayson Werth is 5-for-10 (.500) in his career against Cain, but is not in tonight's starting lineup as manager Matt Williams has reconfigured the batting order and rested a few of his struggling regulars. Werth is mired in a 0-for-10 slump with four strikeouts. The left fielder is slashing a lowly .143/.180/.250 in 16 games since returning from the disabled list.

Right-hander Max Scherzer owns a 5.25 ERA through two starts in August. Twice he has been tagged for three homers in his last four outings.

Late this afternoon, Major League Baseball announced that pitcher Jose Valverde has been suspended without pay for 80 games following a positive test for a metabolite of Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, a violation of the Minor League Drug and Treatment Program.

Valverde, the longtime closer for the Diamondbacks, Astros and Tigers, spent 27 games at Triple-A Syracuse this season, recording 10 saves and posting a 2.39 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. The Nationals released him on July 22 ahead of an opt-out clause in his minor league contract.

His suspension will begin immediately upon his signing with another major league organization.