Game 25 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Soto, Harris activated)

Game 25 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Soto, Harris activated)
The Nationals have clawed their way back to the .500 mark, sweeping the Marlins over the weekend. Their next challenge is climbing over that mark and staying there, against some stiffer competition: the Braves. The three-time defending National League East champs are back in town for their second visit of the season already. They took two of three in the season-opening series on South Capitol Street, sweeping a 14-inning doubleheader after the Nats won in dramatic fashion on opening day. Things...
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Orioles and Athletics lineups (updated)

Orioles and Athletics lineups (updated)
Freddy Galvis has returned to the Orioles lineup today, batting seventh against the Athletics in Oakland. Galvis, previously out with a sore left adductor, is batting .348/.400/.630 (16-for-46) in his last 15 games. He slashed .115/.179/.154 (3-for-26) in his first seven. "He got off to a slow start offensively," manager Brandon Hyde said today in his Zoom call. "Really, like the last week to two weeks before he had a little bit of the groin soreness, I think you started seeing better...
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Game 23 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 23 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
A quick turnaround from a night game to a day game is never easy, but when it comes on the heels of a walk-off win, it does at least brighten everyone's mood a little bit. So the Nationals have to be feeling pretty good about themselves after Friday night's 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Marlins, capped by Kyle Schwarber's 454-foot blast to right-center. In order to keep the good vibes going, they'll need Patrick Corbin to give themselves a chance to win today. Once this season, the...
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Game 22 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins (Lester to start)

Game 22 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins (Lester to start)
The Nationals signed Jon Lester over the winter to be a big part of their rotation, counting on the veteran left-hander to make 30 starts and win big games for them. Tonight, he finally makes his D.C. debut. Lester, the last of nine Nats players still on the COVID-19 injured list, has been activated and will start tonight's series opener against the Marlins. It took longer than expected, but after three rehab outings at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg, the 37-year-old is ready to...
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Orioles and Yankees lineups

Orioles and Yankees lineups
Rio Ruiz, Ramón Urías, Pat Valaika and Ryan Mountcastle were grouped this morning for early infield work. Three of the four are in today's lineup as the Orioles close out their series against the Yankees and head to the West Coast. Maikel Franco is the third baseman. Otherwise, Urías is playing shortstop, Valaika is the second baseman and Mountcastle is the first baseman. Trey Mancini is serving as the designated hitter. Mancini became the 49th player to record 500 hits in an Orioles...
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Game 21 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays in Dunedin

Game 21 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays in Dunedin
The Nationals need to generate offense any way they can right now. How do they do that, given the resources currently available to them? They have to stick with some of their struggling regulars and sprinkle in some backups who create more favorable matchups. Tonight, with left-hander Steven Matz on the mound for the Blue Jays, that means an emphasis on right-handed hitters. Manager Davey Martinez decided the best way to do that was to stack four right-handed bats atop his lineup (Trea Turner,...
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Game 20 lineups: Nats at Blue Jays

Game 20 lineups: Nats at Blue Jays
Earlier this month, former Nationals catcher Jonathan Lucroy compared his time in D.C. to the storyline of the movie "The Replacements," in which Keanu Reeves leads a group of replacement players on the fictional Washington Sentinels to the playoffs in their fictional football league. (Of course, that movie was loosely based on the 1987 Washington Football Team replacements who won three games and helped the team go on to win the Super Bowl.) Well, I'm no Shane Falco, but I'll do my best as...
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Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets
Despite what they might try to insist, managers are a superstitious lot. When something works one day, they tend to not want to change it up the next day. So when the Nationals scored a season-high seven runs Saturday with a new-look lineup, you shouldn't be surprised to see Davey Martinez go right back to the same lineup for today's series finale in New York. Yes, that means Josh Harrison and Yadiel Hernandez are at the top of the batting order again. And it means Josh Bell, despite his...
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Game 18 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 18 lineups: Nats at Mets
The Nationals had no chance last night against Jacob deGrom. They can only hope to have a better opportunity for success today against Marcus Stroman. Stroman doesn't have nearly deGrom's track record, but he's been no less effective to begin the season. The right-hander, who opted out of the 2020 campaign, is 3-0 with an 0.90 ERA, having shut down the Phillies twice and the Rockies once. Unlike deGrom, Stroman is a pitch-to-contact guy. He has only 11 strikeouts in 20 innings to date. But...
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Game 17 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 17 lineups: Nats at Mets
The 2021 season was supposed to begin with a three-game showdown between the Nationals and Mets, but of course that entire series in D.C. was postponed following the Nats' COVID-19 outbreak. So the first of 19 meetings between the division rivals takes place tonight at Citi Field in the opener of a three-game weekend series. Just as they would've on opening day, the Nationals will have to go up against Jacob deGrom tonight. It's never an easy challenge facing arguably the best pitcher in...
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Game 16 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

Game 16 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals
After everything that's happened in the last 48 hours, would you believe the Nationals have a chance today to win their season series against the Cardinals? Yep, they enter this afternoon's finale at Nationals Park with a 3-2 record against St. Louis over the last week, and a win in this one would wrap it up. At worst, they'll split the six-game season series. (Side note: How ridiculous is it that these teams are done playing each other for the regular season on April 21?) Max Scherzer gets...
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Santander placed on 10-day injured list, McKenna recalled again

Santander placed on 10-day injured list, McKenna recalled again
The Orioles placed outfielder Anthony Santander on the 10-day injured list this morning with a sprained left ankle and recalled rookie Ryan McKenna from the alternate training site. McKenna never left the team after yesterday's option. He's back on the active roster and in right field today in Miami after Santander injured the ankle last night while going back to first base on a pickoff attempt. X-rays and a later MRI were negative, with no fracture in the ankle. But Hyde said this type of...
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Game 15 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals (updated)

Game 15 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals (updated)
Well, this is what it has come to: The Nationals tonight desperately need a quality start from Patrick Corbin, who has yet to come close to producing such a performance in 2021 (and often didn't do it in 2020, for that matter). In 13 starts since the 2019 postseason, Corbin has made it through six or more innings allowing three or fewer earned runs only six times. And four of those came in his first six starts last season. Recent history aside, the Nats simply can't afford another blowup from...
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Game 14 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

Game 14 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals
Joe Ross has been probably the most positive development for the Nationals so far this young season. The right-hander, who won the fifth starter's job in spring training after opting out of the 2020 campaign, has been outstanding in each of his first two outings and has yet to allow a run in 11 innings. It's everything the Nats could've hoped for and more from the 27-year-old right-hander. Except now they actually need Ross to continue being this guy to help them survive while much of the...
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Game 13 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks (Strasburg to IL)

Game 13 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks (Strasburg to IL)
The Nationals would like to win today's series finale against the Diamondbacks, no question. If they do, they'd have taken three of four over the weekend and five of seven over the last week, a nice bounceback since that ragged 1-5 start to the season. But truth be told, there's a bigger story going on right now that supersedes anything: Stephen Strasburg is injured. Despite his and the team's insistence nothing was physically wrong Tuesday night when he was shelled in St. Louis, the...
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Game 12 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

Game 12 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks
Today's matchup pits two pitchers coming off their best performances of the young season, and both Erick Fedde of the Nationals and Luke Weaver of the Diamondbacks will be hoping to continue their success. At stake for the Nationals: A win today will give them consecutive victories for the first time this season. On the heels of another dominant effort by Max Scherzer on Friday night, the Nats need another strong outing by a starting pitcher. Fedde didn't get ouf of the second inning in his...
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Game 11 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

Game 11 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks
The Nationals have slogged their way through a few clunkers in the last week. The good news: They've bounced back in each case to play well the following day and win. So perhaps that portends better things tonight when they face the Diamondbacks and try to erase all memory of Thursday night's fiasco. It starts, of course, with Max Scherzer, who is desperately needed tonight not only to pitch well but to pitch as deep into the game as possible after Patrick Corbin was knocked out two innings...
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Game 10 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

Game 10 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks
After an eventful road trip, the Nationals are back home tonight and will be here each of the next seven days. First up, it's a four-game weekend series with the Diamondbacks. Then it's three more with the Cardinals. And with capacity restrictions eased up for this homestand, there should be roughly 10,000 fans in the park now, which will be much appreciated by everyone. Tonight's opener against the Diamondbacks represents an important start for Patrick Corbin, who labored in his delayed...
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Orioles and Mariners Game 1 lineups

Orioles and Mariners Game 1 lineups
The Orioles brought up reliever Cole Sulser from their secondary training site to serve today as the 27th man in the doubleheader against the Mariners at Camden Yards that closes out the first homestand. Sulser was optioned to make room for reliever Shawn Armstrong on the active roster. He threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his only appearance. The switch in opposing starters for the opener returns Trey Mancini to the lineup. He was excluded yesterday before the...
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Orioles and Mariners lineups

Orioles and Mariners lineups
Trey Mancini is out of the Orioles lineup tonight, with Maikel Franco, the team leader with 12 RBIs, playing first base. Rio Ruiz is starting at third base. Ryan Mountcastle stays in the sixth slot as the designated hitter. DJ Stewart is in left field. Chance Sisco is catching and Ramón Urías, the hero in the second game of yesterday's doubleheader with his walk-off single, is playing second base. Cedric Mullins has hit safely in a career-long 15 straight games dating back to last...
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