Game 31 lineups: Nats at Red Sox

Game 31 lineups: Nats at Red Sox
The 2020 regular season is now 50 percent complete, and the Nationals have won exactly one series to date. And even that requires an asterisk: They won both of their designated "road" games against the Blue Jays at Nationals Park, which officially counted as its own two-game series even though it immediately followed Toronto's two straight wins in the same park with the Nats serving as home team. Point is, this team simply hasn't been able to get onto any kind of modest roll and at least...
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Game 30 lineups: Nats at Red Sox

Game 30 lineups: Nats at Red Sox
Right-hander Aníbal Sánchez is seeking his second win in a row and a series victory for the Nationals as they take on the Red Sox tonight at Fenway Park. The Nats have not won two games in a row since Aug 10- 11. Their last series win was Aug. 16 at Baltimore. With the conclusion of tonight's game, the Nats will officially be halfway through this abbreviated 60-game regular season. The last time the Nats won a series over the Red Sox at Fenway Park was a three-game series sweep from June...
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Game 29 lineups: Nats at Red Sox

Game 29 lineups: Nats at Red Sox
They are playing baseball tonight in Boston, where the Nationals make their first trip to Fenway Park since 2015 and only their fourth visit in club history. Each of the three previous series there has been lopsided: The not-so-good 2006 Nats were swept, the very good 2012 team swept the Red Sox in something of a coming-out party and the disappointing 2015 team played poorly while losing two-of-three in a mid-April series. Tonight is a special occasion across the majors, which is celebrating a...
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Game 28 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 28 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
The Nationals need a good start tonight from Patrick Corbin. It's that simple. With their own lineup ailing and ace Aaron Nola on the mound for the Phillies, it's probably too much to count on a big night at the plate. So it's up to Corbin to provide quality innings, hold the Philly lineup down and allow Davey Martinez to use only a couple of his best relievers late instead of asking them to provide the kind of length that has been required more often than not this season. The left-hander...
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Orioles and Rays lineups

Orioles and Rays lineups
Pedro Severino remains on the bench tonight with discomfort in his right hip, leaving Bryan Holaday behind the plate as the Orioles continue their series against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Severino is day-to-day after leaving Sunday's game. Chance Sisco is the designated hitter. Hanser Alberto is batting second, followed by Anthony Santander. Ryan Mountcastle returns to left field after serving last night as the designated hitter. Pat Valaika is the shortstop after committing two throwing...
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Game 27 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 27 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
The season is nearly halfway complete, and tonight the Nationals and Phillies finally meet for the first time in 2020. And they meet as co-cellar-dwellers in the National League East. Who saw that coming? For many reasons, this is an important three-game series. The Nats need to start winning more games than they lose. And they need to start getting more consistent work from their rotation. Erick Fedde has been a pleasant surprise so far this year. Now that he's permanently starting in place...
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Game 26 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 26 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Tonight is the rubber game of a five-game series, and how often do you get to say that? The Nationals and Marlins have played a lot this weekend, and they're not done yet. Tonight they'll play the finale of this extended series, the winner taking three of five and perhaps carrying some momentum into the rest of the week. After Sunday's 9-3 win, the Nats have to feel good about their lineup, but they still need to prove they can maintain some consistency at the plate. They've got about as...
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Game 24 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 24 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Major league debuts are always special. But how about two starting pitchers making their major league debuts against each other? That's a rare special occasion. Tonight we'll witness it when Wil Crowe and Sixto Sánchez square off in the nightcap of this 14-innings doubleheader between the Nationals and Marlins. Crowe isn't as highly touted as Sánchez, who was the key piece Miami got from Philadelphia in the J.T. Realmuto trade, but he's no slouch. The Nationals' second-round pick in...
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Orioles and Red Sox lineups

Orioles and Red Sox lineups
Ryan Mountcastle stays in the Orioles lineup and in left field for tonight's game against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. He's batting sixth again. Hanser Alberto is playing third base and Ramón Urías is the second baseman. Bryan Holaday is behind the plate, with Pedro Severino serving as the designated hitter. Alex Cobb has made five starts and registered a 3.76 ERA and 1.139 WHIP in 26 1/3 innings. He's risen to staff ace in 2020. The Red Sox faced Cobb on July 25 in Boston and were...
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Game 23 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 23 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Who's ready for 14 innings of thrilling baseball action? For the first time, the Nationals are playing a doubleheader today, 2020 style. That means seven innings per game (unless it's tied at the end of the seventh, of course, in which case they continue into the eighth using the new extra-inning rules). There's going to be some different strategy to this. All of a sudden, the fifth and sixth innings have more importance and would be prime time for top relievers. Or, a successful and...
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Game 22 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 22 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals return to action tonight. Howie Kendrick does not. For the sixth straight scheduled game and seventh straight day overall, Kendrick is not in the team's starting lineup. That's a growing concern, because before Wednesday night's game in Atlanta was rained out, manager Davey Martinez made it sound like there was a good chance the veteran hitter would be ready to play tonight against the Marlins. Clearly, he's not. Stay tuned. With Kendrick and Starlin Castro out for the last...
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Game 22 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 22 lineups: Nats at Braves
In spite of all their issues - and they have plenty - the Nationals can win a road series against the Braves with a victory tonight and move to within two games of first place in the National League East. Truth be told, they should already have won this series and were one out away from doing it. This doesn't mean everything's perfect in NatsTown. But it does serve as a reminder things aren't always as bad as they seem. There's still a significant challenge ahead tonight in the series...
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Game 21 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 21 lineups: Nats at Braves
The Nationals did a lot of things right Monday night. And because of it, they were in position to win their series opener against the Braves at Truist Park. Of course, they didn't win because of Daniel Hudson's disastrous bottom of the ninth, so that only adds to the pressure to emerge victorious in tonight's middle game of the series. The Nats will hope to continue hitting the longball the way they did Monday when they smacked four homers. But they also need to take advantage of their other...
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Game 20 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 20 lineups: Nats at Braves
The Nationals' season will be 33.3 percent complete at the end of the night, but they'll have played only 17.5 percent of their division games for 2020. Yes, things are moving quickly in this shortened season, but there's a whole lot of opportunity left to win the games that matter most. It begins tonight with a three-game series in Atlanta against the Braves, who are 13-10 and tied with the 9-6 Marlins for first place in the National League East but still dealing with their fair share of...
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Game 19 lineups: Nats at Orioles

Game 19 lineups: Nats at Orioles
BALTIMORE - If you haven't heard, the Nationals have started this 60-game season with a 7-11 record. And if you haven't heard, the equivalent record in a 162-game season would be 19-31. Yes, with 30 percent of the 2020 season completed, the Nats are playing at exactly the same pace they played at through the first 30 percent of the 2019 season. But wait, there's more. At this point last season, the Nationals were scoring 4.38 runs per game. This season, they're scoring 4.39. Their on-base...
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Game 18 lineups: Nats at Orioles (updated)

Game 18 lineups: Nats at Orioles (updated)
BALTIMORE - The Nationals get back to work tonight seeking a series win for the first time since the July 30 "road" series at Nats Park against the Blue Jays. The Orioles won 6-2 to complete a three-game sweep of the Nats when the two teams finished in Baltimore the series finale that was suspended Sunday at Nationals Park when a tangled tarp kept the grounds crew from keeping the field playable. But the Nats roared back to take the regularly scheduled game at Camden Yards 15-3. After losing...
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Game 16 lineups: Nats at Mets (Doolittle to IL, Romero promoted)

Game 16 lineups: Nats at Mets (Doolittle to IL, Romero promoted)
For all the issues they've got right now - and there are issues - the Nationals have a chance today to win a series against a division rival. A four-game series, at that. After taking the first two games at Citi Field, then dropping Wednesday night's not-so-pretty contest, the Nats go back at it against the Mets this afternoon for the finale. The forecast in New York (just like here in D.C.) isn't great, but they'll give it a go and hope for the best. The Nationals really need quality...
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Game 15 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 15 lineups: Nats at Mets
The Nationals love wearing their gray road uniforms. The Nats are finding all kinds of ways to win games, blowouts and pitcher's duels, all on the road. They won Monday night, 16-4, and Tuesday night, 2-1. Overall, they are 4-0 on the road this season, counting the two games with Toronto that had to be played at Nats Park. Manager Davey Martinez joked after their first game in New York they might wear the gray road uniforms more often. The Nationals are now 66-42 (.611) in their last 108 games...
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Game 14 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 14 lineups: Nats at Mets
When last we saw him on the mound, Max Scherzer was slogging his way through a 27-pitch top of the first against the Mets, clearly not right. Turns out he had "tweaked" his right hamstring the previous day and decided he shouldn't try to continue to pitch through it. Six days later, Scherzer is back on the mound, back facing the Mets, believing the same thing won't happen again. He passed all his required tests during the week, but the real test will come in the bottom of the first tonight...
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Orioles and Phillies lineups

Orioles and Phillies lineups
José Iglesias was given a planned day off Sunday in D.C., but he remains out of the lineup tonight in Philadelphia. Pat Valaika is the starting shortstop to open the series. Iglesias is 3-for-6 with a double against Phillies starter Zack Wheeler and 15-for-37 (.405) this season with seven doubles and seven RBIs. Pedro Severino is behind the plate and batting fifth after sitting out Sunday's suspended game with a sore left wrist and hand. Austin Hays is batting seventh and Chris Davis...
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