MIAMI – The Nationals need to do a lot of things better tonight than they did Tuesday during a 12-2 shellacking at the hands of the Marlins, lest they once again leave themselves in position to be swept the following night.

It begins, of course, with pitching. After Joan Adon was roughed up for eight runs in three-plus innings, forcing Davey Martinez to turn to his bullpen early, the spotlight is on Josiah Gray to turn in a quality start. Fortunately for the Nats, Gray did just that his last time out, holding the Reds to one earned run while striking out nine over six innings. And he did just that the last time he faced the Marlins, as well, allowing three runs while striking out seven over six innings May 18 in this very park.

The Nationals also need to hit, which they barely did during the series opener. And they’re going to have to find a way to do that against Miami’s ace, Sandy Alcantara, who enters with a 1.81 ERA, second-best in the National League behind San Diego’s Joe Musgrove. This is the third time Alcantara has faced the Nats this season, and he was dynamite in each of his previous two starts, allowing a total of two runs in 14 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
LF Lane Thomas
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
SS Luis García
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Ehire Adrianza
CF Victor Robles

MIAMI – Hello from what used to be called Marlins Park and what used to house the Home Run Thingamabob. Neither is true anymore, which is quite a pity. The Nationals make their second trip here to South Florida in three weeks, hoping for a series win this time after dropping two of three to the Marlins last month.

The Nats enter this series with some positive momentum after taking three straight from the Reds over the weekend. A victory tonight would give them their first four-game winning streak of the season, which would certainly be a welcome development.

It’s Joan Adon on the mound for the opener. The rookie faced the Marlins here last month and had success, allowing only one run over 4 2/3 innings, albeit with a hefty pitch count of 84 in what wound up a 5-1 loss. The kid has been better, allowing three or fewer runs in five of his last six starts and reaching the sixth inning in each of his last two outings. He’s still seeking his first win since April 19, though. It’s been a while.

Rookie Edward Cabrera starts for Miami, having tossed six innings of one-hit ball against the Rockies in his season debut last week. The right-hander made his major league debut against the Nats last season, allowing three runs over 6 1/3 innings.

Some transactions to share: Utility man Ehire Adrianza, finally eligible to come off the 60-day injured list after straining his quadriceps in late March, has been activated. Fellow utility man Dee Strange-Gordon has returned from paternity leave. They’ll take the roster spots of reliever Victor Arano, who has been placed on the 15-day IL with left knee inflammation, and infielder Lucius Fox, who was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester after spending a couple days on the roster in Cincinnati without appearing in a game.

CINCINNATI – The Nationals have a chance today to do something they haven’t done since May 1: Win a road series.

That’s right, after Thursday’s 8-1 loss to the Reds in the series opener, the Nats have bounced back to win the last two games of this series to put themselves in position to win three out of four on Sunday. This would be their first road series win since they took two of three in San Francisco over a month ago.

Like Saturday’s starter, Erick Fedde, Patrick Corbin will attempt to shake off a rough outing in his last start. Corbin gave up seven runs while scattering 12 hits over 4 1/3 innings in Tuesday’s loss to the Mets.

Corbin comes in with a 1-8 record and 6.96 ERA on the season and 3-4 record and 4.04 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Reds.

Luis Castillo brings his 2-2 record and 3.38 ERA into today’s finale for the Reds. The right-hander was great in his last outing, pitching six scoreless innings of one-hit ball with 10 strikeouts against the Red Sox. 

CINCINNATI – Hey, would you look at that: The Nationals offense finally scored some runs last night! In fact, their eight runs Friday night outscored their collective six from the previous four games. Go figure.

As promised, Lane Thomas is back hitting second after his three-homer game last night. The Nats offense will hope to ride the Lane Train against Reds starter Tyler Mahle, who sports a 2-5 record and 5.53 ERA. But the right-hander had a lot of success against the Nats last year, holding them to just one unearned run in 11 1/3 innings over two starts.

Erick Fedde will make his second start of this road trip after having an abysmal start Monday in New York. He allowed six runs in 1 1/3 innings on 52 pitches against the Mets to inflate his ERA from 3.55 to 4.60.

Fedde did not have the same sort of success against the Reds last year as Mahle did against the Nats. In a September start at Great American Ball Park, the right-hander gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Great American Ball Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 82 degrees, wind 3 mph out to right field 

The Orioles announced the reported roster move this afternoon, with reliever Joey Krehbiel going on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation and left-hander Nick Vespi being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

But there were others.

Tyler Nevin was recalled from Norfolk and infielder Chris Owings went on the bereavement list. Nevin is starting at third base tonight.

Infielder Jahmai Jones was placed on unconditional release waivers. Jones underwent Tommy John surgery last week.

Adley Rutschman is catching Bruce Zimmermann tonight. Ramón Urías is on the bench.

CINCINNATI – Surely the Nationals offense will break out of its funk and score some runs tonight, right?

Since their 6-5 win over the Rockies on Sunday – their fourth victory of their previous five games – the Nats have been outscored 36-6 in four straight losses this week.

They’ll get their shot at 10-year veteran Mike Minor on Friday at Great American Ball Park. The 34-year-old is making his Reds debut after being acquired from the Royals for Amir Garrett in March. Minor is 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA in 11 career starts against the Nationals, all of which came between 2010 and 2014, when he was with the Braves.

The Nats have been kept quiet by right-handed starting pitchers this week, so maybe facing a lefty will bring different results. They do have a slightly better average against southpaws this year, hitting .253 to rank fifth in the National League.

Josiah Gray will get to face the team that selected him in the second round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft for the first time. The young right-hander didn’t fare so well when he faced his other former team, the Dodgers, for the first time last week, giving up seven runs in just three innings of work. After the game, Gray said he let his emotions get the best of him, but was looking forward to facing the Reds for the first time. We’ll see if he can keep his emotions in check tonight.

Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer (not in tonight’s lineup after going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run last night) arrived in Cincinnati in the trade that sent Gray to Los Angeles in December 2018. They are the only two major league players currently active from that six-player deal.

The Nationals have recalled Andres Machado from Triple-A Rochester and placed Josh Rogers on the 15-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement. So manager Davey Martinez has no left-handers in his bullpen tonight, with Evan Lee’s bullpen day not until tomorrow.

Congratulations to Dee Strange-Gordon and his wife, Jojo, who welcomed the couple’s second child this morning. They named their son Dash, a fitting name for the son of a speedy utility player. Former Nationals speedster Trea Turner also used “Dash” as a nickname for his firstborn son, Beckham.

The Nationals will place Strange-Gordon on the paternity list and will make another roster move this afternoon.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Great American Ball Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 79 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left-center field

NATIONALS
2B Cesár Hernández
LF Lane Thomas
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
3B Maikel Franco
C Riley Adams
SS Luis García
CF Victor Robles

RHP Josiah Gray

REDS
CF Nick Senzel
3B Brandon Drury
LF Tommy Pham
1B Joey Votto
C Tyler Stephenson
DH Mike Moustakas
RF Albert Almora Jr.
2B Alejo Lopez
SS Matt Reynolds

LHP Mike Minor

CINCINNATI – Hello from Cincinnati, my first time visiting The Queen City and Great American Ball Park!

The Nationals continue their 10-game road trip with a four-game set this weekend against the Reds that could help determine who gets next year’s No. 1 overall pick in the draft. (Although the implementation of the draft lottery next year will also play a factor.) There was a time earlier this season when the Nats were actually playing better on the road than at home. But they have lost 11 out of their last 14 road games while averaging just 3.0 runs per game and allowing 6.0 runs per game.

Joan Adon will face the Reds for the first time in his young career. Although he is just 1-8 with a 6.08 ERA on the year, the right-hander will look to build off a strong start his last time out in which he held the Rockies to two unearned runs over six innings.

Adon could also benefit from some support from the offense, which has only given him an average of 1.62 runs of support over his first 10 starts of the season. Yes, the same offense that is currently riding a 21-inning scoreless streak.

The Reds will counter with their own young right-hander in rookie Graham Ashcraft. The 24-year-old has pitched to a 1.69 ERA over his first two major league outings, aided by 6 ⅓ scoreless innings against the Giants in his last start.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Great American Ball Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 76 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
C Keibert Ruiz 
RF Juan Soto 
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
LF Yadiel Hernandez
3B Maikel Franco
SS Luis García
CF Victor Robles 

RHP Joan Adon

REDS
CF Nick Senzel
3B Brandon Drury
LF Tommy Pham
DH Joey Votto
SS Kyle Farmer
1B Mike Moustakas
RF Albert Almora Jr.
C Aramis Garcia
2B Matt Reynolds

RHP Graham Ashcraft

NEW YORK – The Nationals haven’t been good at many things this season, but they have been good at avoiding sweeps. Six times already they’ve found themselves needing to win a series finale to avoid getting swept, and in four of those instances they’ve found a way to win (including their last three such instances).

So that’s the challenge facing the Nats today here at Citi Field, with an extra twist added in: They’re sending a kid to the mound to make his major league debut. Evan Lee, a 24-year-old left-hander, has been called up from Double-A Harrisburg and will start against the Mets, hoping to do what Erick Fedde and Patrick Corbin could not do the previous two nights and hold down this potent lineup.

Davey Martinez is purposely setting the bar low for Lee, saying Tuesday night he’s only looking for three or four innings from his starter. The bullpen isn’t in terrible shape, all things considered, with Josh Rogers the most likely option to pitch multiple innings at some point and perhaps even Paolo Espino available for some work after tossing three scoreless innings during Monday’s blowout. Tanner Rainey, Kyle Finnegan and Victor Arano all have yet to pitch in this series, as well.

The Nationals could certainly help Lee out and provide some run support. They’re facing Carlos Carrasco for the third time this season, and they haven’t had much success against the right-hander to date: three runs scored in 12 1/3 innings. They’re probably going to need to do better than that today if they want to again avoid a series sweep and at least get out of town feeling better about themselves.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside D.C. and N.Y. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 67 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

NEW YORK – Monday night’s series opener was a miserable one for the Nationals, who got down 12-3 after four innings and never had a chance during what wound up a 13-6 loss to the Mets. If that was merely a one-off, with no lingering effects, it would be one thing. But the fear is that that lopsided loss will have a carryover effect, because of what it did to the Nats pitching staff.

When Erick Fedde was knocked out after only 1 1/3 innings, then Andres Machado and Austin Voth lasted only 1 1/3 inning each in relief, then Paolo Espino had to go three innings in mop-up duty before Josh Rogers pitched the final frame, the Nationals left themselves in a precarious pitching position for the rest of the series.

With that in mind, the club made a couple of roster moves today to bring in a couple of fresh arms. Right-hander Jordan Weems and left-hander Francisco Perez were called up from Triple-A Rochester and will be available out of the bullpen tonight. Each has some prior big league experience. To create roster space for them, the Nationals optioned Machado back to Rochester only three days after he was recalled and designated the long-struggling Voth for assignment, potentially ending his time in the organization.

The best thing the Nats could do to help avoid more problems tonight, though, is get a quality start out of Patrick Corbin. Corbin finally earned his first win of the season when he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings to the Rockies. He shut out the Mets over five innings earlier this month and held them to two runs in four innings on opening day.

The Nationals also will try to keep their quietly improving lineup producing tonight against Trevor Williams. Williams has faced them twice in relief this season, allowing two unearned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He’s making only his third overall start, having yet to exceed 65 pitches in total. Nelson Cruz, who had to leave Monday night's game after getting hit by a pitch on his left ankle, is not in the lineup but could be available off the bench.

NEW YORK – The Nationals have won four of their last five. As such, they’ve improved to 18-31 on the season. Which means if they win tonight’s series opener against the Mets, they’ll be 19-31. And we all know what that means.

OK, so it probably wouldn’t mean what it meant three years ago when the Nats got swept in this very ballpark to fall to 19-31. If anything, this time it would represent a significant improvement over the way things had been going. Not that anyone here would be celebrating it if it does happen.

The challenge the next three weeks is tough, facing a Mets club that has been comfortably leading the division most of the season to date, despite injuries to Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. They’ll send left-hander David Peterson, owner of a 2.14 ERA in five games, to the mound tonight to face a Nats lineup that doesn’t have a ton of regular season experience against him. (Though they’ve faced him several times in spring training.)

Erick Fedde starts for the Nationals, and he quietly has turned into the most consistently effective member of their rotation. Over his last six starts, Fedde has a 2.23 ERA, allowing two or fewer earned runs in five of those outings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside D.C. and N.Y. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 80 degrees, wind 11 mph out to left field

It’s been a while since the Nationals last won a series. You have to go back to April 29-May 1 in San Francisco to find the last time they took two of three against an opponent. So a win today, which would make three in four games against the Rockies, would be quite a welcome development for a ballclub that could certainly use some positive vibes.

Josiah Gray gets the ball for the Nats, and he needs to get himself back on track after a ragged start earlier in the week against the Dodgers in which he gave up seven runs in three innings, with three homers surrendered. The home run has become a problem again for Gray, who has served up nine of them over his last four starts after allowing only three in his first five outings. Unsurprisingly, his ERA has risen to 5.44.

A Nationals lineup that beat up on Colorado left-hander Austin Gomber in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader will face another lefty today in Kyle Freeland, who has been pretty good of late. In five starts this month, Freeland had a 3.54 ERA and only two homers allowed in 28 innings.

COLORADO ROCKIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 80 degrees, wind 4 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
LF Lane Thomas
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
3B Maikel Franco
C Riley Adams
SS Alcides Escobar
CF Victor Robles

BOSTON – Ryan McKenna is in left field tonight for Game 2, whenever it’s able to begin.

The rain is much lighter now, but it's still coming down and there’s more in the forecast.

Adley Rutschman is catching and batting fifth behind first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Austin Hays is in right field and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Trey Mancini is one of the reserves.

The Orioles are 2-3 on their road trip and 7-17 away from home this season.

As if today hasn’t already been jam-packed with enough action, we’ve still got another game to play on South Capitol Street. The Nationals and Rockies, after a quick break to shower, nap, snack or whatever else guys do between games of a day-night doubleheader, are back at it for Game 2 of the twinbill.

After watching Aaron Sanchez get knocked out in the fourth inning of the opener, manager Davey Martinez surely would like more length from his starter tonight. So the pressure’s on Joan Adon to at least complete five innings, if not more. Alas, the rookie has done that in only two of his nine starts to date this season. He will have the element of surprise in his corner, though, having not appeared in the Nats’ series at Coors Field earlier this month.

Chad Kuhl also didn’t pitch in that previous series, but a few members of the Nationals lineup do have experience against the right-hander from his previous days with the Pirates, led by Maikel Franco (5-for-10 with a double) and César Hernández (3-for-8). And Josh Bell was Kuhl’s longtime teammate in Pittsburgh, so he probably knows a thing or two about his repertoire and approach.

COLORADO ROCKIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (Game 2)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 9 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
LF Yadiel Hernandez
3B Maikel Franco
SS Dee Strange-Gordon
CF Victor Robles

OK, let’s try this again. The Nationals and Rockies came oh so close to playing Friday night, only to have the game postponed about 25 minutes before scheduled first pitch and rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader today. So get ready for a long day (and night) of baseball on South Capitol Street, beginning at 12:05 p.m. with the makeup for Friday night’s postponed game.

Aaron Sanchez, who started to get loose in the outfield but never made it to the bullpen for warmups, will go ahead and make this start. As noted before, the right-hander gave up seven runs in 4 1/3 innings when he faced the Rockies at Coors Field earlier this month. He’ll need to be better today, especially when you consider the Nationals need as many innings from their starters as possible to ease the workload on a bullpen that will have to cover innings in both games.

Austin Gomber, who did throw some warmup pitches in the bullpen prior to the postponement announcement, will start for Colorado. The lefty held the Nats to two runs in 6 2/3 innings a few weeks ago.

The Nationals decided to use the allotted 27th roster spot for the doubleheader on reliever Andres Machado, who will be available for both games. The right-hander has a 6.43 ERA in six appearances for Triple-A Rochester since his demotion last month.

COLORADO ROCKIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (Game 1)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 10 mph out to right field

There’s a ballgame scheduled tonight at Nationals Park. Whether it’s played on time, with or without interruption, or played at all, remains to be seen. The storms that have been rolling through town all day are certainly a threat, but at this point there’s been no proclamation about the status of the game between the Nationals and Rockies.

If they play, the Nats are seeking to do something they haven’t yet done in 2022: Win three games in a row. Yep, they’ve won back-to-back games several times, but they have not managed to win back-to-back-to-back games. So there’s your motivation this evening.

The Nationals will need to keep the offense rolling after scoring seven runs in Thursday’s series opener. They’ll need to do so against a Rockies starter they struggled against a few weeks ago: Austin Gomber, who held them to two runs in 6 2/3 innings May 4 at Coors Field. That game included a home run by Lane Thomas, so unsurprisingly Tomas is in tonight’s lineup.

One night later, Aaron Sanchez started for the Nats and gave up seven runs in 4 1/3 innings. He’s back on the mound tonight, looking for better results and hoping to pick up where he left off last weekend in Milwaukee when he allowed only two runs in five innings thanks in large part to three double plays induced.

COLORADO ROCKIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Storms, 72 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

The Nationals haven’t won a series opener since May 3, more than three weeks ago at this point. Their opponent that evening: The Rockies, with Germán Márquez on the mound for a 10-2 victory. Guess who’s in town for a four-game series beginning tonight? And guess who’s on the mound?

Yep, the Nats will try to duplicate that earlier feat against Márquez and the Rockies, who after a surprising start to the season have lost 12 of their last 16. Following a brutal stretch against some really tough competition, the Nationals will hope to take advantage of a more favorable matchup this weekend.

The lineup again features Keibert Ruiz in the No. 2 spot, ahead of the struggling Juan Soto and the surging Nelson Cruz. It also includes Dee Strange-Gordon at shortstop for the fourth time in six games, an interesting development.

Patrick Corbin gets the start, and he likewise will be looking to duplicate his performance the last time he faced the Rockies. One night after that series-opening win at Coors Field, Corbin tossed a complete game, allowing five runs (three earned) all in the bottom of the fourth and posting zeros the rest of the way during a 5-2 loss.

COLORADO ROCKIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

For the sixth time in 14 series this season – and the third straight series – the Nationals head into the finale needing a win to avoid getting swept. This is not a good way to live life in the major leagues, but it’s the way this team is living this year, and that’s just the way it is.

The Nats will hope Erick Fedde can put forth a better start than Joan Adon or Josiah Gray did the last two nights. Fedde arguably has been the team’s most effective starter recently, but he faces quite a challenge this afternoon in a Dodgers lineup that has blasted out 19 runs over the last 48 hours.

The Nationals go up against Los Angeles left-hander Julio Urías, who just shut out the Phillies over five innings in his last start and led the league with 20 wins a year ago. Lane Thomas isn't batting leadoff against the lefty, as he did in the series opener, but he's still near the top of the order, behind César Hernández.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 70 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
LF Lane Thomas
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
3B Maikel Franco
C Riley Adams
CF Victor Robles
SS Alcides Escobar

NEW YORK – The Orioles will go for the series win later tonight in the Bronx with Adley Rutschman starting behind the plate for the second time since his promotion to the majors.

Trey Mancini is the designated hitter and batting second. Rutschman is sixth behind first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Mancini has reached base in 17 consecutive games. He’s batting .369/.453/.477 during that stretch.

Ramón Urías, starting again at third base, tied his career high with three hits last night, including the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning. He’s 6-for-13 in his last three games.

Austin Hays is 7-for-22 with two doubles, six RBIs, five runs scored and two walks in his last six games. He’s in left field.

Reunion Month continues for the Nationals this weekend. Already in May they’ve faced Anthony Rendon and Dusty Baker for the first time as opponents, and now they’ll be facing Trea Turner and Daniel Hudson over the next three days with their new club.

Turner, as you’d expect, is smack dab in the middle of the Dodgers lineup, batting third behind Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. (Avert your eyes if seeing a 1-2-3 like that makes you shudder.) Hudson, meanwhile, continues to pitch well, with a 2.57 ERA and 0.857 WHIP in 14 appearances out of the bullpen, with two saves to his name as well. Both members of the 2019 World Series roster should receive a lot of love from the Nationals Park crowd all weekend.

As for the home team, Davey Martinez is sticking with most of the lineup that scored eight runs Sunday in Milwaukee, with Keibert Ruiz (facing the Dodgers for the first time) again batting second and Juan Soto batting third. Nelson Cruz returns after departing Sunday’s game with a sprained right ankle.

The one significant change is atop the order, with Lane Thomas batting leadoff and César Hernández bumped down to the No. 8 spot. Thomas, as noted in this morning’s blog post, had a really nice weekend in Milwaukee, and it sounds like he could get more opportunities to hit leadoff moving forward, especially against left-handers like Los Angeles’ Tyler Anderson.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain arriving, 68 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

MILWAUKEE – The Nationals have found themselves in this position far too often this season, desperately needing to win a series finale to avoid a sweep. It’s happening today for the fifth time in 13 series to date, the second in a row after they found themselves in the same situation in Miami to begin this road trip. Without a win today here in Milwaukee, they’ll head home 1-5 on the trip and 13-29 overall on the season.

Given how much they’ve struggled to score runs, Davey Martinez has decided to try something different with his lineup. For the first time this season, Juan Soto will bat third instead of second. Rationally, it shouldn’t make any difference. Emotionally, maybe it will feel more comfortable for Soto to hit in his more traditional spot in the lineup, perhaps getting a chance to bat more with more runners on base.

The choice to take over the 2-spot for today is Keibert Ruiz, and that feels warranted given how productive the young catcher has been recently. Ruiz is batting a robust .370/.482/.522 this month, and he’s reached base in eight of his last nine plate appearances. Hopefully, he can keep the same mindset batting higher in the lineup for the first time.

The pressure’s also on Aaron Sanchez to try to contain the Brewers lineup, which scored five runs in five innings off Patrick Corbin Saturday night. Sanchez lasted only 3 2/3 innings in the first game of this road trip, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks to the Marlins.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: American Family Field
Gametime: 2:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 59 degrees, wind 13 mph out to center field