Game 151 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 151 lineups: Nats at Marlins
It's Rematch No. 2 tonight in Miami, and this time the dueling starters have the same name. Yes, for the second time in a week, it's Josh Rogers versus Trevor Rogers, and who doesn't get excited for that? The first showdown between these two left-handers occurred last Wednesday in D.C., with the Nationals' Rogers tossing five scoreless innings and the Marlins' Rogers allowing only one run over four innings. Things completely fell apart after that, though, especially on the Nats' side of...
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Game 150 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Marlins
If you feel like you've seen the Nationals and Marlins play each other enough already this season, well, join the club. Alas, there are three games remaining on the head-to-head schedule between these two division foes and those will be taking place over the next three nights. When they wrap things up Wednesday night, the Nats will have faced the Marlins 19 times for the season, but nine times over the previous month. That's a lot. And the result of this series in Miami could go a long way...
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Game 149 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

Game 149 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies
The Nationals are not a good baseball team. Sorry to put it so harshly, but it's impossible to ignore that fact at this point. And they haven't just been bad since the trade deadline; they already were headed well in that direction a month prior to it. They've now played 70 games since July 1, and their record across that span is a dismal 20-50, worst in the majors. It also matches the worst 70-game stretch in club history, previously achieved only by the 2008 and 2009 teams. Those two...
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Game 148 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

Game 148 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies
At this stage of the season, you know the drill. The Nationals will be asking one of their starting pitchers to get them deep into the game with an effective performance, then hoping their bullpen can hang on the rest of the way. It's been the formula for months, and more often than not it hasn't worked. Not that manager Davey Martinez has any realistic alternatives at this point. So Martinez will send Patrick Corbin to the mound this afternoon against the Rockies and hope the veteran lefty...
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Game 147 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

Game 147 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies
There are only 16 games left in the Nationals' season, which means Josiah Gray probably only has four starts remaining, starting with tonight's series opener against the Rockies. Gray started his career in D.C. strong, pitching to a 2.89 ERA over his first five starts. But he has since struggled with an ERA of 12.75 over his last three outings. If the right-hander wants to finish strong and give the organization confidence in him going into next year, he's going to have to limit the walks...
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Game 146 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 146 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The nexus of the universe stands at the corner of South Capitol Street and Potomac Avenue SE this afternoon, where both the Nationals and Marlins will be sending left-handed pitchers to the mound named Rogers. OK, so this is hardly cosmos-bending stuff, but it is a funny little quirk about the matchup for today's series finale at Nationals Park. Josh Rogers gets the start for the Nats, his third since his promotion from Triple-A Rochester. And he's been pretty good in each of his previous two...
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Game 145 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 145 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals avoided the ignominy of being no-hit for the first time Monday night, but let's be honest: Even if it happened, it would've come against a worthy foe in Sandy Alcantara, an All-Star who was in peak form in the series opener. Tonight, they face a highly touted, but far less accomplished opponent in Jesús Luzardo. Yes, the same Luzardo the Nationals drafted and then traded to the Athletics in the Sean Doolittle/Ryan Madson deal. The same Luzardo who was traded to Miami this...
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Game 144 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 144 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Would you believe we're down to the final three weeks of the season? Yep, tonight the Nationals begin a six-game homestand with the Marlins and Rockies. After that, they're on a three-city road trip to Miami, Cincinnati and Colorado. And then they come home for the final series against the Red Sox. And that's it. Time flies when you're having fun. Or something like that. The Nats will be hoping to actually win this series from the Marlins, a task that proved too difficult the last time they...
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Game 143 lineups: Nats at Pirates

Game 143 lineups: Nats at Pirates
If you thought a lighter schedule was going to help the Nationals finish out a disappointing season strong, well, that hasn't exactly played out as hoped so far this weekend. With back-to-back losses to the Pirates, the Nats are now in danger of being swept by one of the worst teams in baseball. (The Pirates, for what it's worth, haven't swept anyone in a three-game series this season.) So if they're going to avoid this latest ignominy, the Nationals will need a much better performance...
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Game 142 lineups: Nats at Pirates

Game 142 lineups: Nats at Pirates
This weekend series between the Nationals and Pirates continues to be filled with reunions and signs of the changing times between these two franchises. Josh Bell homered in his return to Pittsburgh last night. Today, he'll get the chance to face Wil Crowe, the pitcher the Nats sent to the Pirates in order to acquire the first baseman last winter. A second-round pick by the Nationals in 2017, Crowe is 3-7 with a 5.94 ERA in 22 appearances (21 starts) this year for the Bucs. The former top...
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Orioles and Blue Jays Game 1 lineups (updated)

Orioles and Blue Jays Game 1 lineups (updated)
The Orioles are sending rookies Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer to the mound for today's doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Kremer is starting the opener. Kremer has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk as the 29th man, rejoining a team he hasn't pitched for since June 24 in Buffalo, where he allowed six runs and walked five batters in one-third of an inning. In his previous start, he held the Jays to two runs and three hits with six strikeouts in six innings at Camden Yards....
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Game 141 lineups: Nats at Pirates

Game 141 lineups: Nats at Pirates
If you're interested in silver linings, here's one for you: The Nationals are done playing the National League's division title contenders for the season. Yep, they're wrapped things up against the Braves, Phillies, Mets, Brewers, Giants and Dodgers, and though there are still series remaining with the wild card contending Reds and Red Sox, the worst of the schedule is now behind them. And that could be significant, because of this fact: The Nats finished a dismal 22-55 against those six NL...
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Game 140 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 140 lineups: Nats at Braves
The Nationals gutted out a 4-2 victory Wednesday night in Atlanta, thanks to 8 2/3 innings from six relievers who were thrust into overtime duties after Sean Nolin was ejected eight pitches in for throwing at Freddie Freeman. Where does that leave them for tonight's series finale at Truist Park? Well, first and foremost, they need innings from Erick Fedde. That's a big ask for a guy who needed 80 pitches just to get through three innings against the Mets last weekend. Not to mention a big ask...
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Game 139 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 139 lineups: Nats at Braves
What's the best thing the Nationals could do to give themselves a better chance of winning tonight against the Braves? How about a quality performance from their starter, allowing them to avoid falling into an early hole yet again and asking their lineup to battle back just to make it interesting late? As impressive as the offense has been with all these rallies of late - they've come back to at least tie the game six straight times - the task would be so much simpler if they weren't giving...
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Orioles and Royals lineups

Orioles and Royals lineups
Trey Mancini (oblique) and Ramón Urías (leg) remain out of the Orioles lineup for tonight's game against the Royals at Camden Yards. Ryan McKenna is in center field and Cedric Mullins is the designated hitter. Pedro Severino is batting cleanup. Austin Hays will try to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. He's 19-for-51 (.373) with 12 RBIs, eight extra-base hits and 10 runs scored during the streak. Mullins has homered in three consecutive games to run his team-leading total to 27....
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Orioles and Royals lineups

Orioles and Royals lineups
Trey Mancini is out of the Orioles lineup again tonight after staying on the bench yesterday with "general soreness," according to manager Brandon Hyde. Mancini was struck on the foot by a ball Sunday afternoon. DJ Stewart is the designated hitter, as the Orioles continue their series against the Royals at Camden Yards. Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman and batting second. Ramón Urías also remains out of the lineup with soreness in his upper right leg. Jorge Mateo is playing...
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Game 138 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 138 lineups: Nats at Braves
While he's been one of the bright spots in an otherwise lost season, there's no way around the fact that as righty Paolo Espino's innings totals have gone up, his effectiveness has gone down. Espino (4-4, 4.08 ERA) starts tonight as the Nationals open a three-game series at Atlanta, and is hoping to deliver both some length and some efficiency. In six starts since the trade deadline, Espino is 1-2 wih a 6.57 ERA and an opponent slash line of .297/.336/.564. He's eclipsed five innings only...
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Game 137 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 137 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
At long last, the Nationals and Mets wrap up their five-game holiday weekend series, not to mention their 19-game season series, this afternoon. These two teams have been playing each other way too much lately. In fact, 11 of the Nats' last 25 games have come against the Mets. I think I speak for everyone who has had to cover or watch all these games when I say: Thank God. As for today's finale, it's Patrick Corbin on the mound, trying desperately to put together a quality start and perhaps...
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Game 136 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 136 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
The Nationals and Mets have already played three games in this holiday weekend series, and they're not even close to wrapping it up just yet. They face off this afternoon, then will return Monday afternoon for the Labor Day finale of a rare, five-game set. After the craziness of Saturday's doubleheader, everyone would appreciate a simpler affair today. And the Nats would love to get another quality start from Josiah Gray, who failed to turn in a quality performance last time out for the first...
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Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
With their losing streak at seven games, the Nationals will send left-hander Josh Rogers to the mound against the Mets in the nightcap of today's doubleheader. Gametime is scheduled for 6:55 p.m. after the extra-inning loss in the opener, and "Nats Xtra" pregame will air at 6:30 p.m. on MASN. Rogers was 7-3 2ith a 3.70 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) for Triple-A Rochester. He was signed to a minor league contract by the Nats on June 4, three days after he was released by the Orioles. The...
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