The Nationals haven’t found themselves in this position very much this season, but here they are today: After back-to-back wins over the Marlins the last two nights, they have a chance to sweep a series for the first time in 2022.

To do that, though, they’ll have to either outpitch Sandy Alcantara or score some runs off him. Neither is an easy task. Alcantara remains the favorite to win his first career Cy Young Award this fall, entering today’s start with a 2.43 ERA across an MLB-high 203 2/3 innings. He is the very definition of a modern ace, and the Nationals have had all kinds of trouble against him.

This is Alcantara’s fourth start against the Nats this season. He’s 2-0 with an 0.78 ERA, having allowed only two runs and 19 batters to reach base across 23 innings. He pitched a six-hit, zero-walk shutout the last time he faced them, June 8 here in D.C.

So, if the Nationals aren’t going to outslug the Marlins today, they’re going to have to outpitch them. Aníbal Sánchez, the long-ago Marlins right-hander, faces that task this afternoon. He has pitched quite well recently, with only three runs allowed over his last five starts, spanning 23 1/3 innings. His last outing lasted only two innings, though, because of that long rain delay in Philadelphia one week ago. So he’s plenty rested for this one.

MIAMI MARLINS 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, 82 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

The Nationals did the unthinkable and actually beat the Marlins on Friday night. Now they’ll see if they can somehow do it two days in a row and really reverse their season-long struggles against their sub-.500 division foes.

As was the case Friday, the Nats are facing a Miami left-hander. They’ll need to be better against Trevor Rogers than they were against Jesús Luzardo, who didn’t give up a run until Joey Meneses’ inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the seventh. Rogers has not had a good season (4-11, 5.35 ERA) but he’s been quite good against the Nationals (3-0, 2.25 ERA).

On the bright side, Erick Fedde has always been good against the Marlins (4-1, 1.86 ERA in nine career starts) and he held them to two runs on three hits over six innings in his last outing against them on July 3.

MIAMI MARLINS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
LF Alex Call
1B Joey Meneses
DH Luke Voit
3B Ildemaro Vargas
2B Luis García
C Riley Adams
CF Victor Robles
SS CJ Abrams

The Orioles must rebound quickly from last night’s 6-3 loss in Toronto, which kept them 4 ½ games behind the Rays for the last wild card, but six behind the Blue Jays.

Gunnar Henderson, who hit a home run last night with two outs in the ninth inning, is starting at shortstop. Terrin Vavra is in left field, his first appearance in the lineup since Sept. 1.

Kyle Stowers is the designated hitter, and Anthony Santander is in right field.

Adley Rutschman is catching again. Rutschman hit his first home run last night from the right side of the plate. He was hitting .158 with a .513 OPS against lefties.

Rutschman and Henderson are the youngest pair of Orioles teammates to homer in the same game since Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop on May 8, 2016 versus Oakland.

Gunnar Henderson is the Orioles designated hitter tonight for the opener of an important three-game series in Toronto.

Henderson has reached base in 13 of his first 14 career games and has recorded a hit in 11 of 13 starts. He’s among five players in Orioles history with at least seven extra-base hits in his first 14 games, joining Trey Mancini, Manny Machado, Curt Blefary and Cedric Mullins.

Second baseman Rougned Odor has returned to the lineup after a two-game absence. Ramón Urías is the third baseman.

Anthony Santander is in right field, and Austin Hays is in left and batting eighth.

The bullpen has tossed 11 consecutive scoreless innings.

The Nationals have been dreadful within the NL East this season, going an inconceivable 11-46 against division opponents to date. But would you have guessed their biggest struggles have come not against the division’s three playoff contenders but the only other sub-.500 team? Somehow, the Nats have gone 1-12 against the Marlins, a shocking head-to-head record when you think about it.

Which brings us to the season’s remaining schedule: 19 games, all against NL East foes, including six against Miami. That’s still a significant 25 percent of their overall intradivision games to go, which could either makes a miserable season even worse or perhaps offer a tiny sliver of good vibes heading into the winter.

Josiah Gray gets the start for tonight’s series opener, his first appearance in eight days. These are important outings for the young right-hander, who has run up a higher innings count than he ever has in his professional career and is in danger of being shut down if he doesn’t show some encouraging signs here soon. Tonight would be a good time to begin that process.

The Nationals go up against Jesús Luzardo, their former prospect who was dealt to the Athletics way back in 2017 for Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson and has experienced some ups and downs since then. The 24-year-old lefty is 12-18 with a 4.87 ERA overall in 57 career big league games, 3-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 14 starts this season. Luzardo is facing the Nats for the first time this year, but he went up against them three times in 2021 and gave up 14 runs in 13 innings.

MIAMI MARLINS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 76 degrees, wind 4 mph out to left field

The Battle of the Beltways was split last year, with the Nationals and Orioles sweeping three-game series on their respective home fields. A Nationals win tonight would ensure a season split for the second year in a row.

The two rivals split two games in June at Camden Yards. The Orioles won the first game of this two-game set in D.C. last night. The Nationals hope Patrick Corbin and a resurgent offense can earn the split tonight. 

Corbin was charged with three runs and seven hits with six strikeouts over four innings in a rain-shortened loss to the Orioles on June 22. He also gave up home runs to Austin Hays (who ended up hitting for the cycle in a game that was called after just six innings) and Anthony Santander. In his career, Corbin is 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) against Baltimore.

Tyler Wells makes his 22nd start of the season tonight, but just his second since coming off the injured list last week with a left oblique strain. The right-hander completed only two innings on 34 pitches against the Blue Jays in his return. In that June 22 matchup against Corbin, Wells tossed five scoreless innings with four walks and four strikeouts.

While Wells continues to stretch out, old friend Austin Voth is expected to back him up as a long reliever out of the bullpen. The Nats designated Voth for assignment on May 31 and the Orioles selected him off waivers on June 7. In 19 relief appearances with the Nats, Voth had a 10.13 ERA and 2.143 WHIP. In 18 games (14 starts) with the Orioles, Voth has a 2.82 ERA and 1.209 WHIP.

With a victory this afternoon, the Nationals would win the first series against the Athletics played in D.C. since 2005 and the first ever at Nats Park. And they would win this matchup between two teams with two of the worst records in baseball. A matchup that is now meaningless with next year’s MLB Draft lottery. 

After Aníbal Sánchez earned his first win of the season last night, Paolo Espino will look to do the same today. Entering his first career start against the Athletics, Espino is 0-6 with a 4.35 ERA in 34 appearances (14 starts) this year. He made two relief appearances against the A’s in 2017 as a member of the Rangers. 

Espino will be pitching on normal rest after making his last start on Saturday, thanks to Monday’s off-day. Cade Cavalli was supposed to make his second major league start this afternoon, but landed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Cory Abbott was recalled yesterday to take the top prospect’s spot on the roster and will be available out of the bullpen.

The Athletics will get to see one of their own top prospects make his major league debut in Ken Waldichuk. The 24-year-old lefty is Oakland’s No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and was the centerpiece of a four-player package the A’s received from the Yankees in exchange for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino before the deadline. Waldichuk posted a 2.84 ERA, 1.158 WHIP and 137 strikeouts in 95 innings over his 21 starts between Double-A and Triple-A in the Yankees and A’s systems.

Major league rosters expand to 28 players today. Catcher Tres Barrera and right-hander Mason Thompson have been recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

And we’re back at Nationals Park for the first time in 12 days. The Nats return to town following a long, three-city road trip that included series wins at New York and St. Louis but then a sweep in Philadelphia, which left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths. Now they begin a five-game homestand against the Orioles and Marlins as the final 21-game stretch of the season arrives.

The two interleague rivals split their two-game series at Camden Yards in June, one of those a rain-shorted loss. At that point, the Orioles were just starting to push their way into the American League postseason picture. They remain in the mix now, but they’ve taken a few steps back in the last week and enter this week 5 1/2 games behind the Rays for the final wild card berth.

Cory Abbott makes the start tonight as the Nationals give Josiah Gray and Paolo Espino extra rest before their next starts. The right-hander has done a solid-if-unspectacular job as a swingman, bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen. We’ll see how he does tonight against an emerging Baltimore lineup.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 76 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
CF Lane Thomas
RF Joey Meneses
1B Luke Voit
2B Luis García
DH Nelson Cruz
LF Alex Call
SS CJ Abrams
C Israel Pineda
3B Ildemaro Vargas

PHILADELPHIA – The forecast here is not good. It’s supposed to rain all day. The forecast tomorrow is somewhat better, though not guaranteed to be dry. That’s the only remaining common off-day for the Nationals and Phillies. In other words, this has the potential to be a mess, and we could be here for a while, then possibly coming back tomorrow.

Whenever they play, the Nationals will be trying to avoid a series sweep that would put a real damper on what had been shaping up to be their best road trip of the season. A win would at least allow them to head home with a 5-5 record.

To do that, Aníbal Sánchez is going to have to keep up his surprising resurgence (0.84 ERA, 0.797 WHIP over his last four starts) by keeping the ball in the yard. The Phillies have out-homered the Nats a staggering 32-9 in 14 head-to-head games this year.

The Nationals will be going up against Aaron Nola for the fourth time this season. The right-hander has a sparkling 1.66 ERA in the previous three starts, though his record is only 1-1.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Steady rain, 73 degrees, wind 5 mph right field to left field

PHILADELPHIA – After coming up short in Friday night’s series opener, the Nationals try to rediscover their winning ways tonight at Citizens Bank Park. They’ll need a better start from Erick Fedde than they got from Patrick Corbin, who despite a ridiculously low pitch count still gave up five runs on 12 hits in 6 1/3 innings during a 5-3 loss to the Phillies.

Fedde is coming off a strong outing Sunday in New York, where he held the Mets to one run over six innings to beat them for the first time in 11 career head-to-head starts. The right-hander actually is facing the Phillies for the first time this season, an odd rotation scheduling quirk, and he’ll be going up against his old high school buddy Bryce Harper, who is merely 9-for-18 with five homers in his career against Fedde.

With left-hander Ranger Suárez starting for Philadelphia, Davey Martinez is going with a right-handed-heavy lineup. That includes Nelson Cruz batting cleanup again after hitting sixth on Thursday and then sitting Friday. It includes the suddenly potent Alex Call in the No. 5 spot, with César Hernández behind him and playing second base.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 81 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
CF Lane Thomas
RF Joey Meneses
1B Luke Voit
DH Nelson Cruz
LF Alex Call
2B César Hernández
3B Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
SS CJ Abrams

PHILADELPHIA – The first two legs of the Nationals’ three-city road trip went about as well as anyone could’ve reasonably expected, and that’s even with Wednesday night’s disastrous bottom of the ninth in St. Louis. They still managed to win two of three against the Mets, then split a four-game series with the Cardinals. Now they arrive at Citizens Bank Park for a three-game weekend set with the Phillies, who aren’t in first place of their division the way the other two teams were, but are very much in the thick of the wild card race.

As expected, the Nats did make roster moves before tonight’s game, with Keibert Ruiz landing on the 10-day injured list with a testicular contusion after his scary incident with a foul ball Thursday afternoon. To fill his spot, 22-year-old catching prospect Israel Pineda had his contract selected from Triple-A Rochester, getting his first promotion to the big leagues. Jordan Weems was also recalled from Rochester, while Jake McGee was designated for assignment.

The Nationals have been scoring runs during their recent upswing, and they’ll try to continue that tonight against veteran Noah Syndergaard, who gave up four runs on 11 hits when they met each other here last month. Also remember: Syndergaard has long been one of the worst pitchers in baseball at holding runners on base, so look for the Nats to run when they have the opportunity.

Patrick Corbin, meanwhile, returns to the site of one of his worst starts of the year, one of two in which he didn’t complete the first inning. He’s been much better since, and tonight he looks for his third straight win against a Phillies lineup that surprisingly doesn’t include Bryce Harper (who has struggled since coming off the IL).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly clear, 79 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

The Orioles resume their homestand tonight with Gunnar Henderson starting at shortstop against the Red Sox, Austin Hays batting eighth and playing left field, and Kyle Stowers batting ninth and starting in right.

Ramón Urías is the third baseman and batting sixth behind Henderson.

Jorge Mateo is on the bench.

Catcher Adley Rutschman is 10-for-24 during a six-game hitting streak, with three doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, three walks and five runs scored. His 29 doubles this year lead major league rookies and are tied for second-most among Orioles catchers in club history with Matt Wieters in 2013 and Ramón Hernández in 2006.

His 29 doubles also are tied with Hall of Famers Eddie Murray (1977) and Cal Ripken Jr. (1982) for most by an Orioles rookie in franchise history.

ST LOUIS – The Nationals were one out away Wednesday night of victory, of securing at least a four-game split here at Busch Stadium and of clinching a winning road trip against two division leaders. And then … well, you know what happened in the bottom of the ninth.

They still have an opportunity today, however, to achieve all of the above and head home 4-3 against the Mets and Cardinals, which would be no small achievement. They’ll attempt to do so in an early matinee, with a 12:15 p.m. local first pitch on a bright, warm September afternoon here.

Josiah Gray gets the start, and he’ll need to be better than he was in New York, when he allowed six runs to the Mets. These final starts of Gray’s season are important. He really wants to finish on a high note and go into 2023 feeling good about his place near the top of the Nats rotation. To do that, he’s going to have to pitch well against some good lineups still on the schedule, including the Cardinals lineup he’ll face today.

The Nationals, who were completely shut down by left-hander Jordan Montgomery until the seventh inning Wednesday night, now go up against the wily old veteran right-hander, Adam Wainwright, who today pairs up with Yadier Molina for the 324th time as a major league battery, tying the all-time record. Notable switch to Davey Martinez’s lineup: Nelson Cruz has been bumped down to the No. 6 spot after struggling out of the cleanup position.

Update: The Nats have a late lineup change: Victor Robles was scratched with a stiff neck. Alex Call replaces him batting ninth and playing left field. Lane Thomas is now in center field.

ST. LOUIS – The Nationals look to get back on the winning track tonight after seeing their three-game streak end Tuesday night in a pretty lackluster, 4-1 loss to the Cardinals. They’ll certainly need to hit more than that if they want to win this one, and they’ll have a few different names in the lineup as they attempt to do so.

Keibert Ruiz finally gets his long-awaited day off after starting five games in a row. That means Riley Adams is catching and batting eighth. CJ Abrams also gets the night off, somewhat surprisingly. That bumps Ildemaro Vargas to shortstop and opens up third base for César Hernández. (You’ll be pleased to know Nelson Cruz is still in there, batting cleanup.)

Cory Abbott makes this start as the sixth member of the rotation this turn around. It’s the right-hander’s fifth start and 11th overall pitching appearance this season, and he’s mostly given the Nationals a chance when he’s been out there. He’ll face a good test tonight in the Cardinals lineup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 7:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly clear, 78 degrees, wind 7 mph in from center field

NATIONALS
CF Lane Thomas
RF Joey Meneses
1B Luke Voit
DH Nelson Cruz
2B Luis García
3B Cesar Hernandez
SS Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
CF Victor Robles

ST. LOUIS – The 2022 Nationals have not enjoyed a single four-game winning streak at any point. Nor have they won seven of nine games during any stretch this season. Imagine how encouraging it would be if they could cross both of those items off their list tonight, with those four consecutive wins all coming on the road against first-place opponents?

It’s there for the taking, if the Nats can beat the Cardinals for the second straight day. They’ll do so trying to keep the good offensive vibes going. After totaling a mere 15 runs over a seven-game stretch a week ago, they’ve scored a whopping 41 runs over their last seven games, producing double-digit hits each of the last five days.

Davey Martinez’s lineup has Nelson Cruz back from three days off with a sore right knee, and back in the cleanup spot he’s held most of the season. Given how well Keibert Ruiz and Luis García (batting fifth and sixth tonight) have looked recently, Cruz is facing some real pressure to deliver in front of them. He’s been better of late, but not as good as others in this current lineup.

Paolo Espino gets the start for the Nationals, and boy, would they like to get him his long-awaited first win of the season. They’ve managed to provide enough support to give their starter the win in five of the last seven games. Maybe it’s Espino’s turn at last to be rewarded for his efforts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 7:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

ST. LOUIS – The Nationals arrive at Busch Stadium today on arguably their best hot streak of the season. They’ve won five of their last seven, and over their last 15 games they’re 8-7. OK, so for most every other team in baseball, that would be nothing to crow about. But for this team this season, it’s as good as it gets.

They’ll try to keep it going this afternoon in the opener of a four-game series against the red-hot Cardinals, who are starting to run away with the National League Central, thanks in no small part to Albert Pujols’ end-of-career resurgence. The future Hall of Famer is suddenly up to 695 career homers as he tries to join Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth as the only major leaguers ever to get to 700 before he retires.

It’ll be Aníbal Sánchez on the mound for the Nats, the first time he’s pitched here since Game 1 of the 2019 NL Division Series, when he nearly threw a no-hitter. Sánchez is on a nice run of his own, having allowed only two runs on six hits in his last 16 1/3 innings.

Jack Flaherty gets the ball for the Cardinals for only his fourth start of the season, his first since June 26, due to a shoulder injury that has been plaguing him for quite some time. The right-hander, obviously, will have plenty of eyes on him today and probably will be pulled early.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 4:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 79 degrees, wind 6 mph in from center field

NEW YORK – On the heels of an impressive 7-1 win, the Nationals now have a shot at a surprising series win today at Citi Field if they can continue to hit, pitch and field like they did Saturday night.

Patrick Corbin was outstanding, allowing one run on three hits over seven strong innings that required only 85 pitches. Can Erick Fedde come close to matching that? The right-hander was really encouraged how he felt in his return from the injured list 12 days ago in Seattle, but then he was beating himself up for a substandard showing last week against the Athletics. After that start, Fedde lamented his inability (or unwillingness) to come inside on Oakland’s hitters, so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s more aggressive this afternoon against an obviously tougher Mets lineup.

The Nationals lineup has a challenge itself today in Carlos Carrasco, who makes his fourth start against them this season. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in his previous three head-to-head encounters, allowing only three runs in 17 1/3 innings.

The Nats made a change to their bullpen before today's game, recalling Andres Machado from Triple-A Rochester and placing Víctor Arano on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain. 

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain late, 85 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NEW YORK – It may never feel totally normal to see Max Scherzer pitching for the Mets against the Nationals, but we’ve probably reached a point now where it doesn’t feel quite as surreal as it did earlier this year. Tonight, Scherzer makes his third start of the season for his new team against his old team, and he’s shooting for a milestone: 200 career wins.

In days of yore, 200 wins was a nice achievement but hardly anything spectacular. These days, it’s quite rare. Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke are the only active pitchers to get there. So whenever Scherzer does it – whether it’s tonight or in the future – it is a significant event.

Davey Martinez is trying to put together a lineup that gives his team its best chance of scoring runs against Scherzer. With Nelson Cruz out after fouling a ball off his right knee in Friday night’s loss, there’s a different look to his starting nine tonight. Lane Thomas will lead off, with Luis García batting second. Joey Meneses starts at first base, with Luke Voit serving as DH in Cruz’s absence.

And then there’s this: César Hernández is starting in left field. Yes, left field. It’s the first time the veteran infielder has played any outfield position since 2013, when he was a rookie with the Phillies. And all 22 games he played that season came in center field. So this is the first time he’s ever played left field in a major league game.

We’ll see if the unusual defensive alignment causes any trouble for Patrick Corbin, who will try to shut down the Mets lineup the way he did the Padres (two runs in 5 1/3 innings) and Reds (one earned run in six innings) his last two starts. Corbin already is the first pitcher in Nationals history to lose 17 games. He’s now trying not to become the majors’ first 18-game loser since Chris Archer and James Shields each lost 19 in 2016.

NEW YORK – It’s September, which means pennant races. And the Nationals are going to find themselves smack dab in the middle of several of them over the season’s final month, even if they aren’t battling for a postseason berth themselves.

Beginning tonight, the Nationals have 31 games left on their schedule. All but six (against the Marlins) will be played against contenders, including three this weekend with the Mets. So, yeah, this is going to be an awfully stiff challenge for a team that currently owns a 45-86 record.

Josiah Gray kicks things off this evening with his first career start at Citi Field, just a short drive from his home in New Rochelle, N.Y. Gray has been looking forward to pitching in New York for a while, and after having his last turn in the rotation skipped, he should be plenty fresh for this one. He’s been on a nice run since he last pitched Aug. 20 in San Diego; over his last three starts, he’s got a 3.12 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.

The Nationals won’t see Jacob deGrom this weekend. They will see Max Scherzer on Saturday night. First up, though, is left-hander David Peterson, who quietly has compiled a 3.21 ERA over 89 2/3 innings this season. The Nats faced him back on May 30, though, and scored four runs in 4 2/3 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 75 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

It’s the final day of August, a month that began with the biggest trade in Nationals history and will conclude with another dismal record. The Nats enter tonight’s game 8-18 this month. It’s not as bad as their 6-19 mark from July, but it’s barely better than that.

You know who would love to get a win tonight? Aníbal Sánchez. The 38-year-old is 0-5 with a 5.72 ERA in eight starts, but he’s actually pitched much better of late. Over his last three starts (all no-decisions), he’s got a 2.51 ERA while holding opponents to a .180 batting average. You’d think a matchup against an Athletics lineup that is among the worst in baseball would be advantageous, but that didn’t prove to be the case for Erick Fedde on Tuesday.

The Nats get their first-ever look at James Kaprielian, Oakland’s 28-year-old right-hander who was originally a first-round pick of the Yankees and then got roughed up by them in his last start to the tune of eight runs in 2 2/3 innings. Kaprielian has a command problem; he’s walked 10 batters over his last 7 2/3 innings. Patience from a sometimes overanxious Nationals lineup will be key tonight.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly clear, 81 degrees, wind 9 mph left field to right field

NATIONALS
2B Luis García
RF Joey Meneses
1B Luke Voit
DH Nelson Cruz
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Lane Thomas
SS CJ Abrams
3B Ildemaro Vargas
LF Josh Palacios