Game 10 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

The Nationals beat the Diamondbacks on Saturday. Then they beat them again on Sunday. You know what that’s called? A winning streak! Now, can they keep it going against the defending World Series champions and their star-studded roster?

Yes, the Dodgers are in town the next three nights, so get ready for a whole lot of blue and a whole lot of Japanese media following Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. Word is, there won’t be an empty seat in the press box during this series. Giddy-up.

It’s a great test tonight for MacKenzie Gore, who gets the ball for the series opener. The Nats ace was brilliant on Opening Day against the Phillies, then labored but minimized the damage against the Blue Jays. He last faced the Dodgers nearly a year ago, right here in D.C., and he was very good in that one: six innings of one-run ball. The key tonight: Efficiency. With all of their top relievers pitching much of the weekend, the bullpen could be thin for this game. Gore needs to get deep in the game.

The Nationals lineup finally did a good job jumping out to early leads against Arizona, and they’ll try to keep that up tonight against Dustin May. The oft-injured right-hander missed all of 2024 but is healthy again and tossed five innings of one-hit ball in his season debut against the Braves.

CJ Abrams sits tonight with tightness in his right thigh, while Paul DeJong moves to shortstop and José Tena starts at third base. James Wood slides up to the leadoff spot in Abrams' place. 

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 47 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
LF James Wood
RF Alex Call
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
SS Paul DeJong
3B José Tena
CF Dylan Crews

LHP MacKenzie Gore

DODGERS
DH Shohei Ohtani
SS Mookie Betts
CF Tommy Edman
RF Teoscar Hernández
C Will Smith
1B Kiké Hernández
3B Max Muncy
2B Miguel Rojas
LF Chris Taylor

RHP Dustin May