Game 113 lineups: Nats at Cubs (García scratched)

CHICAGO – It’s another beautiful day at the Friendly Confines, where the Nationals woke up feeling good about themselves following a dramatic, 6-5 win over the Cubs on Tuesday night. Now they’ve got a shot at a series victory and some positive vibes before they head home to face Juan Soto, Josh Bell and the Padres this weekend. (And yeah, that’s not going to sound right for a long time.)

Davey Martinez’s lineup is kind of piecemeal because Nelson Cruz remains out with a sore right shoulder and Keibert Ruiz (who was fantastic Tuesday night) gets the day game off. So it’s Lane Thomas leading off, with rookie sensation Joey Meneses batting cleanup and a less-than-fearsome power duo of César Hernández and Victor Robles batting sixth and seventh, respectively.

Suffice it to say, the Nationals need a decent start out of Josiah Gray. The right-hander has been in a rut, going 1-4 with a 7.63 ERA over his last six starts, having served up a whopping 13 home runs during that time. The good news: The wind still isn’t blowing out at Wrigley Field, though it is the warmest day we’ve had this week, so Gray does need to keep the ball down and keep it in the yard.

UPDATE: Luis García was a late scratch for unspecified reasons. César Hernández will now bat second, with Ildemaro Vargas shifting to shortstop and Maikel Franco taking over at third base.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Wrigley Field
Gametime: 2:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 80 degrees, wind 5 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
SS Luis García 2B César Hernández
DH Luke Voit
1B Joey Meneses
LF Yadiel Hernandez
2B César Hernández 3B Maikel Franco
CF Victor Robles
3B SS Ildemaro Vargas
C Tres Barrera

RHP Josiah Gray

CUBS
CF Rafael Ortega
LF Ian Happ
DH Franmil Reyes
RF Seiya Suzuki
SS Nico Hoerner
3B Zach McKinstry
C Yan Gomes
1B P.J. Higgins
2B Nick Madrigal

LHP Justin Steele