Game 121 lineups: Nats at Cardinals

ST. LOUIS - This critical road trip in the Nationals season has not gone how they would have liked, but it's not over yet. There are two games left to be played against the Cardinals, two games that could either continue the slide into oblivion or perhaps perk everyone up a bit and recapture some semblance of positive momentum.

It begins tonight with Jeremy Hellickson on the mound for the Nats. It's been quite an interesting season for the right-hander. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 16 of 17 starts, but he has completed six full innings only twice. He sure seemed like he was headed for another one Friday in Chicago, but after going perfect for 5 2/3 innings, he walked three straight batters and was pulled from the game. (You don't need to be reminded what happened next.)

The Cardinals are sending rookie left-hander Austin Gomber to the hill, so this will be another game where the Nationals are facing a pitcher they've never seen before. Overall, they've been hitting well as a group the last several weeks. We'll see if that continues.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 8:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 76 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS Trea Turner
LF Juan Soto
3B Anthony Rendon
RF Bryce Harper
1B Ryan Zimmerman
2B Daniel Murphy
CF Michael A. Taylor
C Spencer Kieboom
RHP Jeremy Hellickson

CARDINALS
1B Matt Carpenter
C Yadier Molina
RF José Martínez
LF Marcell Ozuna
SS Paul DeJong
3B Jedd Gyorko
2B Kolton Wong
CF Harrison Bader
LHP Austin Gomber