Game 36 lineups: Nats at Braves (Soto scratched)

If you thought the first two legs of the Nationals' road trip were tough, look at what they still must contend with now to wrap up this long and painful trek up and down the East Coast. After losing two of three in Boston and all four in Philadelphia, they now have four games in three days in Atlanta, starting with today's doubleheader at Truist Park.

After needing 6 2/3 innings out of six relievers in Thursday's heartbreaking loss, Davey Martinez would love to be sending two starters to the mound today who can be counted on to provide quality innings. Unfortunately, he can't go into today's twinbill counting on that with Austin Voth and Wil Crowe scheduled to start.

Voth has already had six opportunities to pitch and things have actually gotten worse each time. After a long conversation with Martinez this week, the right-hander is hoping to put all that behind him, pitch aggressively with his fastball and give the Nats at least four decent innings to give them a chance to win this seven-inning game.

The lineup also is going to need to pick up where they left off Thursday in Philly, and then add some more. Trea Turner and Juan Soto were good, as they've been all season, and Luis García, Victor Robles and Michael A. Taylor also chimed in from the 8, 9 and 1 spots in the lineup. But they're going to need some production, any production whatsoever, from the middle of the order against left-hander Tommy Milone, who makes his third start in a month against the Nationals, the first two coming before the Orioles traded him to the Braves.

Update: Well, here's the last thing the Nats needed right now: Soto has been scratched from the lineup for the first game with left elbow soreness. It's the first we've heard of any trouble in that area, and hopefully we'll learn most postgame, but an already struggling lineup will be without its best hitter.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES - GAME 1
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 90 degrees, wind 10 mph out to center field

NATIONALS (updated)
CF Victor Robles
SS Trea Turner
DH Howie Kendrick
1B Asdrúbal Cabrera
C Yan Gomes
3B Josh Harrison
RF Michael A. Taylor
2B Luis García
3B Wilmer Difo

RHP Austin Voth

BRAVES
CF Ronald Acuña Jr.
SS Dansby Swanson
1B Freddie Freeman
DH Marcell Ozuna
RF Nick Markakis
3B Austin Riley
LF Adam Duvall
C Tyler Flowers
2B Adeiny Hechavarría

LHP Tommy Milone