Game 48 lineups: Nats vs. Padres

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

May 23, 2023, 2:58pm

Comments

Hey, have you heard Juan Soto is back in town? OK, so it is of course a big deal that the 24-year-old slugger is back in D.C. for the first time since mid-August, the second time since he was traded to the Padres. We’ll see what kind of reaction he gets from the crowd when he comes up to bat in the top of the first tonight … against one of the guys he was traded for.

Yes, adding some spice to tonight’s series opener is the presence of MacKenzie Gore on the mound for the Nationals. This will of course be Gore’s first career start against San Diego, and he’ll be challenged to keep his emotions in check and not get too amped up about the matchup.

Yu Darvish starts for the Padres, and that’s always a challenge for any lineup, let alone one with as little experience as the Nats have. Given how many different types of pitches Darvish throws, guys will have to be patient and focus on swinging at good pitches, not just anything that looks like a strike (especially early in the count).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Hazy, 72 degrees, wind 11 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
3B Jeimer Candelario
DH Joey Meneses
LF Corey Dickerson
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
CF Alex Call
SS CJ Abrams

LHP MacKenzie Gore

PADRES
RF Fernando Tatis Jr.
3B Ha-Seong Kim
LF Juan Soto
SS Xander Bogaerts
2B Jake Cronenworth
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Brandon Dixon
CF Trent Grisham
C Austin Nola

RHP Yu Darvish