Game 49 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

You wouldn't necessarily think it, given the number of potent left-handed bats in their regular lineup, but the Nationals actually are more productive when facing left-handed pitchers than right-handed ones this season. They enter play tonight with an .812 team OPS against lefties, fifth-best in baseball.

It helps that the Nationals' two best lefty hitters (Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy) fare quite well against southpaws. And then, of course, it helps that right-handed hitters like Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos all are better when facing a guy throwing from the opposite side.

Put that all together, and the Nats have to like their matchup tonight, with left-hander Jaime Garcia on the mound for the Cardinals. They pounced on Garcia last month at Busch Stadium, scoring four runs in the top of the first, with Werth's three-run homer the big blast. And now they'll hope to do it again tonight.

They'll also hope St. Louis native Max Scherzer duplicates his effort from last month's meeting, when he shut out the Cardinals over seven innings, striking out nine without issuing any walks ...

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, Ch. 9, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, XM 183, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 83 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

NATIONALS (29-19)
CF Ben Revere
LF Jayson Werth
RF Bryce Harper
2B Daniel Murphy
1B Ryan Zimmerman
3B Anthony Rendon
C Wilson Ramos
SS Danny Espinosa
RHP Max Scherzer

CARDINALS (24-24)
3B Greg Garcia
SS Aledmys Diaz
LF Matt Holiday
RF Stephen Piscotty
1B Brandon Moss
C Yadier Molina
CF Randal Grichuk
2B Kolten Wong
LHP Jaime Garcia