Game 67 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Friday's night's walk-off 1-0 victory over the Mets was a big boost for the Nationals, no doubt about it. But it won't mean much if they can't come out of today's doubleheader on South Capitol Street without at least one more win. And if they can take the seven-inning opener this afternoon? Well, then it might be fair to start talking about legitimate positive momentum for this club.

This five-game winning streak - really, the entire homestand, during which they're now 6-2 - has been built on dominant pitching. And it begins, of course, with a rotation that has been lights out even with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg on the injured list. Joe Ross will look to continue the trend this afternoon, hoping to build off his fantastic, eight-inning start against the Giants last weekend.

Because it's a seven-inning game, the Nats don't necessarily need Ross to go deep. Anything beyond five innings would be great, but if he can't do it they've got a fresh bullpen to go to. Even closer Brad Hand is good to go after needing only six pitches during a 1-2-3 top of the ninth Friday night.

The Nationals have an extra arm today, as well, with Ryne Harper added to the roster as the 27th man. Harper technically was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Friday, but the right-hander stayed here because he knew they were going to add him back to the active roster for the doubleheader. That gives the team a staggering 10-man bullpen for the day, which hopefully isn't necessary.

After being shut down by Joey Lucchesi on Friday night, the Nationals will get a crack at another Mets left-hander with an ERA north of 5.00, David Peterson. In a shortened game, scoring first would certainly be nice.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 80 degrees, wind 8 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
LF Kyle Schwarber
SS Trea Turner
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
2B Josh Harrison
3B Starlin Castro
C Alex Avila
CF Victor Robles
RHP Joe Ross

METS
3B Jonathan Villar
SS Francisco Lindor
LF Domenic Smith
1B Pete Alonso
RF Billy McKinney
2B Luis Guillorme
CF Mason Williams
C Tomás Nido
LHP David Peterson