Game 77 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Rosenthal released)

This critical week had been going about as well as possible for the Nationals. They swept the Phillies. They won Friday night's opener against the Braves in exciting fashion. And then ... well, Saturday night's 13-9 loss - which saw the bullpen blow a pair of late leads - obviously put a big damper on the week and suddenly put more weight on today's finale at Nationals Park.

A win today and the Nats would still going 5-1 against two division rivals and make a real statement that they're back in this thing. A loss today, and that 4-2 mark feels like less of a statement. Plus they'd still trail Atlanta by 8 1/2 games as the season approaches the midway point.

The challenge today, then, is to figure out how to win what looks on paper like a mismatch: Austin Voth versus Mike Soroka. The former is a middling prospect making his third career major league start out of necessity. The latter is 8-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 0.983 WHIP and is challenging for National League Rookie of the Year.

And even if the Nationals get quality work out of Voth, they still need to piece together the rest of the afternoon with an overworked bullpen that is pitching its sixth game in five days. The good news: Sean Doolittle is definitely available after having two nights off. Wander Suero and Javy Guerra should be available after having Saturday night off.

UPDATE: Just before the clubhouse opened this morning, the Nationals announced that reliever Trevor Rosenthal had been released to open up a 25-man roster spot for Voth. More on the decision to cut ties with Rosenthal to come ...

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 83 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

NATIONALS (37-39)
SS Trea Turner
RF Adam Eaton
3B Anthony Rendon
LF Juan Soto
1B Matt Adams
2B Howie Kendrick
CF Gerardo Parra
C Yan Gomes
RHP Austin Voth

BRAVES (45-32)
CF Ronald Acuña Jr.
SS Dansby Swanson
1B Freddie Freeman
3B Josh Donaldson
RF Nick Markakis
LF Austin Riley
C Brian McCann
2B Ozzie Albies
RHP Mike Soroka