Game 87 lineups: Nats vs. Royals

We have reached the final weekend of the first half, and you almost wonder if the Nationals wish they could just keep playing next week. Sure, several guys are in need of some rest, but they also have to hope the four days off doesn't kill their mojo. First things first: They've got a chance to cap things off with another big weekend against a beatable opponent.

The Royals are in town, and this qualifies as an extremely rare event. It's only the second time they've ever played the Nationals in D.C., the previous trip coming in June 2010. The Nats took two of three in that series. The winning pitchers: Livan Hernandez and Luis Atilano. The losing pitcher: Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg isn't scheduled to pitch this weekend. It's Austin Voth tonight, followed by Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin. Voth will be looking to bounce back from a less-than-spectacular start in Detroit last weekend when he lasted only 4 1/3 innings.

The Nationals get their first look at Kansas City right-hander Brad Keller. The lineup includes Ryan Zimmerman (who went 2-for-4 yesterday) at first base and Gerardo Parra (who had two big doubles yesterday) in center field in place of Victor Robles.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 86 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

NATIONALS (45-41)
SS Trea Turner
RF Adam Eaton
3B Anthony Rendon
LF Juan Soto
1B Ryan Zimmerman
2B Brian Dozier
CF Gerardo Parra
C Yan Gomes
RHP Austin Voth

ROYALS (29-59)
CF Whit Merrifield
SS Adalberto Mondesi
LF Alex Gordon
3B Hunter Dozier
RF Jorge Soler
1B Cheslor Cuthbert
2B Nicky Lopez
C Martín Maldonado
RHP Brad Keller