Game 95 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

The Nationals find themselves in a position to sweep the Marlins tonight, and that's exactly the position they hoped to be in at the start of this critical week. They've taken advantage of a softer schedule, and now they'll try to take complete advantage of it and win their third straight over Miami, fourth straight overall.

Erick Fedde gets the start, and he'll look to do what Jon Lester and Paolo Espino did before him: Shut out the Marlins without issuing any walks. That latter part is key for Fedde, who in his most recent outing couldn't find the strike zone at all. He was yanked after only 1 1/3 innings, having walked four of the 11 Padres batters he faced. As Lester and Fedde showed, you can beat the Marlins simply by making them beat you.

The Nationals lineup includes Alcides Escobar, who is able to play despite leaving Tuesday night's game after getting hit by a pitch on the right wrist. The veteran infielder played catch and took batting practice in the tunnel this afternoon and was cleared to play, so he's leading off and starting at second base again. And Tres Barrera makes his fourth straight start behind the plate, having firmly established himself as the starting catcher until Yan Gomes or Alex Avila returns from the injured list.

Sandy Alcantara was supposed to start for the Marlins, but he was placed on the bereavement leave list Tuesday. So now it'll be right-hander Nick Neidert on the mound instead. Neidert has pitched in five games this season, four of them starts, though three of those came in April. The Nats have seen him only once before, last September, when they battered him for five runs in two innings of relief during a blowout win.

MIAMI MARLINS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly clear, 83 degrees, wind 13 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
2B Alcides Escobar
SS Trea Turner
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
3B Josh Harrison
LF Gerardo Parra
CF Andrew Stevenson
C Tres Barrera
RHP Erick Fedde

MARLINS
SS Miguel Rojas
3B Isan Díaz
CF Starling Marte
RF Adam Duvall
1B Jesús Aguilar
2B Joe Panik
C Sandy Leon
LF Jon Berti
RHP Nick Neidert