Game 43 lineups: Nats vs. Yankees (suspended game)

The Nationals limp home from a 1-5 road trip with questions about their offense and seeking a pair of wins against the Yankees. They lost each game in Toronto, and must get right quickly as they take on the Yankees for the second time in five days.

Tonight, the Nats will finish two games with the Yankees postponed from May's rained-out affairs. The first game is a continuation of the suspended game from May 15 with the game tied 3-3 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning. About 30 minutes following the completion of that suspended game, the postponed game from May 16 will be played. The suspended game resumes at 5:05 p.m. tonight at Nats Park.

This is an important day for the Nats because they need to get grab at least one of these games to prevent a five-game slide. Then again, the Nats also have an opportunity to steal a couple wins tonight. Two wins would mean the Nats would be just be 1 1/2 games out of first place in the National League East. Atlanta is idle, and travels to Toronto tomorrow night.

The big concern on offense is finding a way to get slugger Bryce Harper on track. He went 0-for-5 Sunday with two strikeouts and his average is down to .217. He has gone 3-for-25 (.120) in the last seven games, and has hit only .145 in the last 15 contests. Harper has struck out 24 times in his last 55 at-bats, with a slugging percentage of .255. Harper will have a chance to get off to a fast start tonight, as he leads off in the bottom of the sixth.

The other injury concern is the status of first baseman Matt Adams, who missed Sunday's game with an injured left index finger. Adams was playing left field in the suspended game and is due up third in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Nationals will need to replace second baseman Howie Kendrick, who is out for the season following Achilles surgery, and center fielder Andrew Stevenson, who has since been demoted to Triple-A Syracuse. Any player currently on the 25-man roster is eligible to play in the continuation of the suspended game. The Yankees will be bringing on a new pitcher, having pinch-hit for starter Masahiro Tanaka in the top of the sixth before the game was halted.

The Yankees' Sonny Gray will take on Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde in the postponed game.

NEW YORK YANKEES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 5:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 90 degrees, 15 percent chance of rain, winds to left field at 12 mph

NATIONALS
SS Trea Turner
RF Bryce Harper
3B Anthony Rendon
LF Matt Adams
2B Howie Kendrick
1B Mark Reynolds
CF Andrew Stevenson
C Pedro Severino
RHP Wander Suero

YANKEES
CF Aaron Hicks
RF Aaron Judge
LF Giancarlo Stanton
C Gary Sánchez
SS Didi Gregorius
1B Tyler Austin
3B Miguel Andújar
PH Brett Gardner
2B Gleyber Torres