Game 112: Nats at Braves

The Nationals must win or else fall behind two games under .500 for the first time in two months, but they've got Luis García Jr. back in the lineup

ATLANTA – The first two games of this four-game series couldn’t have gone much worse for the Nationals, who not only lost both to the Braves to fall below the .500 mark but also saw Foster Griffin struggle for the first time in months, Luis García Jr. depart with a sore right knee and the majors’ highest-scoring lineup going 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position. So, where does that leave them heading into the rest of the weekend? With nowhere to go but up, right?

Suffice it to say, this is basically a must-win game tonight, at least if they still have visions of pushing the front office to buy and not sell before Monday’s trade deadline. Another loss, and the Nats are two games under .500 for the first time since May 27. It’s tough to make the case to buy with that record after the calendar has shifted to August.

For better or worse, it’s got to start with the lineup. The pitching staff isn’t consistently good enough to be counted on to allow three or fewer runs, so the lineup has to score in bunches. And that means not only power, but production in the clutch. The good news: Garcia is back in the lineup tonight after his brief scare Friday, starting at first base and batting second.

Miles Mikolas gets the start, so there’s no opener for the Nationals tonight. Blake Butera will try to push the veteran right-hander as far as he can go, but you’d have to think there will be a short leash and a willingness to go to the bullpen if there’s trouble prior to the fifth inning.

UPDATE: We’ve got some significant changes on both sides: The Braves scratched Reynaldo Lopez with left knee inflammation, so Martin Perez will now start. Which means the Nats have a whole new lineup against the left-hander …

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 7:15 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Chance of storms, 83 degrees, wind 8 mph in from center

NATIONALS
RF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
LF Dylan Crews
SS CJ Abrams
3B Brady House
CF Jacob Young
2B Nasim Nuñez
1B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz

RHP Miles Mikolas

BRAVES
C Drake Baldwin
RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
1B Matt Olson
CF Michael Harris II
2B Ozzie Albies
DH Dominic Smith
3B Austin Riley
LF Mike Yastrzemski
SS Jim Jarvis

RHP Reynaldo López