Game 35: Brewers at Nats

PJ Poulin will open for Zack Littell as the Nationals try to avoid getting swept by Milwaukee

When the Nationals swept the Brewers last month, it was hailed as a significant positive development for them in the early stages of this new-look season. If they get swept by the Brewers today, what will the reaction be?

You can easily chalk up Friday night’s 6-1 loss to the guy who was pitching against the Nats: Jacob Misiorowski. You can’t do the same with Saturday afternoon’s 4-1 loss, which included a bad error by Brady House in the first inning and a 1-for-11 performance with runners in scoring position for a lineup that has increasingly struggled with those kind of clutch situations the last couple weeks.

So, what’s on tap today in the series finale? The Nationals are going with an opener, sending PJ Poulin to the mound to face the fop of the Brewers lineup before eventually going to scheduled starter Zack Littell. This allows for a matchup advantage against the three of Milwaukee’s first five batters who are left-handed. It also allows them to condense the number of batters Littell faces before they go to the rest of the bullpen. Given the way the veteran right-hander has been pitching, that probably makes sense.

At the plate, the Nats will try to jump on right-hander Logan Henderson, who makes his seventh career start this afternoon. One of them came right here last August, when the 24-year-old allowed just one run over 4 1/3 innings.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Mostly sunny, 58 degrees, wind 13 mph left to right

BREWERS
2B Brice Turang 3B Luis Rengifo
C William Contreras
DH Gary Sanchez
1B Jake Bauers
CF Garrett Mitchell
LF Brandon Lockridge
RF Sal Frelick
3B 2B David Hamilton
SS Joey Ortiz

RHP Logan Henderson

NATIONALS
RF James Wood
1B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young
SS CJ Abrams
LF Daylen Lile
2B Nasim Nuñez
DH José Tena
3B Jorbit Vivas
C Keibert Ruiz

LHP PJ Poulin

UPDATE: Lineup change for the Brewers: Brice Turang (illness) has been scratched. Luis Rengifo will now lead off and play third base. David Hamilton moves to second base.