Game 47: Orioles at Nats

The Nationals go for the weekend sweep over Baltimore, with Richard Lovelady opening for Miles Mikolas

It’s been a good weekend in the Navy Yard. The Nationals have won two straight against the Orioles. They’ve played in front of back-to-back sellout crowds. They’ve finally reached the .500 mark. And now they have a chance to really make it a special weekend with one more win this afternoon in the series finale.

Blake Butera is once again pulling out all the stops. It’ll be Richard Lovelady on the mound for the top of the first, opening for Miles Mikolas. This is Lovelady’s second career start; he opened for Zack Littell eight days ago in Miami and actually tossed two scoreless innings on 30 pitches before handing over the ball. We’ll see if Butera pushes him that far today, with Orioles manager Craig Albernaz trying to outsmart his good friend by putting three right-handed hitters among the top four in his lineup.

Either way, Lovelady will eventually give way to Mikolas, who has quietly righted his wayward ship and delivered a 3.54 ERA over his last five games.

The Nationals have never faced Brandon Young before, so they’ll be going into today’s game blind against the Orioles starter. Young, 27, has been sharp in each of his last two starts, beating the Marlins and then allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings to the Yankees.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 83 degrees, wind 17 mph out to right

ORIOLES
DH Taylor Ward
SS Gunnar Henderson
1B Pete Alonso
RF Tyler O’Neill
C Samuel Basallo
CF Leody Taveras
3B Coby Mayo
LF Colton Cowser
2B Jeremiah Jackson

RHP Brandon Young

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

LHP Richard Lovelady