Game 131 lineups: Nats at Yankees

August 25, 2025, 3:25pm

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NEW YORK – Greetings from the Big Apple! No, we are not in Queens, the Nationals’ usual stomping grounds when they visit New York. (Actually, thankful for that because of all of the U.S. Open tennis traffic that will be going to and from the area surrounding Citi Field). Instead, we are in the Bronx, where the Nats begin a three-game series against the Yankees. And the Nats have actually had success at Yankee Stadium, where they are 7-6 all-time, and against the Bombers, against whom they are 15-14 all-time.

The Yankees are in a tight battle for playoff position, currently sitting 5 ½ games behind the Blue Jays in the American League East. And after dropping three of four at home to the hated-rival Red Sox, they are a half-game behind Boston for the first AL Wild Card spot and half-game ahead of Seattle for the third one. But despite their weekend woes against the Red Sox, the Yankees are winners of eight of their last 12.

As for the Nationals, my colleague Mark Zuckerman pointed out after yesterday’s loss to the Phillies that they have gone 7-2 in games started by Brad Lord, MacKenzie Gore and Cade Cavalli while going 1-7 in games started by Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker over the last 2 ½ weeks. So luckily for them, those first three pitchers are the ones scheduled to start these three games.

Lord gets the ball tonight, bringing his 4-6 record and 3.46 ERA to the hill. The right-hander was charged with four runs in 5 ⅓ innings in his last start against the Mets, but three of the four runs came in the sixth inning. Since returning to the rotation, Lord is 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA and the Nats are 5-1 in his six starts.

In a battle of right-handed rookies, Cam Schlittler goes for the Yankees. He’s 1-2 with a 3.22 ERA in his seven starts and has not allowed more than three earned runs in an outing. In his last time out, he shut out the Rays over 6 ⅔ innings of one-hit ball with two walks and eight strikeouts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK YANKEES
Where: Yankee Stadium
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 80 degrees, wind 13 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
LF James Wood
SS CJ Abrams
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Josh Bell
C Riley Adams
3B Paul DeJong
RF Dylan Crews
DH Robert Hassell III
CF Jacob Young

RHP Bard Lord

YANKEES
CF Trent Grisham
C Ben Rice
DH Aaron Judge
RF Cody Bellinger
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.
1B Paul Goldschmidt
LF Jasson Domínguez
3B Ryan McMahon
SS José Caballero