Game 35 lineups: Nats at D-backs

The Nationals lineup had its best night of the season Friday in Arizona. Why not stick with it again tonight, right? That's Davey Martinez's thinking, and it's hard to fault the manager for that philosophy, especially after he spent the better part of the last month tinkering every single day with a new-look batting order.

So tonight the Nats will again go with Trea Turner and Josh Harrison at the top, Josh Bell in the No. 6 spot and Victor Robles at the bottom, behind the pitcher. It's a good thing to see Robles back in there after he had to depart Friday night's game shortly after he was struck by a pitch on the back of his left hamstring. Keep an eye on him in center field and on the bases tonight, but hopefully there are no lingering concerns.

The Nationals are facing an unfamiliar foe tonight in Diamondbacks starter Seth Frankoff, a 32-year-old right-hander with only three games of big league experience, all in relief (one for the Cubs in 2017, two for the Mariners last season). He was, however, an 18-game winner in Korea in 2018.

Joe Ross gets the nod for the Nats, looking to display better command tonight than he did last weekend at Yankee Stadium, when he walked five batters in five innings. He did escape with only two runs across the plate, but he still wasn't real pleased with his performance and lack of sharpness. He'll need to try to keep the ball down in the zone tonight and prevent the D-backs from launching anything into the hot, dry air at Chase Field (where the roof is expected to be closed at the start of the game but then open once the sun goes down).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Chase Field
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 96 degrees, 12 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS Trea Turner
2B Josh Harrison
RF Juan Soto
LF Kyle Schwarber
3B Starlin Castro
1B Josh Bell
C Yan Gomes
RHP Joe Ross
CF Victor Robles

DIAMONDBACKS
1B Pavin Smith
RF Josh Rojas
3B Eduardo Escobar
LF David Peralta
2B Josh VanMeter
C Daulton Varsho
SS Nick Ahmed
CF Nick Heath
RHP Seth Frankoff