Game 36 lineups: Nats vs. Guardians

OK, who’s ready for a whole lot of baseball in a short amount of time? Monday night’s rainout forced the Nationals and Guardians to play a straight doubleheader today. (If you have a ticket for tonight’s original 6:45 p.m. game, you can come watch both games. If you had a ticket to Monday’s rainout, you’ll need to exchange it.) And with Wednesday’s series finale already scheduled for 12:05 p.m., there’s a very real possibility this entire three-game series is completed within the span of 24 hours.

Given all that, pitching is of the essence, and both teams will be looking for length out of their starters today. Jake Irvin is a good choice for the opener; he’s gone at least six innings in each of his last five starts, and if he’s efficient enough I wouldn’t be surprised if Davey Martinez lets him go seven. Irvin does need to keep the ball in the yard; he has surrendered a league-leading eight homers in seven games so far.

Luis L. Ortiz gets the ball for Cleveland. The 26-year-old right-hander, acquired from the Pirates over the winter, has been excellent since allowing seven runs in San Diego in his season debut. Over his last five starts, Ortiz has a 3.29 ERA and 34 strikeouts in only 27 1/3 innings.

Both teams get a 27th man for the doubleheader, and the Nationals chose to call up reliever Zach Brzykcy. The right-hander opened the season on the 15-day injured list with a quad strain, but he’s healthy now and has made five appearances for Triple-A Rochester, most recently on Sunday.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 3:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 980 AM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 12 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF Alex Call
DH James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Luis García Jr.
RF Dylan Crews
3B José Tena
CF Jacob Young

RHP Jake Irvin

GUARDIANS
LF Steven Kwan
2B Daniel Schneemann
3B José Ramírez
1B Kyle Manzardo
DH Carlos Santana
C Bo Naylor
SS Gabriel Arias
RF Nolan Jones
CF Angel Martínez

RHP Luis L. Ortiz