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We’re not in California anymore. The Nationals at long last are back home after a nine-game trip west that featured a 4-5 record and a whole lot of beautiful weather days. That’s not the case anymore. It’s disgusting back here in the nation’s capital, with temperatures in the 90s, dew points in the mid-70s and heat indexes well over 100. And now there’s a massive line of storms headed this way, putting tonight’s series opener against the Tigers in serious jeopardy.
We’ll see how that all transpires, but in the meantime let’s assume they play as scheduled. The Nats will look to hold their own against the surprisingly best-in-baseball Tigers. At least they don’t have to face Tarik Skubal, who pitched another gem Sunday night and won’t pitch again until this weekend.
Jack Flaherty is no slouch, though, and the Nationals will need to put together quality at-bats against the 29-year-old, whose bottom-line numbers (5-9, 4.80 ERA) aren’t great but peripherals are much better (1.233 WHIP, 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings).
Trevor Williams, meanwhile, keeps chugging along for the Nats. At this point, you know what you’re going to get from the veteran right-hander. At best, he’s going to keep them in the game for five-ish innings. They just have to hope he keeps Detroit’s lineup to three or fewer runs along the way.
The Nats also made a pregame roster move: Paul DeJong has been activated off the 10-day injured list about 2 1/2 months after getting hit in the face by a fastball. Andrés Chaparro was optioned to Triple-A after he went just 1-for-11 in limited playing time.
DETROIT TIGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 77 degrees, wind 9 mph out to right field
TIGERS
3B Colt Keith
2B Gleyber Torres
RF Wenceel Pérez
DH Riley Greene
1B Spencer Torkelson
SS Zach McKinstry
LF Matt Vierling
CF Parker Meadows
C Dillon Dingler
RHP Jack Flaherty
NATIONALS
Lineup TBA
RHP Trevor Williams
