Game 45 lineups: Nats at Phillies

PHILADELPHIA – A difficult road trip comes to an end this afternoon for the Nationals, who lost two of three in Boston, then two of three in Chicago and now have to win today just to avoid getting swept by the Phillies. The crazy part of it all: They’ve lost five of these six games by either one or two runs. The combined score on this road trip is 25-20 for the opponents, despite the lopsided record.

But today’s a new day, and maybe the Nats will finally score enough runs to win a game. They’ve had no trouble giving themselves chances (they currently rank sixth in the majors in plate appearances with runners in scoring position!), but they’ve had all kinds of trouble converting those chances (they rank 23rd in RBIs in those situations).

Trevor Williams will look to continue his wildly impressive start to the season, hoping to keep this daunting Phillies lineup in check. Williams finally surrendered his first homer of the year last time out in Chicago. Can he keep Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Co. inside Citizens Bank Park this afternoon? The fate of the Nationals may rest on that challenge.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 72 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
2B Ildemaro Vargas
RF Eddie Rosario
DH Luis García Jr.
3B Nick Senzel
1B Joey Gallo
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Jesse Winker
CF Jacob Young

RHP Trevor Williams

PHILLIES
DH Kyle Schwarber
SS Bryson Stott
1B Bryce Harper
3B Alec Bohm
2B Kody Clemens
RF Nick Castellanos
LF Brandon Marsh
C Garrett Stubbs
CF Johan Rojas

RHP Aaron Nola