Game 125 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies in Williamsport

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Hello from Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, the longtime home of the minor league Williamsport Crosscutters and home tonight of the MLB Little League Classic between the Nationals and Phillies.

For the first time in club history, the Nats are playing in a neutral-site location, selected last year to participate in the sixth edition of the Little League Classic. They are still considered the home team, so they’ll bat last just like the game was being played back in D.C.

It’s already been a long and exciting day, with both teams arriving at the local airport to awaiting kids and media members, then spending a couple hours at the actual Little League World Series just a few miles away from here. Much of tonight’s very small crowd will be comprised of those Little Leaguers, so it should make for a very different environment than any of these big leaguers are used to.

As for the actual game, the Nationals are looking to bounce back from Saturday’s game, which they led 3-0 in the seventh and saw fall apart before their eyes as an overworked bullpen finally crumbled. The good news: All the top relievers should be available to pitch tonight if the situation calls for it.

To get there, they’ll first need a better start out of Trevor Williams, who has struggled big-time of late. The right-hander gave up five runs via three homers and threw 93 pitches in 4 1/3 innings against the Athletics his last time out. Prior to that, he gave up six runs via three homers and threw 103 pitches in 4 2/3 innings against the same Phillies lineup he’ll face tonight.

Williams’ opponent that night was Zack Wheeler, who starts again tonight for Philadelphia. The veteran right-hander allowed three runs in six innings in that previous matchup, with Keibert Ruiz and Lane Thomas each homering off him.

There are two additions to the Nationals’ roster: Mason Thompson was activated off the 15-day injured list to replace demoted long reliever Cory Abbott, and Carter Kieboom was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to serve as the 27th man allotted for this special game.  

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Muncy Bank Ballpark
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: ESPN
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 80 degrees, wind 3 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
CF Lane Thomas
DH Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
RF Stone Garrett
2B Jake Alu
3B Ildemaro Vargas
LF Blake Rutherford

RHP Trevor Williams

PHILLIES
DH Kyle Schwarber
SS Trea Turner
1B Bryce Harper
RF Nick Castellanos
2B Bryson Stott
3B Alec Bohm
CF Brandon Marsh
LF Jake Cave
C Garrett Stubbs

RHP Zack Wheeler