Nationals push Scherzer to Friday against the Dodgers

The Nationals have a day off today after the Yankees series was moved to June 18. Essentially, they will face the Yankees for 12 1/2 innings with two wins on the line next month at Nats Park. The two teams renew their matchup earlier that week in New York, with two games at Yankee Stadium June 12 and 13.

Here are the updated pitching matchups for this weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers: Friday - Max Scherzer vs. Ross Stripling, Saturday - Tanner Roark vs. Rich Hill and Sunday - Stephen Strasburg vs. Alex Wood.

* Juan Soto continues to do well at his next level. Soto hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning of Double-A Harrisburg's 5-2 win over the Bowie Baysox Wednesday.

Drew Ward, Daniel Johnson, Osvaldo Abreu and Taylor Gushue each collected a pair of hits. The Senators are at Richmond tonight.

Soto is hitting .300 with three homers and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games, the last seven games at the Double-A level.

In his minor league career to date, Soto is slashing .361/.433/.608 in 121 games with 22 homers and 100 RBIs.

Contrast that with slugger Bryce Harper in the minor leagues, where he slashed .300/.397/.521 with 23 homers and 75 RBIs in 139 games.

* Manager Davey Martinez said pregame Wednesday that Michael A. Taylor is good to go after a couple days of rest. He is expected back in the lineup Friday.

* A rundown of the Nationals' recent hot streak: The Nats have won 13 of their last 15 and 14 of their last 18 games. Since April 29 (the first time Austin Voth was called up), their 13-2 (.867) record is the best in Major League Baseball. They have outscored opponents 69-35 in that span. That means opponents are averaging only 2.33 runs per game in the last 15 contests.

The pitching has led the way again during this 13-2 run, allowing just a 2.18 ERA. The power offense has also shown, with 26 homers, the most in the National League since April 29. On the season, Colorado has 56 homers and the Nats have 55.