If the Washington Nationals were in the playoff hunt, we would not be seeing all of these newbies in a starting lineup. Sean Nolin as the starting pitcher. Lane Thomas as the lead-off man. Riley Adams at catcher. Luis Garcia at second base. Carter Kieboom at third base. There are only two starters in today’s Nats lineup who were projected on Opening Day: Juan Soto and Josh Bell.
The Nats will face a right-handed starting pitcher today, Adrian Houser, and this will give manager Dave Martinez a chance to see how Thomas and Adams do against a righty starting pitcher. Both would be Hall-of-Famers if they hit like their current Nats pace for the rest of their career as Thomas is batting .545 and Adams is at .333.
There were also several rosters moves today that should not shock anyone. Javy Guerra was DFA’d to make room for Austin Voth who was activated from the 10-day IL. In another move, Kyle McGowin was activated from the IL with arm soreness, and Andrew Stevenson was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. That move with Stevenson could have a cascading effect on Donovan Casey who was just moved up this past week to Triple-A. In his 6-games with Rochester, Casey is batting .350 and during his 12-games with Double-A Harrisburg he batted .347 with some impressive power.
The Nats have a day-off tomorrow and will head to Miami for a series from Tuesday to Thursday against the Marlins.
Washington Nationals vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Stadium: American Family Field, Milwaukee , Wisconsin
1st Pitch: 2:10 pm EDT
TV: MASN2, Bally Sports Wisconsin, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
1. Lane Thomas CF
2. Alcides Escobar SS
3. Juan Soto RF
4. Josh Bell 1B
5. Yadiel Hernandez LF
6. Carter Kieboom 3B
7. Riley Adams C
8. Luis García 2B
9. Sean Nolin LHP