The Red Sox will be facing a Nationals team that resides in the basement of the NL West and well outside of contention for the wild card. The Nationals defeated the Tigers, 11-7, on Thursday and manager Dave Martinez recorded his 500th victory.
After a night of intense preparation, Lucas Giolito will take the mound for this morning’s opener. The Nationals will counter with Michael Soroka.
Here is a preview.
RED SOX (43-45): Duran LF, Anthony DH, Toro 1B, Narváez C, Abreu RF, Story SS, Mayer 3B, Rafaela CF, Hamilton 2B
Pitching: RHP Lucas Giolito (4-1, 3.99 ERA)
NATIONALS (36-50): Abrams SS, Wood LF, Garcia Jr. 2B, Lowe 1B, Bell DH, House 3B, Lile RF, Ruiz C, Young CF
Pitching: RHP Michael Soroka (3-5, 4.70 ERA)
Time: 11:05 a.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Soroka: Jarren Duran 0-1, David Hamilton 0-1, Rob Refsnyder 1-1, Connor Wong 1-1
Nationals vs. Giolito: Josh Bell 0-4, Paul DeJong 0-4, Nathaniel Lowe 5-17, Amed Rosario 7-17
Stat of the day: Wilyer Abreu has four home runs over his last five games after hitting just one in his previous 21.
Notes: Nationals starter Michael Soroka is coming off one of his strongest performances of the season. On June 28, he held the Los Angeles Angels to a run on two hits over six innings in a no-decision as Washington ultimately lost 7-2. … Soroka will be making his first career start against Boston after a previous relief appearance. … Red Sox righthander Walker Buehler will get the nod for Saturday’s 4:05 p.m. start, followed by Garrett Crochet on Sunday (first pitch 1:35 p.m.) … Over his last five games, beginning June 28 against the Blue Jays, Trevor Story is 9-for-19 with 4 runs scored, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI, 2 walks, and 2 stolen bases. … Ceddanne Rafaela is batting .304 with a .904 OPS in his last 32 games. … Romy Gonzalez has 11 extra base hits and 15 RBI in his 20 games since returning from the injured list on June 2, batting .302 with a .915 OPS over that span. … Abreu is batting .341 with a 1.055 OPS in 12 games since coming off the injured list on June 20.
Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.
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