Nationals take on the Padres following Scherzer's solid performance
San Diego Padres (15-11, third in the NL West) vs. Washington Nationals (11-13, fourth in the NL East)
Washington; Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Eric Lauer (2-3, 4.67 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 23 strikeouts) Nationals: Stephen Strasburg (2-1, 4.11 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)
LINE: Nationals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Nationals are 5-7 in home games. Washington hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .334 this season, led by Anthony Rendon with a mark of .435.
The Padres are 8-3 in road games. San Diego is slugging .406 as a unit. Fernando Tatis Jr. leads the team with a slugging percentage of .560. The Padres won the last meeting 4-3. Craig Stammen earned his third victory and Eric Hosmer went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for San Diego. Sean Doolittle took his first loss for Washington.
TOP PERFORMERS: Adam Eaton leads the Nationals with 31 hits and has six RBIs. Rendon is 10-for-35 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Washington.
Tatis Jr. leads the Padres with 12 extra base hits and is batting .286. Hosmer is 8-for-38 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for San Diego.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 4-6, .257 batting average, 4.92 ERA, outscored by five runs
Padres: 4-6, .201 batting average, 3.86 ERA, outscored by 13 runs
Nationals Injuries: Austen Williams: 10-day IL (shoulder), Trevor Rosenthal: 10-day IL (infection), Koda Glover: 60-day IL (forearm), Trea Turner: 10-day IL (finger).
Padres Injuries: Garrett Richards: 60-day IL (elbow), Jacob Nix: 60-day IL (elbow), Aaron Loup: 10-day IL (elbow), Dinelson Lamet: 60-day IL (elbow), Brett Kennedy: 10-day IL (shoulder), Miguel Diaz: 10-day IL (knee), Jose Castillo: 60-day IL (hip), Travis Jankowski: 60-day IL (foot), Franchy Cordero: 10-day IL (elbow), Jose Pirela: 10-day IL (oblique).
