Cleveland Guardians (20-14, second in the AL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (16-19, fourth in the NL East)

Washington; Tuesday, 3:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Luis Ortiz (2-3, 4.78 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 36 strikeouts); Nationals: Jake Irvin (2-1, 4.01 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 33 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Guardians -120, Nationals +101; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals begin a three-game series at home against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

Washington is 16-19 overall and 9-7 in home games. The Nationals have gone 7-14 in games when they have given up at least one home run.

Cleveland has a 20-14 record overall and a 9-9 record in road games. The Guardians have an 8-1 record in games decided by one run.

The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nathaniel Lowe has seven doubles, six home runs and 27 RBI while hitting .254 for the Nationals. C.J. Abrams is 15-for-43 with three doubles and two triples over the past 10 games.

Kyle Manzardo leads the Guardians with eight home runs while slugging .495. Bo Naylor is 4-for-27 with three home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 5-5, .259 batting average, 6.09 ERA, outscored by 15 runs

Guardians: 6-4, .226 batting average, 4.80 ERA, outscored by 18 runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (face), Orlando Ribalta: 15-Day IL (biceps), Michael Soroka: 15-Day IL (biceps), Derek Law: 15-Day IL (forearm), Cade Cavalli: 15-Day IL (elbow), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Andres Chaparro: 10-Day IL (oblique), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Guardians: Paul Sewald: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Erik Sabrowski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Stephan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lane Thomas: 10-Day IL (wrist), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Slade Cecconi: 15-Day IL (oblique), David Fry: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.