Nationals square off against the Twins in series rubber match

Minnesota Twins (16-21, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (17-20, third in the NL East)

Washington; Thursday, 1:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 6.49 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 17 strikeouts); Nationals: Jake Irvin (1-4, 4.93 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)

LINE: Nationals -110, Twins -109; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Both the Washington Nationals and the Minnesota Twins are looking for a series win with a victory on Thursday.

Washington is 17-20 overall and 5-13 at home. The Nationals have the ninth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .241.

Minnesota is 16-21 overall and 6-11 in road games. The Twins have a 6-15 record in games when they have allowed a home run.

Thursday's game is the third time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Daylen Lile has nine doubles and three home runs for the Nationals. Brady House is 8 for 36 with a double and three home runs over the last 10 games.

Brooks Lee has four doubles, five home runs and 21 RBIs for the Twins. Byron Buxton is 13 for 42 with a double and six home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 6-4, .217 batting average, 2.77 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs

Twins: 4-6, .243 batting average, 5.83 ERA, outscored by 12 runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Max Kranick: 15-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: day-to-day (wrist), Cole Henry: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Clayton Beeter: 15-Day IL (forearm), Trevor Williams: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (forearm), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Twins: Cody Laweryson: 15-Day IL (forearm), Joe Ryan: day-to-day (elbow), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Garrett Acton: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

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