Washington takes on Cincinnati following Scherzer's strong showing

Cincinnati Reds (21-25, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (20-24, fifth in the NL East)

Washington; Thursday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Sonny Gray (0-3, 3.96 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 47 strikeouts) Nationals: Stephen Strasburg (1-1, 4.11 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 15 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup fresh off a strong showing by Max Scherzer. Scherzer went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts against Cincinnati.

The Nationals are 12-11 on their home turf. Washington's team on-base percentage of .320 is sixth in the league. Josh Harrison leads the team with an OBP of .372.

The Reds have gone 10-12 away from home. Cincinnati's team on-base percentage of .322 is fifth in the league. Nick Castellanos leads the lineup with an OBP of .418.

The Reds won the last meeting 2-1. Tyler Mahle notched his third victory and Eugenio Suarez went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Cincinnati. Max Scherzer registered his third loss for Washington.

TOP PERFORMERS: Trea Turner leads the Nationals with 19 extra base hits and is slugging .533.

Castellanos leads the Reds with 27 extra base hits and is slugging .671.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 5-5, .265 batting average, 4.92 ERA, outscored by eight runs

Reds: 4-6, .233 batting average, 5.23 ERA, outscored by 22 runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Tanner Rainey: (undisclosed), Will Harris: (hand), Erick Fedde: (undisclosed), Luis Avilan: (elbow), Victor Robles: (ankle).

Reds: Wade Miley: (foot), Michael Lorenzen: (shoulder), Brandon Bailey: (elbow), Nick Senzel: (knee), Aristides Aquino: (hand), Joey Votto: (thumb), Mike Moustakas: (heel).

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