Desmond moved to 7th in the lineup
The Nationals felt Ian Desmond could be their leadoff hitter when they traded Nyjer Morgan to the Brewers. It is only coincidence that the first day he is dropped in the lineup is the same day Morgan is back at Nationals Park—but he isn’t in the starting lineup. Desmond may still be the Nats leadoff hitter but he will bat seventh tonight after hitting .180 (9-for-50) with a .212 on-base percentage with 12 strikeouts and two walks.
Espinosa will slide into the top spot for the night and his performance will likely dictate the length of time he stays there. Espinosa is batting .281 (9-for-32) with a .405 OBP. So far this season, he has worked the count slightly more than Desmond: 3.86 pitches per PA to 3.62.
Brewers
2B Rickie Weeks
CF Carlos Gomez
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
3B Casey McGehee
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
RF Erick Almonte
C Wil Nieves
LHP Chris Narveson
Nationals
2B Danny Espinosa
CF Rick Ankiel
RF Jayson Werth
1B Adam LaRoche
C Wilson Ramos
LF Michael Morse
SS Ian Desmond
3B Jerry Hairston Jr.
LHP Tom Gorzelanny
*This is the first time former Nationals Wil Nieves and Nyjer Morgan will be stepping foot inside Nationals Park since they joined the Brewers. Nieves will be behind the plate to start, though Morgan is not in the starting lineup.
*Though no one in the Nationals starting lineup has seen much of Chris Narveson, Rick Ankiel, Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche all have hits off of the lefty. LaRoche also has a RBI off of Narveson.
*As a former Cub, Tom Gorzelanny has seen a lot of the Brewers. In his career, he’s 4-3 against the Brew Crew in 10 starts with 47 strikeouts.
