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Brewers (75-60) vs. Nationals (67-67) series info:
Game 1: Friday, Aug. 31 at 7:05 p.m. ET (MASN/106.7 The Fan)
Game 2: Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7:05 p.m. ET (MASN/106.7)
Game 3: Sunday, Sept. 2 at 1:35 p.m. ET (MASN/106.7)
Pitching matchups:
Tuesday: Jhoulys Chacin (13-5, 3.61 ERA) vs. Tanner Roark (8-13, 3.95)
Wednesday: Chase Anderson (9-7, 4.04) vs. Stephen Strasburg (7-7, 4.15)
Thursday: Junior Guerra (6-9, 4.09) vs. Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.22)
What to watch for:
Roster expansion
Beginning Saturday, active rosters expand to the 40-man, meaning several familiar names should be returning to the Nationals’ clubhouse. The most prominent will likely be Victor Robles, the team’s top prospect who’s hitting .254 with two home runs in 36 games for Triple-A Syracuse.
Other possible candidates on the 40-man include Austin Adams, Trevor Gott, Austin Voth, Raudy Read, Pedro Severino, Matt Reynolds and Adrian Sanchez. The team probably won’t call all of them up, but most of the relief arms will be brought up to stretch out the bullpen.
Tony Two Bags goes for double digits
When he suits up for Game 1 of this series, Anthony Rendon will be hoping to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. The Nationals’ third baseman is hitting .361 with a pair of homers during the streak.
On the season, Rendon is dancing around .300 with 18 long balls and 32 doubles. If he does maintain a .300 average while finishing with 20 homers and 40 doubles, this would mark the second straight season he’s been able to do so.
Yelich enjoying best stretch of his career
After hitting .400 during the month of July, Christian Yelich has continued swinging a hot bat. During August, the Brewers’ outfielder has slashed .300/.358/.673 with 11 bombs and 19 RBIs.
On Wednesday, Yelich went 6-6 and hit for the cycle, scoring two runs and driving in three. The game was a fantastic back-and-forth affair between Milwaukee and the Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers eventually won 13-12 in 10 innings.
Series history:
The Brewers lead the all-time series (2005-present) by a margin of 48-44. In the District, however, the Nationals boast a .591 winning percentage. Milwaukee took two of three from Washington in the series played between the two clubs earlier this season.