Washington Nationals (34-48, fifth in the NL East) vs. Los Angeles Angels (40-41, third in the AL West)
Anaheim, California; Saturday, 9:38 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Mike Soroka (3-5, 5.06 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 59 strikeouts); Angels: Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.83 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 55 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Angels -130, Nationals +109; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals meet the Los Angeles Angels with a 1-0 series lead.
Los Angeles is 40-41 overall and 19-19 at home. The Angels have the ninth-best team slugging percentage in the majors at .407.
Washington is 18-24 in road games and 34-48 overall. The Nationals have gone 16-35 in games when they have given up a home run.
The matchup Saturday is the second time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Taylor Ward has 16 doubles, a triple, 20 home runs and 55 RBIs while hitting .208 for the Angels. Jo Adell is 11 for 37 with a double and five home runs over the past 10 games.
Luis Garcia has 19 doubles, seven home runs and 38 RBIs for the Nationals. Nathaniel Lowe is 11 for 42 with three doubles and four home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Angels: 6-4, .244 batting average, 3.76 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
Nationals: 4-6, .281 batting average, 5.52 ERA, even run differential
INJURIES: Angels: Zach Neto: day-to-day (shoulder), Jorge Soler: 10-Day IL (back), Chris Taylor: 10-Day IL (hand), Yoan Moncada: 10-Day IL (knee), Robert Stephenson: 15-Day IL (biceps), Ben Joyce: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Anthony Rendon: 60-Day IL (hip)
Nationals: Keibert Ruiz: 10-Day IL (head), Andrew Chafin: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Dylan Crews: 10-Day IL (back), Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (face), Orlando Ribalta: 15-Day IL (biceps), Derek Law: 15-Day IL (forearm), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
