Nationals and royals are ready for a rare clash

THE Washington Nationals will visit Kansas City for the first time in seven years when they oppose the They are royal in the opener of Friday’s three-game set

Washington won two of three in Kansas City in May 2016. The teams have met once since then, when the host They are national In July 2019, he claimed two out of three

They are national Left-hander Patrick Corbin (3-5, 4.47 ERA) is the opposite They are royal right-hander Jordan Lyles (0-8, 7:15) on Friday

Corbin helped the They are national In their 2019 series win, he pitched seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and no walks. He had a no-hitter in Washington’s 5-2 win

Corbin hasn’t allowed a run over 9 2/3 innings in two appearances They are royal. Among Kansas City’s current hitters, only Matt Duffy has hit safely against Corbin, going 3-for-12.

Corbin has pitched at least 5 1/3 innings in each of his starts since April 16 while allowing no more than three earned runs. He has six quality starts this year, tied for fifth in the National League.

Corbin, who has won back-to-back wins, hasn’t won in three straight since May 2021. His command of the strike zone has been particularly sharp of late, allowing just one walk over the past 25 innings.

THE They are national arrives in Kansas City after dropping an 8-6 decision against the San Diego Padres on Thursday afternoon to finish 3-3 at home.

While Washington has lost six of its last nine games, the offense has been more productive of late, producing 52 runs in its last 10 games.

Leadoff hitter Lane Thomas is on a 10-game hitting streak, hitting .366 (15-for-41) with three home runs.

Ildemaro Vargas has hit safely in six of eight games since returning from the 10-day disabled list on May 3 and is hitting .440 (11-25). He was out for almost a month with a strained left shoulder.

“I can’t say enough about Vargas’ activities” They are national manager Dave Martinez said. “He plays with a lot of energy and a lot of fun.

Over his past 10 games, Washington’s Jeimer Candelario is hitting .436 (17:39) with eight extra base hits. Between They are national hitters, Candelario has the most experience against Lyles with one hit in eight at-bats

“When he’s ready for his fastball, he’s very good, and he stays consistent,” Martinez said. “The biggest thing is that he goes out of his mind to try to hit a home run every at-bat. He has enough power that when he hits the ball and gets it in the air, he hits the home run.”

Lyles is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA in 12 previous appearances (four starts) against Washington. He faced the They are national most recently in a loss to the Baltimore Orioles on June 21, 2022, allowing two runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Lyles’ 7.15 ERA is the highest among major league starting pitchers, and his 14 home runs allowed are tied for the most.

Consistent starting pitching was elusive for him They are royalwho have only one win with a starter since May 11th. The club has 49 relief appearances while losing nine of 13 games during that span.

Kansas City’s rotation is 8-26 with a 5.49 ERA.

THE They are royal He bolstered a heavily loaded bullpen this week by promoting Triple-A Omaha right-hander Nick Wittgren, where he had 5 saves and a 1.25 ERA in 17 games. He made his Kansas City debut on Wednesday, allowing two runs in two innings

“Still Developing” They are royal Manager Matt Quatraro said of the eight-year veteran. “He used to change up a lot. Now he’s developed a cutter/slider.

Said Wittgren: “I changed my slider in the offseason and it helped a lot. I’m attacking the zone with all four pitches. It’s paying off pretty well.”

— Field Level Media