Tonight at 7:05 p.m. ET, the Cincinnati Reds (38-44) and Washington Nationals (46-38) take the field at Nationals Park for the final meeting of a three-game set live from Washington, D.C.
Cincinnati looks to sweep its opponents away as it continues a seven-game road trip while Washington looks to salvage the last match of this set as it finishes off a six-game homestand.
The Reds took the series-opener, 3-2, on Monday and followed it up with a 5-0 shutout victory on Tuesday. The club is looking to sweep its opponent for the second time this season.
This game can be live streamed for free here.
Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto launched his 15th homer of the season in Tuesday's win and knocked in a trio of runs. Votto is fifth in the National League with a .390 on-base percentage this season.
Though Washington was blanked Tuesday, Danny Espinosa had a homer in the series-opener on Monday. Espinosa has career-highs with a .258 batting average and a .338 on-base percentage this season.
Rookie Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 3.58 ERA) toes the rubber for the Reds tonight while the Nationals counter with Gio Gonzalez and he is 6-4 with a 4.16 ERA thus far this season.
Lorenzen is coming in off of an outing where he threw 90 pitches in four innings and surrendered two homers to the Milwaukee Brewers, so he'll look to recover. He yielded two runs in 6.1 innings in a no-decision last time he faced the Nationals.
Though he allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings the last time he battled the Reds, Gonzalez is coming off of back-to-back solid appearances in which he allowed no runs and nine hits in 14 innings.
Gonzalez faces a Cincinnati lineup that is paced by All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier. Frazier is in the top-five in the NL in several categories, including first in doubles (24), second in homers (25) and third in runs (54).
Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton leads the MLB with 42 stolen bases while Marlon Byrd carries an 11-game hitting streak into the proceedings.
The Nationals counter with an All-Star and MVP candidate in their own right in outfielder Bryce Harper, who is second in the NL in batting average (.343) and homers (25, tied). Harper is also first in the MLB with a .471 on-base percentage, a .709 slugging percentage and a 1.181 OPS.
In the standings, Washington enters play atop the NL East with a 3.5 game lead over the second-place New York Mets while Cincinnati is in fourth place in the NL Central, trailing the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals by 15 games.
The Reds look to sweep while the Nationals hope to salvage the final game of this three-match series when these teams take the field tonight at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
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