Brewers at Nationals
Anthony Rendon had the big hit again in the series opener and hopes to continue his torrid six-week stretch when the Washington Nationals host the Milwaukee Brewers for the second of a three-game series Saturday. Rendon’s second RBI double of the game in the eighth inning gave Washington a 2-1 victory in the series opener Friday as the Nationals extended their winning streak to a season high-matching five.
Rendon has 34 RBIs in his last 34 contests with a .354 batting average during that span while teammate Trea Turner had a walk and scored both runs Friday to move within a game of matching his career-best on-base streak of 24 that he strung together last year. Washington, which holds down the top wild-card spot in the National League, will send red-hot veteran Anibal Sanchez to the mound on Saturday and the Brewers hand the ball to fellow right-hander Jordan Lyles. Milwaukee sits one game behind in the race for the NL’s second wild card after losing for the third time in its last nine contests Friday, going 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 on base. Ryan Braun had two of the Brewers’ nine hits in the series opener and has hit safely in 12 straight starts while teammate Christian Yelich - the reigning NL MVP - is mired in a 1-for-16 slump as he remains one homer shy of becoming the seventh player in club history to belt 40 in a season.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), MASN2 (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Jordan Lyles (7-8, 4.71 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Anibal Sanchez (7-6, 3.75)
Lyles has been solid in his three starts since coming over in a trade from Pittsburgh, going 2-1 while allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits over 17 innings combined. The 28-year-old has struck out 14 and walked eight in his three outings with the Brewers, losing last time out despite tossing seven innings of one-run ball. Turner is 4-for-7 with a homer versus Lyles, who is 0-2 with a 5.55 ERA in 10 career appearances (two starts) against Washington.
Sanchez is unbeaten in his last 14 trips to the mound, winning seven of those outings, after starting the season 0-6 with a 5.27 ERA in the first eight games. The 35-year-old Venezuela native gave up one earned run over six frames to win at San Francisco on Aug. 6 before holding the New York Mets to three tallies across five innings of a no-decision Aug. 11. Braun is 4-for-9 with a homer against Sanchez, who beat Milwaukee last year while giving up a run over 6 2/3 frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Milwaukee SS Orlando Arcia homered Friday and has not committed an error in his last 42 games.
2. Washington RHP Max Scherzer (rhomboid strain) is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Saturday.
3. The Brewers are 3-1 this season and 15-8 since 2016 against the Nationals despite Friday’s defeat.