Game 118 lineups: Nats at Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hello from Kauffman Stadium, which still looks great 52 years after it first opened. The Nationals are here for the first time since 2023, looking to pick up where they left off Sunday in San Francisco, having won two in a row from the Giants.

First things first: Dylan Crews is not here. He has not been activated off the 60-day injured list yet, even though he played nine innings each of the last two days with Triple-A Rochester. It sure seems like the Nats will wait until they return home Thursday to bring him back, but hopefully we’ll get more information here shortly.

As for who is here tonight, Cade Cavalli is on the mound, making his second big league start of the season, the third of his career. Cavalli’s return last week could not have gone much better: 4 1/3 scoreless innings on 88 pitches. He’ll try to be a little more efficient tonight, but more important is the quality of his stuff and the health of his arm.

Luis García Jr. returns to the Nats lineup after missing the entire weekend series with tightness in his back. He’s batting all the way down in the No. 8 spot against Royals left-hander Bailey Falter, which means Paul DeJong is again batting third, this time playing third base in place of Brady House. DeJong has been hot. Miguel Cairo will try to keep getting him at-bats.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Where: Kauffman Stadium
Gametime: 7:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 77 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
LF James Wood
SS CJ Abrams
3B Paul DeJong
DH Josh Bell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Riley Adams
RF Daylen Lile
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young

RHP Cade Cavalli

ROYALS
RF Mike Yastrzemski
SS Bobby Witt Jr.
1B Vinnie Pasquantino
3B Maikel Garcia
C Salvador Perez
2B Adam Frazier
DH Randal Grichuk
LF Nick Loftin
CF Kyle Isbel

LHP Bailey Falter