Game 120 lineups: Nats at Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – This road trip started off well for the Nationals, who won two of three in San Francisco over the weekend. Alas, now they find themselves needing a win this afternoon to avoid a sweep in Kansas City. How quickly things change.

The Nats have been hitting on the trip. They’ve averaged 5.3 runs and 11.8 hits over the last four days. James Wood (8-for-19, four doubles, one homer, seven RBIs) has been a big part of that, and it’s been great to see the big guy look like himself again after the worst slump of his brief career. They’ll try to continue the trend today against veteran right-hander Seth Lugo, who recently signed an extension with the Royals but has been unable to get out of the fifth inning in each of his last two starts, giving up seven runs to the Twins on Friday.

Jake Irvin has also been shaky his last two starts, with nine runs allowed over 9 1/3 innings against the Brewers and Giants. The right-hander has seen his ERA jump to 4.90, and he has surrendered a league-leading 26 homers now. He needs a bounceback this afternoon, and the key may be as simple as getting through a clean first inning. His ERA in that opening frame is a gargantuan 9.75. After that, it’s a very respectable 3.86.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Where: Kauffman Stadium
Gametime: 2:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 83 degrees, wind 2 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
LF James Wood
SS CJ Abrams
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Josh Bell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
RF Daylen Lile
C Drew Millas
3B Brady House
CF Robert Hassell III

RHP Jake Irvin

ROYALS
RF Mike Yastrzemski
SS Bobby Witt Jr.
1B Vinnie Pasquantino
3B Maikel Garcia
C Salvador Perez
2B Adam Frazier
DH Jonathan India
LF John Rave
CF Kyle Isbel

RHP Seth Lugo