Nationals vs Rays Preview: Young Guns Aim to Surprise Rays

The Washington Nationals won Saturday's game 4-3 and kept their season alive. But they're dealing with a big problem. Jacob Young got hurt while making a diving catch against the wall in the eighth inning. The center fielder grabbed his ribs and went down hard. He might not play today, which hurts Washington's lineup. The Nationals are 40-37 overall and riding a one-game winning streak. They need to stay hot on the road and keep fighting.

The Rays are 42-31 and own the best home record in this series at 25-10. They crushed Washington 5-2 on Wednesday night with three home runs lighting up the scoreboard. But then the Nationals struck back, winning 4-3 on Saturday. The home runs kept flying—Abrams, Crews, García Jr., and Aranda all went deep. Now it's win-or-win time for Tampa Bay to even this series. The Rays need their pitching to shut down Washington's powerful bats today.

Andrew Alvarez takes the mound for Washington today against Tampa Bay's Nick Martinez. Both teams are leaning on their pitching staffs to win games. The Nationals are rebuilding with young arms like Zach Littell and Cade Cavalli. The Rays have veterans and prospects mixed together, with Drew Rasmussen leading their rotation. This game matters because Washington needs to prove they can win on the road. Tampa Bay wants to get back to winning at home. One team leaves Tropicana Field happy today.