The Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks are set for the second game of a four game series on Friday night. The Nationals rolled into the hot climate of Arizona and turned it up a few more degrees with a convincing 6-1 win on Thursday night and they hope to follow that performance with another win that would take the series.
The Nationals are sending out pitcher Yunesky Maya (0-0, 7.71 ERA) to the bump to face off against the D-Backs Josh Collmenter (3-1, 1.49 ERA). It will be Maya's second start of the year for the Nationals and he is looking to rebound from a rough debut giving up four runs on six hits in only four-innings. Maya, however, prides himself on his ability to learn from his past mistakes and will have the opportunity with a little more confidence due to the line-up supporting him. The Nationals have slowly begun to show life with the bat. Their big guns will be out and hitting consecutively. Laynce Nix, Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa are hitting third, fourth and fifth respectively. Catcher Wilson Ramos has been given the night off and right fielder Jayson Werth has been labeled day-to-day with an injured elbow.
Nationals Line-Up
1. Roger Bernadina, LF
2. Ian Desmond, SS
3. Laynce Nix, RF
4. Michael Morse, 1B
5. Danny Espinosa, 2B
6. Rick Ankiel, CF
7. Ivan Rodriguez, C
8. Jerry Hairston Jr., 3B
9. Yunesky Maya, SP