Nationals and Athletics meet to decide series winner

Oakland Athletics (49-82, fifth in the AL West) vs. Washington Nationals (44-86, fifth in the NL East)

Washington; Thursday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Ken Waldichuk (0-0); Nationals: Paolo Espino (0-6, 4.35 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 69 strikeouts)

LINE: Nationals -115, Athletics -105; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics play on Thursday with the winner claiming the three-game series.

Washington has a 44-86 record overall and a 21-47 record at home. The Nationals are 32-16 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

Oakland has gone 27-38 on the road and 49-82 overall. The Athletics have a 12-21 record in games decided by one run.

The teams meet Thursday for the third time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nelson Cruz has 16 doubles and 10 home runs for the Nationals. Joey Meneses is 14-for-40 with five doubles, a home run and four RBI over the past 10 games.

Sean Murphy has 30 doubles, a triple and 17 home runs while hitting .258 for the Athletics. Dermis Garcia is 5-for-10 with two home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 4-6, .240 batting average, 3.83 ERA, outscored by six runs

Athletics: 5-5, .222 batting average, 3.72 ERA, outscored by eight runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Cade Cavalli: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Yadiel Hernandez: 60-Day IL (left calf), MacKenzie Gore: 15-Day IL (elbow), Evan Lee: 60-Day IL (flexor), Stephen Strasburg: 60-Day IL (ribs), Tanner Rainey: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jackson Tetreault: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Carter Kieboom: 60-Day IL (forearm), Sean Doolittle: 60-Day IL (elbow), Will Harris: 60-Day IL (pectoral), Joe Ross: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Athletics: Zach Jackson: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Dany Jimenez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Skye Bolt: 10-Day IL (knee), Paul Blackburn: 60-Day IL (finger), Ramon Laureano: 10-Day IL (oblique), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (arm), Deolis Guerra: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brent Honeywell Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.