Game 72 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

It’s a big day for the Nationals, who will see their latest top prospect make his major league debut. Sadly, the arrival of Brady House comes with the team as a whole reeling, having just been swept over the weekend by the Marlins, their worst losing streak in two years now up to eight games. House should not be considered the savior. No prospect should, but he in particular isn’t supposed to be the kind of player who changes the entire fortunes of a lineup.

That said, House should provide a much-needed offensive boost at a position of great need. Nats third basemen have combined for only two homers this season (both by Amed Rosario). House hit 13 of them in 65 games at Triple-A Rochester. Even if the 22-year-old is half as good as that, it’ll still be an improvement for the team at large.

House should have a favorable matchup tonight in his debut. The Rockies were supposed to start veteran Kyle Freeland, but he was placed on the injured list, so it’ll be rookie left-hander Carson Palmquist making his sixth career start. Palmquist, 24, is 0-4 with a 7.77 ERA and 1.818 WHIP in the previous five starts. The Nationals absolutely need to do damage tonight against him, and right from the get-go.

Jake Irvin, meanwhile, needs to be at his best after three straight less-than-stellar starts in which he allowed 13 runs and 23 hits over 15 innings to the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Mets. Irvin was excellent when he pitched at Coors Field back in April, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out nine over 6 1/3 innings.

By the way, here’s the full list of transactions before today’s game: House and outfielder Daylen Lile were promoted from Triple-A, with infielder José Tena and outfielder Robert Hassell III optioned to Rochester. And in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for House, the Nationals designated Juan Yepez for assignment, the first baseman/DH having produced only a .575 OPS at Triple-A this season.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. COLORADO ROCKIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 68 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

ROCKIES
LF Jordan Beck
DH Tyler Freeman
C Hunter Goodman
3B Ryan McMahon
2B Thairo Estrada
CF Brenton Doyle
RF Mickey Moniak
1B Michael Toglia
SS Ryan Ritter

LHP Carson Palmquist

NATIONALS
LF Alex Call
DH James Wood
SS CJ Abrams
1B Andrés Chaparro
2B Amed Rosario
3B Brady House
C Riley Adams
RF Daylen Lile
CF Jacob Young

RHP Jake Irvin