Cleveland @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2016 ) Cleveland 4, Washington 7

The Cleveland Indians’ postseason hopes are on life support as they prepare to visit the playoff-bound Washington Nationals on Friday for the opener of their three-game interleague series. The Indians suffered back-to-back losses to the Chicago White Sox, including Thursday’s 8-0 disaster, to fall two games behind idle Tampa Bay for the American League’s second wild-card spot with three contests left on the schedule.

Cleveland’s bats went cold after winning the series opener in Chicago 11-0, getting blanked over their last 13 innings and managing just four hits on Thursday as the top two hitters in the lineup - Francisco Lindor and Oscar Mercado - went a combined 0-for-17 in the consecutive losses. Zach Plesac gets the ball in Friday’s opener for the Indians, who are 8-9 in interleague play, while the Nationals counter with Austin Voth in a battle of rookie right-handers who have shown plenty of promise this season. Washington holds a one-game lead over Milwaukee for the top National League wild card after completing a five-game sweep of Philadelphia with Thursday's 6-3 victory and winning seven of its last eight contests overall to improve to 47-31 at home. Leadoff batter Trea Turner has gone 15-for-41 with four homers and eight RBIs during his nine-game hitting streak for the Nationals, but Anthony Rendon has cooled off down the stretch as he has recorded just two hits in his last 24 at-bats to drop his batting average to .321.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), MASN2 (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Zach Plesac (8-6, 3.82 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Austin Voth (1-1, 3.35)

Plesac has struggled in three of his last four starts, allowing 14 runs over 14 1/3 innings while going 0-2 in that trio of sub-par outings. The 24-year-old Ball State product pitched his first major-league shutout two starts ago, however, limiting the Los Angeles Angels to four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Plesac faces Washington for the first time after going 0-1 while giving up eight runs over 9 2/3 frames in two previous interleague outings.

Voth has been outstanding over his last five appearances (four starts) despite recording just one victory, permitting five runs and 16 hits while registering 23 strikeouts in as many innings. The 27-year-old native of Washington yielded one run on three hits and three walks over five frames in a no-decision at Miami on Sunday. Voth posted his only win this year in interleague play on July 16, limiting Baltimore to one run in six innings, and meets Cleveland for the first time.

WALK-OFFS

1. Nationals C Kurt Suzuki (elbow) pinch-hit on Thursday and is expected to be behind the plate on Friday and Saturday.

2. Cleveland OF Yasiel Puig has gone 16-for-36 over his last 10 games but is batting just .212 lifetime versus Washington (1-for-12 in 2019).

3. Washington INF Asdrubal Cabrera is 4-for-8 with five runs and three walks in his last three contests.

PREDICTION: Indians 6, Nationals 4