Yankees announce expected starters for decisive series against Nationals

The New York Yankees will visit the nation’s capital for a crucial three-game series against the Washington Nationals.

The Yankees enter Monday with the best record in the American League (77-54) and a 1.5-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the division.

Although they have been a bit shaky at times since the All-Star break, they have finished 18-12 in their last 30 games and won eight of their last ten series.

New York has the best record in Major League Baseball against teams above .500 at 50-34, but they have struggled with consistency against weaker opponents. Their 27-20 record against teams below .500 is the 11th worst in baseball.

Meanwhile, the Nationals are still on a downward spiral after the All-Star break, having gone 12-18 in their last 30 games and 34-57 against teams above .500, the third-worst mark in MLB.

In the first game of the series on Monday night at 6:45 p.m. ET, the Yankees will turn to left-hander Nestor Cortes, who is in the midst of a difficult season, to face left-hander Mitchell Parker, who is 7-7 with a 4.26 ERA.

Cortes is 7-10 with a 4.00 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 148.1 innings pitched this season. His struggles have been mostly on the road, where he is 2-5 with a 5.45 ERA in 13 starts over 67.2 innings. He has been better in his last four starts, posting a 3.38 ERA and a 0.875 WHIP in 24 innings.

On Tuesday night, the Yankees will look to their star player, Gerrit Cole, who is getting into better form, to face veteran left-hander Patrick Corbin, who is 3-12 and has a 5.73 ERA.

Cole has been fantastic in his last seven starts, posting a 2.43 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 40.2 innings during that span. He’s been even better recently, posting a 1.17 ERA in his last four starts.

The Yankees’ series concludes on Wednesday night with left-hander Carlos Rodon taking on Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who has a record of 7-11 and an ERA of 4.51.

Like Cole, Rodon has been outstanding in his last seven starts, posting a 2.87 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 37.2 innings. He has pitched into the sixth inning in five of his last six starts.

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