Rookies aim to power Nationals to series win against Cubs

Daylen Lile is swinging a hot bat of late, and the Windy City has done little to cool him off.

Lile will look to continue his torrid play on Sunday afternoon when the visiting Washington Nationals (57-84) play in the decisive contest of their three-game series against the Chicago Cubs (81-61).

The 22-year-old ripped two triples in Washington's 11-5 setback to Chicago on Friday and homered to lead off the fourth inning in a 2-1 victory on Saturday afternoon. He is 11-for-23 with five extra-base hits (one double, three triples, one homer), six RBIs and six runs in his past six games.

"I'm definitely enjoying it," the rookie told MASN of playing at Wrigley Field. "I think the wind helped me out a little bit there. You got the wind blowing out both days. I hear it's a graveyard, (but) I'm having a lot of fun here."

Sunday's scheduled starter for the Nationals, Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 0.00 ERA), will look to have more fun after excelling in his major league debut. The 26-year-old left-hander allowed just one hit and struck out four over five scoreless innings in a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday.

"He was very composed," Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo said of Alvarez. "He was throwing strikes -- that's something that we love -- (and) mixing his pitches really (well)."

Alvarez went 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his final six starts with Triple-A Rochester before being promoted.

Whether he will face Pete Crow-Armstrong is not immediately known. The latter fouled a ball off his right knee in the sixth inning on Saturday and departed the game in the top of the seventh.

X-rays were negative for Crow-Armstrong, who was labeled as day-to-day by manager Craig Counsell.

"I've never fouled a ball straight off my kneecap before," Crow-Armstrong said, per the Chicago Tribune. "It's new pain. There's definitely (stuff) that's hurt worse. This hurts.

"And the legs are just funny. That's how I help the cause on a daily basis -- with my legs. It was a good stinger for sure."

Fellow outfielder Kyle Tucker has missed four straight games due to tightness in his left calf.

"We had improvement today," Counsell said. "We're just going to treat it as day-to-day and see where that gets us. We think we have time to let this heal without putting him on the injured list. We think he will be ready before what an injured list would cost him.

"Having the extra player in September, we're not playing short. I don't feel that from a roster perspective it hurts us at all."

Left-hander Drew Pomeranz (2-1, 2.40 ERA) will start on Sunday as he bids to help Chicago secure its third straight series victory. He blew a save opportunity Wednesday in his last outing after yielding two runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning against the Atlanta Braves, who won 5-1.

Pomeranz, 36, is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in seven career appearances (four starts) vs. the Nationals.

--Field Level Media