Andrés Chaparro exits after being hit by pitch

Instead of just turning first base over to hot-hitting Andrés Chapparo with Luis García Jr. gone, the Nationals will take a longer look at Ortiz, who was part of the MacKenzie Gore trade with the Rangers. He was hitting .244/.348/.497 with 18 homers for Rochester. Of the two, he does have the better chance of being a useful starter against righties in 2026, and he could have some NL-only value now. Chaparro has made a case for an expanded role, but he still figures to work best as a platoon guy against lefties going forward.

Chaparro was unable to continue after being hit in the head by a pitch in the loss. While he doesn’t appear to have a concussion, Chaparro should still be considered day-to-day as the Nationals wills take precaution with a head injury.

Chaparro’s home run was his fifth of the season. He pinch hit for José Tena and hit a solo shot off Adam Macko in the fifth inning. Chaparro now has four home runs in his last eight games. He’s seen nearly all of his at-bats against left-handed pitching so far, but potentially his playing time could increase after the trade deadline. Chaparro is hitting .224 with an .824 OPS and 19 RBI in 76 at-bats.

No surprise with rookie southpaw Mitch Bratt toeing the rubber for Arizona to open the contest. It’ll be Andrés Chaparro getting the nod at the cold corner. García has been the subject of trade rumors recently and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him on the move at the trade deadline since he’s set to reach free agency at the conclusion of next season. It also helps his trade value that he’s launched a career-high 21 homers through 96 games so far.

Chaparro’s first homer was projected at 467 feet off José Suarez. He then hit a ball 406 feet off Yunior Tur two innings later. Those drove in five runs and his two singles accounted for three additional runs, giving Chaparro the eighth eight-RBI game in ExpoNats history. The previous two came in 2018, with Trea Turner knocking in eight runs on July 5 and Mark Reynolds driving in 10 two days later in the same series against the Marlins. Chaparro is now hitting .220/.352/.424 in 71 at-bats. He’d typically be on the bench Saturday against right-hander J.T. Ginn, but maybe the huge showing will get him a nod at DH at the expense of Dylan Crews or Jacob Young.

The Red Sox will throw their third left-handed starter in this series, and while Abrams has started the last two, they will give him a day off on Wednesday. Nasim Nunez will slide over to shortstop with Jorbit Vias entering the lineup at second base and batting seventh. Andres Chaparro will also make his third straight start and bat third while Luis Garcia Jr. heads to the bench.

Garcia had started in each of the team’s previous seven games, so he’ll get a breather in this one. Andres Chaparro will start in his place at first base and will bat third against Rays’ left-hander Ian Seymour on Saturday afternoon in Tampa Bay.

García takes a seat with Andrés Chaparro getting a chance to face Cleveland southpaw Joey Cantillo. The 26-year-old first baseman went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and four RBI during Monday’s series opener where the Nationals clobbered six home runs during a blowout win. He’s hitting .314 (16-for-51) with three homers and nine RBI over his last 15 games.

Mead has plenty of history at third base, but he’s definitely below average at the position and it wasn’t entirely clear whether the Nationals would be willing to use him there after demoting Brady House. It’s the 12th start this year for Mead; he’d started at first base 11 times and second base once. If Mead can hold his own at third base, then it would make sense for the Nationals to play him there against lefties, allowing Andrés Chapparo to play first base as Luis García Jr.'s platoon partner.

It will be Chaparro who is up to take Brady House’s spot in the infield. Chaparro is hitting .260/.336/.465 with six home runs and 24 RBI in 35 games at Triple-A this season. He has also cut his strikeout rate down to 18 percent and improved his zone contact to almost 88 percent. His hard-hit rate has taken a dip, but he can play either corner infield spot and gives the Nationals another option alongside Jose Tena and Jorbit Vivas.