Lineup, how to watch Atlanta's game three against the Washington Nationals

Atlanta's offense has picked up right where they left off last season, winning the first two games against Washington thanks to big innings on offense and some clutch pitching performances.

Jared Shuster looks to continue the trend on Sunday.

The left-hander out of New Beford, MA is making his first career start in the major leagues after being drafted in 2020's 1st round out of Wake Forest. He was battling fellow prospect Dylan Dodd for the 5th starter's job, but the delayed start to Kyle Wright's spring training from offseason shoulder soreness necessitated him spending additional time on the injured list and allowed both Shuster and Dodd to stick in the rotation.

For his career, Shuster has a 3.69 ERA in 42 minor league starts. He's primarily a fastball/changeup control artist, using a slider on occasion against lefties, but his velocity, which sat 94-95 and touched 96-97 in college, was a bit lower in the pros once he transitioned from the college schedule of throwing once a week to the pro schedule of throwing one every five days. By the end of last season, the velocity was sitting 91-92, and he touched 96 in spring training, so there's hope that he's working his way back to the velocity he consistently showed at Wake Forest.

To be successful, Shuster will need to focus on throwing strikes and getting ahead in the count - his fastball shape or velocity isn't particularly impressive, and the changeup's geared more towards inducing soft contact than it is swing and miss. He profiles as an ideal #5 starter, and how quickly he settles into the MLB strike zone and how successfully he attacks the zone with strikes will determine his success at the major league level.

Here's how the Atlanta Braves will line up behind Jared Shuster:

.@JaredS_14 makes his MLB debut today in DC!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/Ebtp8jEL7N
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 2, 2023

Atlanta goes back to their "lefty" lineup that worked so well on Opening Day, with catcher Travis d'Arnaud as the DH and Marcell Ozuna in left field, for today's contest.

Starting for the Washington Nationals is lefty Mackenzie Gore. A former 3rd overall pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2017 draft out of high school, Gore was traded to Washington in last summer's Juan Soto deal. He pitched 70 innings for the Padres last year, with a 4.50 ERA in sixteen appearances (thirteen starts). Control issues cropped up for the high-octane lefty, with 37 walks in the bigs, and Washington sent him to AAA Rochester after his acquisition to work on his command and control.

Gore's full of promising tools, profiling as a potential top of the rotation arm, but 2023 will be a season of refinement for the high-octane lefty. Gore can run the fastball up to 98 at times with it consistently sitting in the mid-90s, as well as unveiling a lethal trip of a vertical breaking curveball, a mid-80s slider, and a sinking changeup, but his inability to consistently repeat his delivery make it hard at times for the lefty to command his four pitch arsenal. Washington, as a non-contending team, has the runway to allow the twenty-four year old to work on his game at the major league level and they are hoping from steady growth this season from the youngster.

Gore has pitched in one career game against Atlanta, as a member of the Padres in April 2022, and went 5.1 innings with 3H, 2R, 2BB, 3Ks and a homerun to Ozzie Albies in the start the Braves scored late to walk away with a 5-2 win.

First pitch is at 1:35ET from Nationals Park. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast, and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

Stories from the opening series

Max Fried leaves start versus Nationals with hamstring issue

Takeaways from Atlanta's game one win vs Washington

Takeaways from the Atlanta Braves game two win vs the Washington Nationals

WATCH: Ronald Acuna gets the first hit and stolen base this season

What do the Braves do to replace Max Fried in the rotation?

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