Dodgers on Deck: September 10 at Nationals

The Dodgers final morning start of the season (Pacific time zone) comes Sunday morning with the series finale Sunday against the Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.

That’s weather permitting, of course, with rain expected throughout the day in the area. Friday’s game was delayed by one hour, 34 minutes by rain in the seventh inning, the eighth Dodgers road game affected by rain in the last two and a half months. The start of Saturday’s game was delayed by four hours, 10 minutes.

Ryan Yarbrough is going to figure prominently in the Dodgers’ pitching plans on Sunday, whether he starts are pitches bulk innings in relief. Or if he pitches at all.

Every one of Yarbrough’s seven appearances have been in relief since getting acquired by the Dodgers from the Royals at the August 1 trade deadline. His first outing for Los Angeles was his longest, throwing 4⅓ innings on August 5 in San Diego, and he also had a four-inning save on August 30.

In all, Yarbrough has a 2.82 ERA in 22⅓ innings with the Dodgers, with 19 strikeouts and only one walk. He took the loss on Tuesday in Miami, allowing two home runs in the eighth inning, his third inning of relief that night.

But there’s also the matter of Gavin Stone not making his scheduled start on Saturday night in Triple-A, with Oklahoma City instead opting for a bullpen game. Because Stone was optioned on August 28, he cannot be recalled within 15 days unless replacing a player on an injured list or some other related-type list.

Like, for instance, the paternity list. It’s unknown exactly when the baby is due, but Yarbrough and his wife are expecting this month. Maybe that’s the move that activates Stone, or maybe he doesn’t pitch at all and Yarbrough leads a pseudo bullpen game of sorts. As of Saturday afternoon, no starter has yet been announced.

Trevor Williams gets the start for the Nationals, with a 5.21 ERA and 6.00 FIP in his 27 starts this season. Williams’ 33 home runs allowed are most in the National League and third in the majors, the latter category topped by Lance Lynn of the Dodgers (and previously with the White Sox) with 40 homers.

Williams allowed four home runs in his last start, giving up nine runs on September 2 against the Marlins. Since the beginning of August, Williams has allowed 22 runs and 11 home runs in 26 innings.

Game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Nationals
• Ballpark: Nationals Park, Washington D.C.
• Time: 10:35 a.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English); KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)