Veteran right-hander Zack Littell will try to get back on track and help the Washington Nationals avert a three-game sweep against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

The 30-year-old Littell (0-4, 7.85 ERA) signed as a free agent during spring training. He will be looking to turn things around after giving up eight, six and four earned runs, respectively, in his last three starts, all losses.

Last time out, Littell allowed eight runs (four earned) in 3 2/3 innings against the New York Mets on Tuesday. Two of the hits were home runs — one on his first pitch of the game — and he has given up 11 homers over his past four starts.

“He had a late start to spring training,” National general manager Paul Toboni recently said of Littell. “That factors in. We’re going to hang by these guys. Zack has had moments, as has Miles (Mikolas), where he’s thrown really darn well. We’re going to continue to stand by him.”

One factor that bodes well for Littell on Sunday is that the Brewers are tied for second-to-last in the majors with 22 home runs.

Littell allowed three runs on six hits over five innings of a no-decision at the Brewers on April 12. For his career, he is 0-1 with a 2.35 ERA and one save in 13 games (four starts) versus Milwaukee.

The Brewers, who have won five of six, have not announced a starter for the finale.

On Saturday, Milwaukee got a strong start from Kyle Harrison and took advantage of a Washington miscue in a three-run first en route to a 4-1 win.

After collecting four hits in each of the previous two games, William Contreras was 1-for-4 with a walk, but that hit was crucial as it started a two-out rally in the first.

That gave Contreras, who scored the game’s first run, nine hits in his last 10 at-bats.

“He’s been good,” manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s really been good. He’s capable. We’re looking for consistency, we’re looking for consistency in approach. This guy’s got a chance to be a top-10 player in the league if he stays consistent in every way.”

After a pair of walks following Contreras’ single, third baseman Brady House’s fielding error on Luis Rengifo’s grounder allowed Contreras to score the game’s first run. Brandon Lockridge followed with a two-run single to make it 3-0.

“I think a lot of us kind of just focus on putting up quality at-bats,” Milwaukee shortstop Joey Ortiz said. “That’s what we did that first inning. You just try to come through for the team, really. We were able to punch first and keep the lead.”

The Nationals, meanwhile, lead the major leagues with 32 errors in 34 games.

“We can do all the work we want to pregame, but if we’re not looking at what that work is and making adjustments to it, then we’re not doing our job,” manager Blake Butera said. “We’re gonna adjust our pregame work and try something a little bit different to clean up these mistakes.”

James Wood had two hits and Curtis Mead doubled and scored for the Nationals, who have scored only one run in each of the first two games.

–Field Level Media

Jesus Luzardo will be hoping to build on his last start when the left-hander takes the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday against the host Miami Marlins.

That outing Tuesday was not only notable for Luzardo’s performance but also for its timing.

It was the day the Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson and replaced him on an interim basis with Don Mattingly, who had been the team’s bench coach.

Luzardo (2-3, 5.50 ERA) ushered in the new regime by allowing only two hits without a walk and striking out eight over seven innings in a 7-0 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants.

It not only was Mattingly’s Phillies managerial debut but also the first time this season that a Philadelphia starter had gone seven innings.

“News to us, we found out about 30 minutes ago,” Luzardo said after the game about authoring the team’s first seven-inning start in 2026. “We’re looking forward to doing it a lot more.”

Many looked at it as being a potential watershed moment for the Phillies, who began the season 9-19 under Thomson.

“I don’t know about reset, but maybe galvanize the team,” said Luzardo, who was with the Marlins from 2021-24.

Luzardo has 41 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings as he prepares to face his former team for the first time in the third game of a four-game series.

Philadelphia had won four straight under Mattingly before Saturday’s 4-0 loss as three Miami pitchers limited the visitors to one hit. Philadelphia sent only 28 batters to the plate, one over the minimum.

Sunday’s Miami starter, right-hander Chris Paddack (0-4, 6.11), takes the hill following a stellar outing by teammate Max Meyer on Saturday.

Meyer gave up one hit with a walk and seven strikeouts in seven innings in the longest outing of his career. The right-hander threw 83 pitches, 55 for strikes.

Meyer struck out Kyle Schwarber in all three at-bats after Schwarber struck out in all five at-bats in the series opener on Friday, a 6-5 Philadelphia win. The eight consecutive strikeouts tie Schwarber’s career high.

Miami relievers Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth, respectively, to complete the one-hitter.

The win tied the series, which ends Monday, at one game each.

Paddack received a no-decision Monday against the host Los Angeles Dodgers, a 5-4 Miami loss. Paddack allowed two runs on four hits in four innings with a walk and a strikeout, throwing 67 pitches.

Paddack has faced Philadelphia three times, all when he was on the San Diego Padres. All three were starts, two in 2019 and one in 2021. Paddack is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA, allowing 12 earned runs and 21 hits in 16 innings with two walks and 15 strikeouts.

Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford was a late scratch Saturday because of a migraine.

Before Saturday’s game, Miami optioned left-hander Cade Gibson to Triple-A Jacksonville and selected the contract of right-hander Josh Ekness from Jacksonville. Per MLB Pipeline, Ekness is the Marlins’ No. 30 prospect.

–Field Level Media

Two teams trending in opposite directions meet when the St. Louis Cardinals aim for a sweep of their three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

St. Louis beat the Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday for their sixth straight win, while Los Angeles’ offense has gone quiet during its four-game losing streak.

Michael McGreevy tossed six scoreless innings on Saturday to help the Cardinals move a season-best seven games over .500 at 20-13.

“We’re going to give you hell when you play us,” McGreevy said. “There (were) a ton of expectations put on us in the offseason, and it’s been so freeing for the guys just to be able to show up and play.”

Jordan Walker hit his 10th home run of the season Saturday and is 6-for-8 with four RBIs in the first two games of the series.

“It just feels nice that the work that I put in during the offseason is showing up here,” Walker said. “Now the main focus is just keeping it consistent, and it feels like I know what it feels like, so when I get (off track), just get back on.”

The Dodgers have gone five straight games without a home run and have hit a total of three homers in their past 11 games. Los Angeles also hit into four double plays in Saturday’s loss.

“It’s what every team is going to go through in baseball throughout the course of a season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I felt tonight, although it didn’t show for the first eight innings, I thought the intentions were better on balls in the hitting zone.”

Los Angeles has been held to two runs or fewer in six of its last 11 games.

After opening the season on a tear at the plate, Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages has eight hits in his last 38 at-bats. He struck out twice Saturday.

“Just trying to focus on what I can do, not focus so much on the whole,” Pages said through an interpreter. “Just focus on taking good at-bats, doing good turns, not really trying to get too ahead of myself. Baseball is really hard. So offensively, there’s gonna be times where we’re not clicking, and that’s one of those times right now.”

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (4-0, 1.50 ERA) will take the mound for the Dodgers. He won his fourth straight start last Sunday, allowing four hits over six solid innings in a 6-0 home win over the Chicago Cubs.

Wrobleski, 25, has allowed two runs on 16 hits in 26 innings across his last four outings.

Pedro Pages is 4-for-6 with two homers against Wrobleski, who is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in three career games (two starts) versus St. Louis.

The Cardinals will counter with right-hander Dustin May (3-2, 5.28), who spent the first five-plus seasons of his career from 2019-25 with the Dodgers.

May, 28, gave up two runs over six innings in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Monday. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, going 3-0 in those outings. May is facing his former team for the first time.

–Field Level Media