Giants-Nationals NLDS Game 1 lineups

The Giants and Nationals will take the field this afternoon for the first National League Division Series game of the postseason (3 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1) at Nationals Park. Here are the starting lineups:

NATIONALS

Manager Matt Williams' quandary lately has been what to do with All-Star Ryan Zimmerman, who is caught in the strange circumstances of being a face of the franchise and also the odd man out of the lineup. He'll start Game 1 on the bench, with Anthony Rendon at third base, Adam LaRoche at first and Bryce Harper in left.

Since returning from a right hamstring injury toward the end of the season, Zimmerman has seen his regular spot at third taken by Rendon, and while he's spent some time in left and at first (largely due to throwing issues from third base), those spots routinely belong to Harper and LaRoche. It's worth noting that Zimmerman is hitting .118 (2-for-17) this year against the Giants.

LaRoche has had some of the most success (.357 average, three home runs in 14 at-bats) against Peavy among Nationals hitters. Ian Desmond is 2-for-6 lifetime, while Harper is 2-for-3.

CF Denard Span
3B Anthony Rendon
RF Jayson Werth
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
LF Bryce Harper
C Wilson Ramos
2B Asdrubal Cabrera

GIANTS

If the Giants are going to get an early leg up on the Nationals, they'll need to figure out a few things against a starting pitcher who historically has had good success against them.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts (10 innings) against the Giants this year, scattering six runs and 12 hits over those two outings. Over his career, Strasburg has made five starts against San Francisco and has not lost. He's 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA with 33 strikeouts.

Buster Posey (5-for-13) has good success against Strasburg, while Pablo Sandoval is 3-for-12 against him in his career. Hunter Pence is 3-for-13 against him and Brandon Belt is 1-for-6.

The two starting pitchers -- friends dating back to the time when Jake Peavy was an ace for the Padres and Strasburg was pitching for San Diego State -- both enjoy hitting, so Peavy will certainly relish his first career at-bat against Strasburg.

CF Gregor Blanco
2B Joe Panik
C Buster Posey
3B Pablo Sandoval
RF Hunter Pence
1B Brandon Belt
SS Brandon Crawford
LF Travis Ishikawa