SAN FRANCISCO — The Nationals will conclude their nine-game road trip at AT&T Park on Wednesday afternoon with a lineup that resembles the ones they fielded in West Palm Beach in March.

Already without three all-star caliber players (Anthony Rendon, Adam Eaton, and Daniel Murphy) and an important bench piece (Brian Goodwin), Nationals Manager Dave Martinez gave Ryan Zimmerman and Howie Kendrick the day off. Kendrick’s absence unleashed a ripple effect. Wilmer Difo, who has mostly played third base since Rendon fouled a ball off his foot, will play second base and bat second. Adrian Sanchez will play third base and Andrew Stevenson will play left field — the other position Kendrick has played this season.

Matt Adams will play first and bat cleanup. His presence is not a downgrade based on numbers; the slugger is 7 for 14 with two home runs, two doubles and a walk in his career against Giants starter Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija is, of course, a right-hander and Adams crushes most right-handers.

“He has really good numbers,” Martinez said. “And it was a good time to give Zim a little blow. He gets today and tomorrow’s scheduled day off, which is nice. Same thing with Howie.”

Max Scherzer will toe the rubber for his sixth start with a 1.36 ERA and .333 batting average. He leads the league with 47 strikeouts in 33 innings. In his last two starts against San Francisco, the two-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner has 21 strikeouts with one walk. The Nationals will need him to come through again as they look to snap a four-game losing streak and avoid going five games under .500 for the first time since April 2015.

The Nationals caught a break less than an hour before first pitch, when the Giants announced Mac Williamson was scratched from their lineup with neck stiffness. Williamson tripped over a bullpen mound chasing down a flyball in foul territory along the left field line on Tuesday. He crashed into the wall headfirst and stayed in the game, but won’t start Wednesday. It’s a blow to a Giants offense without much firepower; Williamson has hit a home run in the sixth inning in each of the first two games of the series. His solo homer in the sixth on Tuesday proved to be the difference.

NATIONALS (10-14)
Trea Turner SS
Wilmer Difo 2B
Bryce Harper RF
Matt Adams 1B
Michael A. Taylor CF
Andrew Stevenson LF
Adrian Sanchez 3B
Pedro Severino C
Max Scherzer RHP

GIANTS (11-12)
Gregor Blanco LF
Joe Panik 2B
Andrew McCutchen RF
Brandon Belt 1B
Pedro Sandoval 3B
Brandon Crawford SS
Nick Hundley C
Austin Jackson CF
Jeff Samardzija RHP