Washington Nationals Series Preview: Nats Vs. Marlins (9/17-9/20)
By Ricky Keeler
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
In their three game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Washington Nationals (75-70) brought the bats to Citizens Bank Park. The Nats scored 24 runs in their three game sweep of the Phillies, but the stars of the show were Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper. Werth and Harper combined to hit six home runs with Werth hitting four of them.
As far as the pitching went, the Nats got back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances from Stephen Strasburg (who gave up only one hit Tuesday) and Gio Gonzalez. Due to the sweep, the Nats have won four in a row and have kept their slim playoff hopes alive. They are 7.5 games behind the Mets with 17 to go as they get to begin their last homestand of the year. Those 11 games begin with a four game series against the Miami Marlins (63-83).
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The Nats and Marlins faced each other last weekend at Marlins Park, with Miami taking two out of three in the series. The Marlins won their two games by a combined score of 3-1 wih Max Scherzer taking the series finale by throwing eight shutout innings last Sunday.
Since that series, the Marlins went into Citi Field and took two out of three from the Mets. Even though Miami is in third place in the NL East, they have won ten of their last 14 games and they are 8-7 against the Nats this season. Miami has only scored 58 runs this month, but first baseman Justin Bour (.259, 17 HR, 58 RBI’s) and third baseman Martin Prado (.285, 8 HR, 54 RBI’s) have each driven in double-digit runs. Bour has 12 RBI’s and Prado has 11.
While the offense has scored the third fewest runs in baseball this month, Miami has got some good pitching. Their team ERA of 3.26 over the last 15 games is second in the National League, behind only the Chicago Cubs (3.15).
Let’s take a look to see who has the edge in each of the four pitching matchups:
Next: Tonight's Matchup