Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins Series Preview (4/18-4/21)

Stephen Strasburg (2-0, 1.98) vs. Adam Conley (0-0, 3.86) – 7:10 p.m, MASN2

Strasburg had his last start pushed back one day due to an illness, but he put up a quality outing against the Braves last Thursday. In 7.2 innings, he gave up two runs on four hits, struck out seven, and walked two on 100 pitches. So far, he has given up just three runs in 13 innings.

It is early in the season, but Strasburg’s average velocity on his fastball is down from 95.4 to 94.5 (according to Fangraphs). With that being said, his slider has been used about 12% of the time and has become another weapon he can use against opposing hitters.

Against the Marlins last year, he was 1-2 with a 4.95 ERA in four starts and is 10-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 23 career starts against them (3-5, 5.65 ERA in eight starts at Marlins Park). Giancarlo Stanton is 13-for-32 (.406) with three home runs and ten RBI’s against Strasburg.

So far, Conley has some mixed results in his first two outings. In his first outing of the year against the Nats, his start was cut short due to rain. He was given a 3-0 lead before he took the mound, but Daniel Murphy’s bases clearing triple ended up tying the game at three. He came out after that first inning because of the rain delay.

In his last start against the Mets, Conley was sharp, but did not get any run support from his offense. He threw six innings of shutout ball, gave up four hits, struck out nine, and walked one in a no-decision. That start and his good spring showed why Conley could be one of the keys at the back end of the Marlins rotation.

Prediction: This will be an interesting game to watch because of which Conley the Nats will see tomorrow night. However, while Stephen Strasburg hasn’t racked up the strikeouts, he has been efficient and keeping the other team off the board. I expect that trend to continue and the Nationals to win their first game of the series.

Next: Wednesday's Matchup