Washington Nationals: 5 storylines to watch as Nats visit Marlins Park

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The Washington Nationals begin a three-game series against the Miami Marlins tonight; here are five storylines to keep an eye on.

The Washington Nationals are coming off of a series loss against the Colorado Rockies. Although they lost the series, there were several encouraging aspects.

Edwin Jackson started the second game of Sunday’s double-header, and pitched another gem. After shutting down the Angels and struggling against the Brewers, it wasn’t clear what the Nats would be able to get from Jackson.

After losing the first game of the double-header, Jackson led the Nats to their only win of the series, allowing one run over seven innings. With Joe Ross out for the season and Stephen Strasburg coming back from a minor injury, the Nats need Jackson to continue to pitch well and fill out the back-end of the rotation.

Another encouraging aspect from the series was Ryan Zimmerman‘s continued resurgence. In the first game on Sunday afternoon, Zimmerman hit two homers, breaking the tie with Frank Howard for most home runs in DC baseball history. Zimmerman also got his 905th career RBI, tying Tim Wallach for the most RBI’s in franchise history. Zimmerman has long been the face of the Nationals, and he is now breaking franchise and DC records seemingly every night.

The Miami Marlins are coming off of a series win against the Cincinnati Reds. This is an interesting time for the Marlins, as the franchise is currently in the process of being sold. The trade deadline is also this afternoon, so they may sell off a few of their players as well.

While big-name players, such as Giancarlo Stanton, are unlikely to be traded, at least until the new ownership group takes over, they have several players who would be valuable to contenders. It will be interesting to keep an eye on both the Nats and Marlins throughout this afternoon, as they are both expected to make some moves.

The Nats and Marlins have played each other six times this year and the series have been pretty evenly matched with both teams winning three games. If this series is anything like their previous matchups, we are in for an entertaining series between two division rivals.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five key storylines for what should be a competitive three-game set between the top two teams in the NL East.

Bryce Harper’s mini slump

Bryce Harper is hitless in his last ten at-bats and didn’t get a hit against Colorado; EVERYONE PANIC!

In all seriousness, the Nats’ star outfielder will be just fine. Sure, it’s tough to watch him swing at two straight pitches in the dirt en route to making the last out against Greg Holland. Sure, it’s tough to watch him have two straight games with two strikeouts, but this happens over the course of a 162-game season.

Harper had a series to forget against Colorado and is still hitting .329 with 27 homers. There is no reason to worry.

Entering the Colorado series, Harper had a 19-game hitting streak and was hitting .429 throughout July. Even after his dreadful series, he’s hitting .379 in July.

A trip to Miami could be just what the doctor ordered for Harper to break out of his mini slump. In 89 career games against the Marlins, he has a .301/.393/.583 slash line with 22 homers. His .301 average is his fourth-best against any team he’s played at least ten times. His 22 homers are also the most he’s hit against any team, which is really impressive considering half the games he plays against Miami are played at Marlins Park, one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league.

Harper will also be one of the most rested players on the Nats. While he didn’t get a day off, he got the second game of Sunday’s double-header off. The Nats will be tired in Miami since they’re getting there late after a 7:40 pm game on Sunday night, which was also part of a double-header.

Between the series being played at Marlins Park and the Nats being tired, offense could potentially be at a premium. If the Nats are going to win this series, they need their star to return to form.

The incredible Giancarlo Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton, the face of the Marlins, is putting together yet another amazing season at the plate. In July, he has a .289/.413/.756 slash line with 12 homers. July alone would place him fifth on the Nats’ home run leaderboard for the season.

Stanton is currently tied with Aaron Judge for the MLB lead in homers, with 33. Stanton is only four short of his career-high, and it’s still July. He’s always been one of the most powerful hitters in the league and is capable of going deep at any time, but he’s reached a whole new level this year.

While Stanton hits well against every team, he performs especially well against the Nats. In 92 career games, he has a .299/.387/.644 slash line with 29 homers. His .299 average is his fifth-best against any team he’s played at least ten times. His 29 homers are also his second-most against any team.

On top of Stanton’s success against the Nationals in general, he has also hit well against the Nats’ probable starters for this series. He has hit .273 in 22 at-bats against Gio Gonzalez, .273 with a homer in 11 at-bats against Max Scherzer, and .233 with three homers in 30 at-bats against Tanner Roark.

2017 has been a difficult season for Stanton in the clubhouse. He is having an incredible season as an individual, but the Marlins have been underwhelming at best. He has watched as some of his teammates have underperformed while others are traded for prospects. He has made it public that he doesn’t enjoy rebuilding and wants to win.

With the trade deadline falling hours before the beginning of the series, it will be interesting to see how any possible trades affect Stanton. The Marlins have struggled with their best players this year; trading them for prospects won’t do anything to help them contend now.

Giancarlo Stanton has been one of the most powerful hitters this season, and the Nats will need to do their best to contain him if they want to win the series.

Tanner Roark’s struggles against Miami

Tanner Roark has always been one of the most consistent pitchers in the league. After getting off to an unusually rocky start to 2017, he has turned things around and pitched much better throughout July.

While Roark has been extremely consistent and has been an integral part of the Nats’ rotation, there has been one negative consistency: his struggles against Miami.

In 20 games (14 starts), Roark is 5-8 with a 4.27 ERA. He has especially struggled against Miami this year. In two games, he has pitched to an 8.31 ERA and has allowed eight runs on nine hits in just 8.2 innings.

Some notable Marlins who have hit well against Roark in the past are Derek Dietrich (.333 average in 15 at-bats), Dee Gordon, (.389 average in 18 at-bats), Marcell Ozuna (.281 average in 32 at-bats), and J.T. Realmuto (.348 average in 23 at-bats).

Oddly enough, Roark has managed to keep Stanton and Christian Yelich in check. Against Roark, the dynamic duo are batting .233 and .242, respectively.

Look for Roark to continue his resurgence this week against Miami. He has pitched much better recently, and has exhibited much-improved control. Lots of Roark’s struggles against Miami this season can be attributed to his command issues. In his 8.2 innings pitched, he has walked a whopping four batters.

Although the Marlins have struggled this year, they have a solid lineup and will make a pitcher pay for walks and falling behind hitters. If Roark is able to maintain his improved control, he could be in for a quality start in Miami.

Miami’s new-look bullpen

Despite the fact that the Marlins currently sit in second place in the NL East, they are not a contending team in 2017. They know this and are in the middle of trading most of their valuable trade chips as part of their rebuild.

The Marlins have made two trades over the last couple weeks, both of which involved relievers. On July 20, they traded David Phelps to the Seattle Mariners. Then eight days later, they traded closer A.J. Ramos to the New York Mets.

With Phelps and Ramos both out of the picture, the back-end of the Marlins’ bullpen is pretty depleted. To make matters worse, Kyle Barraclough is currently on the disabled list with a shoulder impingement.

There hasn’t been a save situation since they traded Ramos, but there’s not a clear closer left in the bullpen. Brad Ziegler appears to be the leading candidate, but he is 0-for-3 in save opportunities this year and hasn’t pitched well in his age-37 season.

The Nats don’t have to worry about Ramos, Phelps, and Barracough, which could be extremely beneficial. As the Nats learned first-hand this year, a lack of reliable arms in the back-end of the bullpen can be brutal and make it near-impossible to win.

Between the Nats’ potent offense and the Marlins’ depleted bullpen, the Nats should always be within striking distance, even if they’re trailing late in the game.

The Marlins still have valuable trade chips in the bullpen, such as Barraclough and Dustin McGowan, so it’ll be interesting to see if they trade anyone else and how their new-look bullpen fares.

Scherzer’s encore

Max Scherzer is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and is capable of doing something special every time he takes the mound. On June 21, when he last pitched against Miami, it appeared it would be one of those games.

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After throwing 7.1 no-hit innings, Scherzer allowed an infield single to A.J. Ellis, which led to one of the unluckiest innings of Scherzer’s career and a tough-luck loss. Scherzer’s final line was eight innings pitched (a complete game), two hits, two runs (neither earned), 11 strikeouts, and a loss.

Despite the fact that Scherzer was handed a loss, this was one of the best games of his career and he completely baffled Miami with nearly every pitch. He hasn’t pitched against Miami since then, but will be starting on Tuesday night.

Scherzer has been nearly unhittable this season, and appears to be the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award. In 21 games, he has pitched to a 2.23 ERA and has racked up 201 strikeouts.

Scherzer has also enjoyed quite a bit of success against Miami throughout his career. In 11 games, he has pitched to a 3.50 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 74.2 innings.

After his last start in Miami, Scherzer will want to get revenge and get the Nats a win so this start should be a lot of fun to watch.

Next: Brian Goodwin carries trade value

The Nationals have built a huge lead in the NL East, while the Marlins haven’t lived up to expectations and are five games under .500. Bryce Harper’s mini slump, Giancarlo Stanton’s incredible season, Tanner Roark’s struggles against Miami, the Marlins’ depleted bullpen, and Max Scherzer’s encore should all be storylines to watch during what looks to be an entertaining series between the top two teams in the NL East.

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