Washington Nationals: Five storylines to watch as Marlins make their final trip to DC

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 split against the New York Mets, which was a fairly odd series with A.J. Cole and Erick Fedde both receiving starts for the Nats. Alejandro de Aza also started three of the four games and Rafael Bautista was called up and received a start in right field, going 2-for-4.

To make matters even weirder, the Potomac Nationals had more members of the Nats’ Opening Day starting lineup in their lineup than the actual Nats did on Friday night. Trea Turner and Jayson Werth started for Potomac, while the Nats only had Daniel Murphy. Everyone else is either hurt or had the game off.

The Nats have been plagued by injuries all season long and players are finally beginning to progress towards returns, but this odd stat perfectly exemplifies the Nats’ season.

Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins are coming off of a series sweep against the San Diego Padres and have won eight of their last ten games, including four straight. It’s no surprise that the Marlins are heating up at the same time as Giancarlo Stanton is going on an unbelievable home run tear.

In addition to Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon, and Derek Dietrich are all hitting at least .290 over the last week. The Marlins’ pitching staff is nothing to write home about, especially without Edinson Volquez, but their offense has been one of the best in the league lately, which has allowed them to remain in the playoff picture.

While the Marlins have been written off by most, they are only 4.5 games back in the National League Wild Card race. With the way Miami is playing, that deficit will be difficult, but possible to overcome.

The Marlins enter this series 12 games behind the Nats in the NL East, but are currently playing better than their record would lead you to believe. If the Nats aren’t at the top of their game, this could be a difficult series.

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.

Max Scherzer’s return

Max Scherzer was first impacted by neck stiffness when he was forced to leave his start in Miami after just one inning on August 1. He then returned on August 7, his first of two starts before once again being placed on the disabled list with neck stiffness.

Scherzer was scheduled to start on August 18 in San Diego, but he was scratched before the game, forcing Matt Grace to take the start. After being scratched and placed on the disabled list, Scherzer said they were targeting a return for last Friday against the Mets.

Obviously, Scherzer was unable to return on Friday and there were a few setbacks. Dusty Baker then said that they hoped he’d be able to pitch on Sunday against the Mets, which also didn’t happen.

Fortunately, Scherzer is the probable starter tonight against Miami, which most likely means his pain is at least mostly gone. However, his neck has caused him two disabled list stints, so you have to wonder if this is going to be a recurring issue.

At least for now, Scherzer is back and is scheduled to pitch tonight. After returning from the disabled list the first time, he said he still felt weakness in his neck, which was especially prevalent when he threw breaking balls. Hopefully that pain and weakness will be gone and he is able to pitch like he is capable and remain 100% healthy.

Hopefully, for the Nats’ and baseball’s sake, Scherzer will be able to pitch the rest of the season without any further issues. However, Scherzer and the Nats need to be responsible regarding his return. The division is just about locked down and the Nats will make the playoffs without Scherzer, but progressing through the playoffs is another story. The Nats need Scherzer in order to go on a deep postseason run and pushing him to start meaningless games in August and September is not worth risking his future.

Scherzer is scheduled to make his return from the disabled list tonight; his start and how he comes out of it will both be worth keeping an eye on.

Giancarlo Stanton’s phenomenal power

As of today, August 28, Giancarlo Stanton has hit 50 home runs. To put this incredible stat into perspective, Mark Trumbo led the MLB with 47 last year. Perhaps even more impressive, Trumbo did that in nearly 150 more at-bats.

A year after being crowned the Home Run Derby champion, Stanton was handed an early exit due to an amazing round by Gary Sanchez. However, Stanton has made countless major league pitchers appear to be mere batting practice pitchers, putting on a Home Run Derby-esque show on a seemingly nightly basis.

Due to Stanton’s unbelievable power, he has become a hot topic of discussion. People have even begun to speculate if Stanton could reach 62 homers. 62 would place him seventh all-time, but only Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa have hit more and the three have all allegedly used PED’s, so 61 is believed to be the clean record.

In addition to Stanton’s unbelievable power, he has been extremely consistent. Aaron Judge has the second-most homers in the MLB, with 37, but 30 of those were hit prior to the All-Star Break. Judge has suffered an extreme regression in the second half, but Stanton has continued to rake. Hitting as well as Stanton has for as long as he has is truly incredible, and he is quickly placing himself amongst elite company.

Stanton put on quite the show when the Marlins last visited Nationals Park, homering in three of their four early-August matchups. If he continues his incredible season and has a repeat performance at Nationals Park, his at-bats will definitely be something to keep an eye on throughout the series.

Jayson Werth and Trea Turner nearing returns

Continuing with the trend of Nats returning from the disabled list, Jayson Werth and Trea Turner should return sometime in the near future, possibly even during the series against the Marlins. Werth has been out since June 5 with a left foot contusion and small fracture. Meanwhile, Turner has been out since June 30 with a right wrist fracture.

When healthy, the two form a dynamic duo at the top of the Nats’ lineup. Fortunately, both of their returns are finally imminent. They both began their rehab assignments with the Nats’ Triple-A affiliate, Syracuse Chiefs, before going to play for the Nats’ High-A affiliate, Potomac Nationals.

Turner has struggled in the minors throughout his rehab assignment, but is beginning to improve. His defense has been right where it needs to be, but he has struggled to get his timing back at the plate. Fortunately, it’s not even September yet, so he still has time to get back into the swing of things before the postseason.

Since the Nats recently transferred Turner to the 60-day disabled list, he is not eligible to return until Tuesday, but he appears ready to return on Tuesday or shortly after.

Werth has fared better than Turner throughout his rehab assignment, but still doesn’t appear to be quite ready. In six games, he has hit .231 with a double and five walks. His path back should be easier than Turner’s because he has been able to hit for a while. The only reason he didn’t return earlier is because he couldn’t run. Despite the fact that he couldn’t run, he has been taking batting practice and throwing to stay in shape.

While we probably won’t see both Turner and Werth return during the Miami series, they will both be eligible and are both wrapping up their rehab assignments. When and how they return will be something to keep an eye on throughout this series.

Daniel Murphy’s mini-slump

Daniel Murphy has established himself as one of the best hitters in the league, but not even he is immune to an occasional slump. Over the last week or so, he has looked sluggish at times and has appeared to be in need of a day off. However, the Nats are currently suffering from a plethora of injuries so Murphy has been needed in the lineup.

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Over the last week, Murphy has hit a mere .182, which is the worst on the team. There is no need to worry, as he is still hitting .318 throughout the season, but he has not been himself as of late.

The Marlins coming to DC could be just what the doctor ordered for Murphy to bust out of this mini-slump. In ten games against Miami this year, he has a slash line of .286/.324/.429 with two doubles, a homer, and five RBI’s.

Unfortunately, the Nats played a double-header on Sunday and Murphy appeared in both games. If his recent struggles are due to fatigue, this would do nothing but hurt him. The good thing is he entered as a late-inning replacement in the first game, so he didn’t play two complete games.

Murphy has been one of the Nats’ best players this year, but is currently struggling a bit. These struggles are irrelevant, other than they may hurt his MVP case a bit, but the Nats need him to perform like he is capable in the postseason, which is quickly approaching.

Next: The Shawn Kelley conundrum

The Nationals have built a huge lead in the NL East, while the Marlins are heating up and hanging around in the NL Wild Card race. Max Scherzer’s return, Giancarlo Stanton’s incredible home run tear, Jayson Werth and Trea Turner’s imminent returns, Vance Worley’s success against the Nats, and Daniel Murphy’s mini-slump should all be storylines to watch during what looks to be a competitive intra-division matchup.