Washington @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2010 ) Washington 5, Florida 9
The Washington Nationals need one more victory to wrap up their best April since moving from the Montreal in 2005. And they can get it by beating the Florida Marlins tonight in the opener of a three-game series.
Washington took two out of three in Chicago earlier this week and improved to 12-10 this season. The Nationals had the worst record in baseball each of the past two years, but they’ve gotten solid pitching from the start of the season.
Starter Craig Stammen has thrown well in his last two outings. He gave up three runs in seven innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Saturday after allowing two runs on five hits in his previous start against Colorado.
The Nationals already have clinched a winning month for the first time since September 2007, when they went 15-12. Washington hasn’t had a winning April since going 13-11 in their first month in their new home in 2005.
Even more impressive is that the Nationals have played without third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who has been slowed by hamstring problems. He last played on April 21 after hamstring issues slowed him for the second time this season.
But the Nationals haven’t done well against Florida the last two years. The Marlins won 14 of 17 against Washington two years ago and then took the first nine games of last year’s series.
Florida will try to snap a two-game losing streak when it sends Ricky Nolasco to the mound. He’s been hot so far this season, beating Philadelphia and Colorado in his last two start, both on the road.
Nolasco gave up only two runs in 17 innings in those outings. He went the distance in a 5-1 victory over the Phillies and came back by giving up one run in eight innings in a 4-1 win over the Rockies.
In addition, Nolasco has owned Washington throughout his career. He’s got a 7-1 record against the Nationals in nine starts.
The Marlins need a strong game from Nolasco after wasting an early four-run lead against San Diego and dropping a 6-4 decision on Wednesday.
Florida’s been getting plenty of offensive help, ranking sixth in the National League with 106 runs. Jorge Cantu led the National League with 22 RBIs in 22 games after Wednesday’s action.