Florida @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 11, 2010 ) Florida 4, Washington 1

The last time Chris Volstad faced the Washington Nationals, he was one of four players ejected after a bench-clearing brawl.

Volstad will begin a six-game suspension stemming from that incident Monday, but he'll first have his chance to get back at the Nationals when he takes the mound Sunday for the Florida Marlins, who are trying to finish off a three-game sweep at Nationals Park.

The Marlins have won their last five games at Nationals Park, and they've won 12 of 17 against Washington this season. Volstad has been a major contributor to that dominance.

The 23-year-old right-hander is 5-1 with a 5.27 ERA in eight career starts against the Nationals – including wins in all four of his starts against them this season – despite being hit hard by Washington sluggers Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman. Dunn is 10-for-19 (.526) with a homer against him, and Zimmerman is 11-for-18 (.611) with two homers at his expense.

Volstad (9-9, 4.96 ERA) has won his last three decisions and five of his last six, in large part because the Marlins have scored at least six runs behind him in five of his last six starts. Included in that stretch are two wins against the Nationals, though Volstad didn't post quality starts in either outing. He allowed four runs over five innings in a 9-5 win at Washington on Aug. 11, and he gave up six runs over five innings in the 16-10 victory Sept. 1 in Florida.

The latter game was the one in which Volstad's pitch behind outfielder Nyjer Morgan's head set off a bench-clearing brawl, resulting in suspensions or fines for nine players and coaches.

Morgan is still waiting for a ruling on the appeal of his eight-game suspension from the brawl, as well as a seven-game penalty for throwing a ball into the stands Aug. 21 in Philadelphia.

Morgan is 1-for-11 with three strikeouts against Volstad.

The Nationals have struggled at the plate during a four-game losing streak, scoring a total of five runs during that span including a single run in each of the first two games of the series. They managed only five hits Saturday, with Zimmerman providing two of them.

Washington will hope to provide a bit more offensive support today for 24-year-old right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who will make his fourth major league start since returning from Tommy John surgery and is still looking for his first win.

Duplicating his performance from his last start against Florida would give him a good shot at getting it, as he allowed only one hit and struck out nine over six scoreless innings but settled for a no-decision in a 1-0 loss Aug. 31 in Florida.

In his last start, Zimmermann (0-0, 3.86 ERA) allowed three runs – one earned – over four innings in a 13-3 win Monday against the Mets.

Zimmermann will have to contend with rookie outfielder Logan Morrison, who went 1-for-5 Saturday to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Morrison has reached base in 31 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors, hitting .339 during that span.

Morrison is 0-for-2 with two strikeouts against Zimmermann.