Washington @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2013 ) Washington 9, Miami 2

The Washington Nationals are running out of time in the National League wild-card race - and they may be without Bryce Harper for a while. Harper returned to Washington for tests on his injured hip, but they will have Stephen Strasburg on the mound in the rubber match of a three-game series at the Miami Marlins on Sunday. Harper aggravated the hip before Saturday’s 9-2 victory as the Nationals posted 16 hits, including Ryan Zimmerman’s third and fourth homers of the month.

Washington is eight games behind Cincinnati for the second wild-card spot and plays the next eight against teams under .500. That includes Miami, which has won four of its last six contests – including two shutout victories. Rookie outfielder Christian Yelich continues to shine for the Marlins, going 15-for-33 during his eight-game hitting streak – two short of his season high.

TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MASN (Washington), FSN Florida (Miami)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Stephen Strasburg (6-9, 2.85 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jacob Turner (3-5, 3.13)

Strasburg has lasted only two innings in his last two starts against the Marlins, once due to a rain delay and the other after yielding seven runs. The right-hander, who also shut out Miami over seven innings April 1, is 1-0 with five no decisions in his last six outings overall with a 2.14 ERA. Giancarlo Stanton is 7-for-18 against Strasburg, who is 5-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 12 career starts versus Miami.

Turner is 0-4 over his last nine starts, but allowed three or fewer runs in six of them - and has received only 25 runs of support during that span. The 22-year-old struggled with control, walking 16 and striking out only five in the last four outings. Zimmerman is 2-for-6 with a homer against Turner, who was 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in his only two career starts versus Washington last year.

WALK-OFFS

1. Nationals CF Denard Span was 2-for-4 with an RBI on Saturday to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games.

2. Miami OF Justin Ruggiano has 20 hits in 57 at-bats since establishing a club record with a 0-for-42 slump.

3. Washington has won 10 of 14 games against the Marlins this season, including a 4-4 record in Miami.

PREDICTION: Nationals 5, Marlins 2