Washington @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2011 ) Washington 2, Florida 3

THE STORY: With one swing of the bat, Bryan Petersen and the Florida Marlins effectively took all of the intrigue out of Wednesday's season-ending game against the Washington Nationals. You see, had Washington emerged victorious on Tuesday, the season finale would tell the tale if the beleaguered Nationals franchise would post its first winning campaign since 2003. To sweeten the pot, phenom Stephen Strasburg is Washington's starting pitcher. As it stands following Florida's 3-2 win, well, Wednesday's game just marks the end of the season for a pair of National League East rivals.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), FSFL (Florida)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Stephen Strasburg (0-1, 2.00 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Chris Volstad (5-12, 4.96 ERA).

With Washington already noting that it plans to limit his innings for 2012, Strasburg will look to end the 2011 campaign on a happy note. Last Friday, Strasburg struggled and permitted three runs on five hits in four innings to suffer the loss against the Atlanta Braves. In his previous outing, Strasburg yielded just one run on four hits in six innings, but settled for a no-decision against the Marlins. All told, he has struck out 14 and walked none in 18 innings this season. In his short career, Strasburg is 1-1 against the division rival.

Volstad has yielded a total of six runs collectively in his last four starts. For his efforts, the former first-round pick received four no-decisions. Such has been the year for Volstad, who is searching for his first win since July 10. The 25-year-old has fared well versus the Nationals, winning five of seven career decisions, although he has yet to defeat them in three starts this season. Eleven days ago, Volstad permitted one run on six hits in seven innings against Washington but failed to walk away with the win.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (79-81): Michael Morse is certainly ending the season with a bang. Morse went deep for the third straight game by belting his 31st homer of the season. He has more than doubled last season's home run output (15) and could add to the total on Wednesday. Morse is 5-for-13 in his career against Volstad. Ian Desmond also continued his hot streak. Desmond, who had two of his team's five hits on Tuesday, collected his fifth multi-hit game in eight contests. He has also gotten the better of Volstad, going 13-for-23 with three doubles and a homer. Ryan Zimmerman sat out Tuesday's game with a sore hamstring and is expected to be a bystander on Wednesday as well.

ABOUT THE MARLINS (72-89): Petersen is not known for his power. With one homer on his resume entering Tuesday's game, Petersen jumped on the first pitch he saw from reliever Doug Slaten with two outs in the ninth inning and deposited it into the seats in right field. The blast made a winner out of Javier Vazquez, who seized his sixth straight triumph by tossing a complete-game gem in what may be his final major league start. The 35-year-old has hinted at retirement, but admitted that he will make his official decision by December. Emilio Bonifacio extended his hitting streak to nine games with a double, but is hitless in two at-bats versus Strasburg. Bonifacio also collected his 40th stolen base and scored on a wild pitch.

FINAL PITCH: Florida will play its last game in the stadium that has been its home since it debuted in 1993. Next season, the Marlins will play in a ballpark with a retractable roof in downtown Miami.