The Washington Nationals are off on Thursday and will visit the Miami Marlins for the start of a three-game weekend series on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Nationals had a two-game winning streak snapped when they fell to the San Diego Padres 3-1. Washington ended its home stand of six games at 2-4 and is still not playing .500 ball at home.
Miami is also off on Thursday, but won its second straight on Wednesday over the New York Mets by the score of 2-1. Starlin Castro and J.T. Realmuto each had RBI singles to knock in both Marlins runs off Mets closer Jeurys Familia during the ninth inning to lead the Marlins to victory.
Matt Adams leads the Nationals with a .273 batting average. Bryce Harper is the team leader in home runs with 15 and RBIs with 34. Washington has a team batting average of .238, while opposing hitters are averaging .218 against Nationals pitching. On Friday, the Nationals will send ace Max Scherzer to the mound. The right-hander this season is 7-1 with an ERA of 1.78, 104 Ks and 16 BBs.
Starlin Castro leads the Marlins with a .293 batting average and team high 55 hits. Justin Bour is the team leader in home runs with nine and RBIs with 23. Miami has a team batting average of .230 while opposing hitters are averaging .252 at the plate against Marlins pitching. On Friday, the Marlins will send Jose Urena to the mound. The right-hander this season is 0-7 with an ERA of 4.55, 45 Ks and 14 BBs.
