It will be the second time in one week the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins meet on the field when they play starting at 7:05 p.m. EST on Friday night. The location might have changed to Nationals Park, but the combatants have not.
Nationals lefthander Tom Gorzelanny (2-2, 2.87 ERA) will once again square off against the Marlins' Chris Volstad (2-2, 5.73 ERA) in a rematch of last Saturday in Miami. In that game, Gorzelanny was sensational in a seven-inning, two hits, two-run affair that helped the Nationals win the game 5-2. Volstad did not have similar success. The Nationals collected eight hits off Volstad, scoring three runs in six innings. The Nationals took that series two games to one.
The Nats are coming off a heartbreaking 10-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night. They won their second consecutive series off an NL East foe, but probably would have liked to return home for the first time in 10 games with a sweep and three-game winning streak. Left fielder Laynce Nix is once again in the lineup for the Nationals though he has dropped two spots to hit sixth. First baseman Adam LaRoche will get another shot in the clean-up spot.
NATIONALS LINEUP
Roger Bernadina - CF
Ian Desmond - SS
Jayson Werth - RF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Wilson Ramos - C
Laynce Nix - LF
Danny Espinosa - 2B
Jerry Hairston Jr. - 3B
Tom Gorzelanny - SP