The Washington Nationals are glad to be out of Philadelphia where they lost three straight games and got swept by the NL East leading Phillies, but moving from Philly to Miami brings little relief as they now are faced with the challenge of beating the Florida Marlins on their home turf Friday night.
The Marlins hold second place in the NL East and like the Phillies they have had uncanny success against Washington. Florida has a record of 69-41 against the Nationals. When the Marlins play the Nats at home in Sun Life Stadium, they enjoy a 38-19 record.
Nationals right hander Jordan Zimmermann (2-4, 4.29 ERA) looks to halt the Nats current losing streak. Zimmermann helped stop the Nationals last three game losing streak by going six innings and only giving up two runs in a victory against the San Francisco Giants on May 1st. Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco (3-0, 3.35 ERA) will be going against a Nationals offense that still has yet to discover the proper means to plate more runs consistently. Nolasco has not faced the Nationals yet this season, but holds a 8-3 with a 4.17 ERA lifetime record against them.
Nationals Line-Up
Danny Espinosa - 2B
Alex Cora - 3B
Jayson Werth - RF
Laynce Nix - LF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Ivan Rodriguez - C
Jerry Hairston Jr. - CF
Ian Desmond - SS
Jordan Zimmermann - SP