Series Preview: Miami Marlins vs Washington Nationals

After dropping both games at home against the Blue Jays, the Miami Marlins now welcome a division rival to town.

The Miami Marlins enter this weekend series losing seven of their last 10 games, and badly needing wins to avoid falling out of potential playoff contention. Miami now welcomes the Washington Nationals to town, a team that swept them in three-games earlier this season.

The Nationals come to Miami for this important NL East divisional matchup as one of the hottest teams in baseball. Winners in nine of their last 10, Washington has currently won four-in-a-row, and has jumped up to second in the division in the past two weeks, only behind the first-place Mets.

The first pitch times and probable pitching matchups for each game of the series can be found below (Games at loanDepot Park, Miami, FL):

Miami Marlins (31-42, 5th in NL East) vs Washington Nationals (35-36, 2nd in NL East)

Thursday, June 24

First Pitch: 7:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: Cody Poteet (2-2, 3.90 ERA) vs Joe Ross (3-7, 4.54 ERA)

Friday, June 25

First Pitch: 7:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: Pablo Lopez (3-4, 2.86 ERA) vs Jon Lester (1-2, 3.96 ERA)

Saturday, June 26

First Pitch: 4:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: Zach Thompson (1-2, 1.50 ERA) vs Patrick Corbin (5-5, 5.40 ERA)

Sunday, June 27

First Pitch: 1:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: Sandy Alcantara (4-6, 2.93 ERA) vs Max Scherzer (6-4, 2.19 ERA)

Nationals Players To Watch

• SS Trea Turner (#7) – .315 AVG, 11 HR, 34 RBI, 15 SB
• OF Juan Soto (#22) – .274 AVG, 8 HR, 29 RBI
• OF Kyle Schwarber (#12) – .240 AVG, 19 HR, 45 RBI

Key To Win Series: Score Runs

Aside from two double-digit scoring performances against the Cubs, the Marlins have only scored five runs across their last six games. The Nationals are one of the hottest teams in baseball currently, and Miami will need to take advantage of run-scoring opportunities to win this series.

Series Predictions

Offensive MVP: Jazz Chisholm

Chisholm is due at the plate after only collecting three hits across his last 28 at-bats. Could we be in for a big series from the Marlins young star?

Pitching MVP: Starting Rotation

The Marlins starting rotation has been outstanding over the past couple of games. Look for that to continue here in an important divisional series at home.

Bold Prediction: Big Series for Jesus Sanchez

Sanchez has already hit two HR’s since being called-up. Could we see more in this important series?