The Miami Marlins, who are a National League-worst 11-42 against left-handed starters this season, get to face another one on Sunday afternoon as they go for a series split with the host Washington Nationals.
MacKenzie Gore (8-12, 4.34 ERA), who is 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in three career starts against the Marlins, gets the start for Washington (67-81), Right-hander Adam Oller (1-3, 5.40) will make his first career start against the Nationals for Miami (55-94).
After losing the series opener 6-3 on Thursday, Washington bounced back to win the next two games to improve to 10-2 against the Marlins this season, using different offensive styles to pull out the two wins.
The Nationals stole five bases while taking advantage of three Miami errors in a 4-1 victory on Friday. Lefty starter DJ Herz allowed one run over five innings before turning it over the bullpen, which blanked the Marlins on four hits over the final four innings. Washington improved to 17-0 when stealing four or more bases in a game and leads the majors with 209 stolen bases, the only team in the MLB above the 200-steal mark.
Then on Saturday afternoon in another 4-1 victory, the Nationals got solo homers from Joey Gallo, Jose Tena and Juan Yepez while another lefty starter, Patrick Corbin, picked up the win after allowing one run over six innings. Washington, last in the National League in home runs with 125, improved to 7-0 this season when hitting three or more homers in a game.
“Our guys hit some homers today,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said with a big smile. “It was awesome.”
Martinez seems confident his young lineup will become more proficient hitting the long ball as they gain experience. Shortstop CJ Abrams, who has missed the last two games with shoulder discomfort, leads the team with 20 home runs with only three other Nationals in double figures.
“We’re hoping some of these guys, as they get more mature, will be able to drive the ball a little bit more consistently,” Martinez said. “Right now it’s just about working good at-bats, trying to not chase (bad pitches), teaching them how to hit the ball in the zone. They put themselves in a hole a lot because they chase. I think you’ll see the power come out in their game (for) some of these guys.”
Corbin, who started the season 2-12 in his first 14 decisions, has bounced back with four wins in his past five decisions and allowed two runs or less in four of those games. He allowed one run on three hits over six innings on Saturday while walking one and striking out six.
“He attacked the zone,” Martinez said. “He was really good. His cutter was good today.”
“Corbin has been tough on us all year,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “His slider was really good, really effective. The fastball we just couldn’t barrel up. Besides Jonah Bride and Otto Lopez (who each had two hits, including a double), we didn’t have much action today.”
–Field Level Media
