Marlins at Nationals
The Miami Marlins will attempt to win their fifth consecutive series when they visit the Washington Nationals on Wednesday for the rubber match of a three-game set. The Marlins rebounded after coughing up a lead in the first game to edge the Nationals 2-1 on Tuesday for their 10th victory in the last 13 contests as future Hall of Famer Ichuro Suzuki recorded a pair of hits and an RBI.
The red-hot Dee Gordon looks to extend his hitting streak to 11 games for Miami after registering 22 hits in 40 at-bats over his last 10 outings to raise his batting average to a major league-best .422. The Nationals had won six of seven before Tuesday’s defeat and they send ace Max Scherzer to the mound against Tom Koehler in the series finale. Washington’s Wilson Ramos also has a 10-game hitting streak after notching a double and a single in the second game of the series. Jayson Werth - batting just .176 - was rested by the Nationals Tuesday and will likely return to the lineup.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Tom Koehler (2-2, 4.67 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Max Scherzer (1-3, 1.26)
Koehler has allowed three or fewer runs in four of five starts and his best turn was against the Nationals on April 25 when he tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings. The Stony Brook product was not involved in the decision last time out as he surrendered three runs over five innings against Philadelphia. Werth is 4-for-13 with two homers versus Koehler, who went 1-2 with a 2.50 ERA in three outings against Washington last season.
The Nationals scored two times combined in Scherzer’s three losses and he has not permitted more than two earned runs in each of his five outings. The 30-year-old has struck out 39 and walked only five, giving up one home run in 35 2/3 innings overall. Martin Prado (3-for-6) and Gordon (4-for-11, home run) have hit well against Scherzer, who allowed three runs in six frames in his only meeting with Miami in 2009.
WALK OFFS
1. Washington RF Bryce Harper is 0-for-6 in the series and has just one hit in 17 at-bats over the last five contests with six strikeouts.
2. The Marlins committed their eighth error Tuesday, but still have the least in the NL while Washington has committed a major-league most 25 miscues.
3. Suzuki is 4-for-8 in the series with two RBIs and is 8-for-22 during a six-game hitting streak.