Nationals at Marlins
Max Scherzer attempts to end his misery and the Washington Nationals look to avoid a three-game sweep when they visit the red-hot Miami Marlins on Sunday. Scherzer, who signed a seven-year contract for $210 million in the offseason with the Nationals, is 2-6 in his last 13 starts and winless in the past seven as Washington continues to tumble out of realistic playoff contention.
The Nationals have dropped five straight since winning five in a row and have fallen 9 ½ games behind the first-place New York Mets in the National League East after Saturday’s 2-0 loss. NL MVP candidate Bryce Harper is 1-for-7 with five strikeouts in the series for Washington, which is 6-0 all time against Miami’s Sunday starter Brad Hand. The Marlins are playing some of their best baseball of the season, allowing seven runs during a four-game win streak and winning nine of their last 11. Martin Prado is 5-for-11 with four RBIs in the past four contests for Miami.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MASN (Washington), FSN Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Max Scherzer (11-11, 3.03 ERA) vs. Marlins LH Brad Hand (4-5, 5.20)
Scherzer has allowed 27 runs in 40 innings during his winless drought and is 1-4 since the All-Star break, but has gone at least six innings in 13 of his last 16 outings. The 31-year-old Missouri native has given up 11 homers in his last six games, including three in the loss against the New York Mets on Monday. Prado is 8-for-16 overall versus Scherzer, who owns a 2-1 record with a 3.86 ERA in three starts against Miami in 2015.
Hand has been knocked around for 12 runs in 6 1/3 innings combined his last two starts – one of them versus the Nationals --- after winning three of his previous four outings. The 25-year-old gave up five runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 frames against Washington in a 7-4 loss on Aug. 30. Anthony Rendon is also 6-for-14 versus Hand, who is 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA in 18 appearances (five starts) at home in 2015.
WALK-OFFS
1. Miami OF Ichiro Suzuki has 2,930 career hits after recording three Saturday to tie Rogers Hornsby and Jake Beckley for 35th on the major league all-time list.
2. Washington 1B Ryan Zimmerman (oblique), who is 7-for-11 lifetime against Hand and boasts an 11-game hit streak overall, has missed four straight contests and remains questionable.
3. Miami C J.T. Realmuto has two doubles and a pair of homers during a nine-game hitting streak.