Marlins at Nationals
Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has more wins against the Miami Marlins than any other opponent and looks to pad his numbers when the teams conclude a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park. Strasburg beat the Marlins with seven innings of two-run ball on Opening Day to improve to 13-7 lifetime against them.
Washington has outscored Miami 19-5 in the first two games of the series to join the Los Angeles Dodgers as the only team in the majors to win 80 games. Third baseman Anthony Rendon had a pair of hits and drove in four runs in Tuesday's 8-3 victory to reach 85 RBIs for the season, tying his career high established last year in 156 games. Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton belted his major league-leading 51st homer overall and 18th this month, tying the record (Rudy York, 1937) for the most blasts in August, and Miami is 5 1/2 games out of the National League's second wild card. The reigning NL Player of the Week, Stanton has enjoyed plenty of success against Strasburg while batting .366 (15-for-41) with three homers, eight doubles and 11 RBIs.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Miami), MASN2 (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins LH Adam Conley (6-5, 5.17 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Stephen Strasburg (10-4, 3.10)
Conley escaped with a no-decision last time out against San Diego despite getting knocked around for five runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old was overpowering in his previous turn against the New York Mets, notching 11 strikeouts while yielding one run and three hits in seven innings. He was tagged for five runs and 11 hits at Washington on Aug. 9, falling to 1-3 with an 8.22 versus the Nationals.
Strasburg was in the midst of a masterful performance at Houston last time out before cramps led to his departure, but he exited after pitching six scoreless innings of three-hit ball. He has permitted two earned runs and seven hits while racking up 15 strikeouts over 12 innings since returning from the disabled list. Strasburg must be wary of Marcell Ozuna, who is 11-for-31 with two homers and seven RBIs against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Nationals SS Trea Turner (wrist) went 1-for-4 in his first game since June 29.
2. Marlins 2B Dee Gordon is 6-for-13 with four runs scored over the past three games.
3. Nationals C Matt Wieters is 5-for-8 in the series.