Nationals at Marlins
Mark Reynolds has shown little rust since joining his eighth major-league team and the Washington Nationals have enjoyed quite the run of success since the 34-year-old came aboard. The Nationals (28-22) bid to record their 11th straight win over the Miami Marlins (19-32) on Sunday afternoon when the National League East rivals conclude their three-game series in South Florida.
Coming off a season in which he belted 30 homers and drove in 97 runs, Reynolds went deep for the fifth time in nine outings as his go-ahead blast in the ninth inning lifted Washington to a 4-1 triumph on Saturday. Reynolds is 12-for-27 with seven RBIs and as many runs scored since joining the Nationals, who have won 17 of 23 overall and nine of their last 10 on the road. Brian Anderson drove in a run for the second straight contest and has six multi-hit performances in his last 11 games for cellar-dwelling Miami, which has dropped five of seven overall. Anderson and the Marlins have a tall task on their hands on Sunday versus Stephen Strasburg, who has tossed 18 consecutive scoreless innings in his last three starts against the club to boost his career mark to 15-7 versus Miami.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Stephen Strasburg (5-4, 3.36 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Elieser Hernandez (0-1, 2.08)
Strasburg saw his three-start winning streak end with a thud, courtesy of a pair of homers as well as a season-high four walks in Sunday's 7-2 setback to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 29-year-old saw his pitch count elevate to a campaign-high 115 despite working just 6 2/3 innings. J.T. Realmuto (7-for-19) has flustered Strasburg, but the right-hander has kept Derek Dietrich (2-for-22) under wraps.
Hernandez sustained a hard-luck setback while making his second start and fourth career appearance on Monday, as he pitched through a sore throat and allowed just one run in five innings of a 2-0 loss at the New York Mets. "He attacks," manager Don Mattingly said of the 23-year-old Venezuelan. "He's always coming after you. Doesn't matter really who you are, he's coming to get you." Hernandez has permitted 14 hits and struck out six against just one walk in 13 innings since making his major-league debut on May 10.
WALK-OFFS
1. Washington has outscored Miami by a 66-18 margin during its 10-game winning streak.
2. Realmuto is 9-for-19 with three RBIs and two runs scored in his last four contests.
3. Nationals RF Bryce Harper fanned four times on Saturday to drop to 2-for-13 with nine strikeouts in his last three games.