The Miami Marlins will start up again today, facing the division-leading Washington Nationals in a short two-game series before the New York Mets come to town for the weekend. The Fish are coming off one of their better wins of recent days, a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the team is now getting a shot at the venerable Stephen Strasburg in one of his last starts of the 2012 season.

Well, the last time these two pitchers faced, the Marlins lost and Strasburg actually got a hit off of Ricky Nolasco, so you can tell that the matchup is quite lopsided in the Nationals' favor. With Nolasco struggling and Strasburg rolling on his way to his eventual innings limit, this game has the makings for a typical 2012 Marlins blowout.

Lineup

The good news is that the Marlins get to boast their better lineup, particularly with Ruggiano batting near the top of the lineup and a number of their weaker hitters at the bottom. Plus, I will take any opportunity to watch Bryan Petersen try and hit over Gorkys Hernandez. In addition, Rob Brantly just had his best game in the majors, getting two hits including a home run, so things are looking up.

Notes

- Look, we've been hearing about the famed Strasburg shutdown for a while, but Rob Neyer weighs in on Dr. James Andrews's opinion on the topic.

- FanGraphs's Alex Remington has a defense of the Nationals' Strasburg move.

Bold Prediction: Nationals def. Marlins 5-0