The Miami Marlins suffered a hard-fought 2-0 loss last night, but they do not get any reprieve on this Saturday afternoon. Rather than your typical Saturday evening game, the Fish are one of the teams that drew a Saturday afternoon assignment that will almost assuredly not show up on any Fox national broadcast and will assuredly be blacked out for those who are depending on MLB.tv. And that does not even consider the fact that, in the game's pitching matchup, the Fish will throw out one of their best against one of the best in the entire sport. This afternoon may be another tough, low-scoring game for the Marlins and Nationals.
Pitching Matchup
| Proj Win% | Proj ERA | FIP | ERA | Marlins | Nationals | ERA | FIP | Proj ERA | Proj Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .533 | 3.68 | 2.40 | 2.92 | Sanchez | Strasburg | 1.42 | 1.92 | 2.72 | .659 |
Anibal Sanchez has impressed so far for the Fish, but he is eventually bound to give up a home run, and when he does, his numbers will begin to look more like his typical 2010 and 2011 stats. Having said that, those sorts of numbers are exactly what the Marlins want to see, so Sanchez is so far performing up to snuff for the team. He looks to face down a Nationals lineup that is surprisingly loaded with decent hitters down to the sixth spot, with the exception of their leadoff man.
The Nationals will send their undisputed ace Stephen Strasburg to the mound. There is not much more that needs to be said about him, but Fish Stripes readers should get an introduction to how good he really is. His stuff is mesmerizing, even after recovering from Tommy John surgery. For example, he has averaged 97 mph on his four-seam fastball and 89 mph on his changeup. He also has a two-seamer that travels at 94 mph on a two-seamer with good movement. His stuff is absolutely filthy and completely mortifying.
Lineup
No lineup listed at the time of this writing, and I will be out taking a diagnostic test for the USMLE Step 1, so I'll leave you to check the lineup here.
Bold Prediction: Nationals def. Marlins 3-1