Current Series
Marlins lead the series 2-0
| Mon 05/28 | WP: Carlos Zambrano (3 - 3) SV: Heath Bell LP: Jordan Zimmermann (3 - 5) | 5 - 3 win |
| Tue 05/29 | WP: Anibal Sanchez (3 - 3) SV: Heath Bell LP: Edwin Jackson (1 - 3) | 3 - 1 win |
Washington Nationals Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 7:10 PM EDT Chien-Ming Wang vs Josh Johnson Partly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85.
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Get the brooms out, because the Miami Marlins are looking for the sweep.
The Fish are looking to cap off a brilliant month of May by completing the sweep of the division leading Washington Nationals and pulling within half a game of the leaders. The Marlins have put on a balanced effort in the past two games, highlighted by the typically impressive Giancarlo Stanton and the surprising reemergence of Heath Bell in two dominant closer innings. Combine that with some decent starting pitching and the Fish have picked up two wins. Can the Marlins get one more with their staff ace on the mound against a pitcher returning from two and a half years of injury hell?
Pitching Matchup
| Proj Win% | Proj ERA | FIP | ERA | Marlins | Nationals | ERA | FIP | Proj ERA | Proj Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .653 | 2.76 | 3.11 | 4.87 | Johnson | Wang | 3.00 | 7.33 | 4.91 | .398 |
Josh Johnson will look to finish what turned out to be a mediocre May with a strong showing in the final game of the month. Johnson has struck out just 18 percent of batters he has faced this season, the lowest amount of his career. This is surprising given that Johnson's swinging strike rate has climbed up to 9.0 percent, a number that is slightly lower than his career 9.6 percent rate but is on par with his performances in 2006, 2008, and 2009. Johnson will look to shut down a Nationals lineup that is potent at the top but has struggled with a number of injuries heading into the series.
Chien-Ming Wang is making his first start of the 2012 season after returning from injury. He replaced Ross Detwiler in the rotation, which would have been an acceptable decision just a few seasons ago, but now looks quite confusing on manager Davey Johnson's part. Wang had a decent 4.04 ERA to go along with a 4.57 FIP in 2011, when he made 11 starts after missing two seasons with a foot injury. But Detwiler in 2012 has been excellent, posting a 3.88 ERA along with a 3.51 FIP. Detwiler was one of two starters who dominated the Fish in the series between the two teams in April, as he went six shutout innings and struck out seven with only one walk. Wang will get the nod, however, and his book has always been about ground balls with minimal walks.
Lineup
| Order | Player | Proj wOBA vs. RHP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Reyes | .350 |
| 2 | Omar Infante | .321 |
| 3 | Hanley Ramirez | .351 |
| 4 | Giancarlo Stanton | .373 |
| 5 | Logan Morrison | .364 |
| 6 | Bryan Petersen | .315 |
| 7 | John Buck | .300 |
| 8 | Chris Coghlan | .320 |
By necessity, the Marlins are going with continuity by throwing out the same lineup as the last few days. Against righties, this is the team's top lineup choice.
Notes
- Over at Federal Baseball, Patrick Reddington has some questions regarding the lineup tinkering of Davey Johnson.
- In case you missed it from last night, Donovan Solano and his brother on the Nationals Jhonatan Solano finally made the big leagues and got to hang out together, despite being on opposite teams. Their parents wore dueling shirts last night and are switching for tonight's game.
Bold Prediction: Marlins def. Nationals 5-2