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The Miami Marlins get a chance tonight to face their first tough competitor of the 2014 season, as the NL East favorite Washington Nationals host the Fish at Nationals Park. The Fish will send Henderson Alvarez out to the mound again in the hopes that he pulls off a better start than last time, when he could not find the zone and put up an awful start. Washington counters with south Florida native Gio Gonzalez.
Pitching Matchup
| PROJ ERA | FIP | ERA | MARLINS | Nationals | ERA | FIP | PROJ ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.15 | 4.46 | 9.00 | Alvarez | Gonzalez | 1.50 | 1.62 | 3.60 |
The Florida native Gonzalez has dominated Miami at every turn since moving to the Nationals in an offseason deal before the 2012 campaign. He has a career 1.76 ERA and has struck out 28.3 percent of Marlins faced in his career. Meanwhile, Alvarez struggled in his first start of the year, going three-plus innings with only a strikeout and two walks to his name and having given up three runs. So much for a strong follow-up after his no-hitter.
Lineup
| PROJ WOBA | WOBA | MARLINS | Nationals | WOBA | PROJ WOBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .281 | .369 | Adeiny Hechavarria | Denard Span | .355 | .312 |
| .330 | .310 | Jeff Baker | Bryce Harper | .154 | .383 |
| .462 | .391 | Giancarlo Stanton | Jayson Werth | .427 | .360 |
| .321 | .464 | Casey McGehee | Adam LaRoche | .446 | .334 |
| .324 | .241 | Garrett Jones | Ian Desmond | .333 | .334 |
| .326 | .356 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | Anthony Rendon | .441 | .344 |
| .326 | .402 | Marcell Ozuna | Danny Espinosa | .274 | .291 |
| .289 | .314 | Reed Johnson | Jose Lobaton | .320 | .330 |
Ryan Zimmerman won't be playing tonight for the Nationals, as he appears to continue to be injured. In his place will be Anthony Rendon, who will shift from second to his natural position of third base and allow Danny Espinosa a rare start. Meanwhile, Miami said they are not specifically platooning Christian Yelich, yet this is the second time in five nights (four games) in which Yelich has sat versus a lefty. He did face the lefty on Thursday in the finale versus the Colorado Rockies, but Miami has since sat him versus Eric Stutls and now versus the tougher Gio Gonzalez.
Notes
- Remember to make an additional Ichthyomancy pick tonight: the winner of the president's race! One point for each correct pick!
- Finally got a chance to update a week's worth of Ichthyomancy! You can check out the top five here and the full leaderboard here. It's no surprise that Jigokusabre, our most consistent player, is in the lead and utilizing a balanced approach; he has even points in almost all categories. But jasonbross9130, Gatorfan4life, Marlon D, and dgriot are right on his tail. If you want to win, you got to play every day and get your picks in guys! Don't let Jigo defend his crown! Let's get some new blood at the top of the Ichthy charts! Remember, you can find the full rules here.
Bold Prediction: Nationals def. Marlins 6-1