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After losing the first two games in heartbreaking fashion, everything came together for the Miami Marlins last night as they beat the Washington Nationals 7-1. Today, the Marlins will go for the series (and season) split as Jose Fernandez faces Joe Ross.
Pitching Matchup
| Team | Starter | ERA | FIP | ZIPS Projected ERA |
| WAS | Joe Ross | 2.29 | 3.03 | 3.81 |
| MIA | Jose Fernandez | 3.54 | 2.43 | 2.80 |
Jose Fernandez's season to date can be summed up with two words: "effectively wild." While he sports an incredible 12.84 K/9, he is currently walking batters at the highest rate of his career (4.43 BB/9). Fernandez is currently underperforming his FIP, indicating he may be suffering from some bad luck.
Joe Ross is the anti-Fernandez. He is currently outperforming his FIP and sports a below average 6.88 K/9. He is an interesting pitcher, as he really only relies on three pitches: a fastball/sinker, slider, and changeup. The slider is his best pitch. Batters are currently whiffing on the pitch 41.28% of the time and generating a hit only 7.5% of the time they face it. Unfortunately for Ross, his other pitches have been hammered, and he doesn't have much variety. Sound familiar?
Notes
- The Marlins have already faced Ross twice this season, and the results haven't been pretty. On April 10th, Ross pitched seven innings allowing one run en route to a 4-2 Nationals win. In Ross' second start against the Marlins on April 20th, he had to leave the game after two scoreless frames due to a blister on his right middle finger.
- Fernandez has never lost to the Nationals, and sports a 1.05 ERA over seven starts against them.
- Giancarlo Stanton has thrived against the Nationals during his career, batting .310/.399/.610 with 25 home runs. He will look to get back on track after hitting only .111 over his last eight games.