Marlins vs. Nationals: Start time, how to watch, game thread and Fish Picks—August 23, 2020

Welcome to Sunday’s Marlins (11-10) vs. Nationals (10-14) game thread.

Fish Picks is BACK and better than ever! Our free-to-play daily prop bets contest is open to all fans. Courtesy of a new Fish Stripes partnership with Fantom Drip, weekly points leaders will win their choice of a Marlins face covering (five different varieties available) or the exclusive Fish Stripes design.

Miami Marlins Inspired Face Cover

• $12

• $12 at Fantom Drip

The Fish Picks leaderboard will update daily to let you know where you stand.

Marlins Lineup

1. 2B Jonathan Villar
2. DH Matt Joyce
3. 1B Jesús Aguilar
4. LF Corey Dickerson
5. 3B Brian Anderson
6. RF Jesús Sánchez
7. SS Miguel Rojas
8. CF Lewis Brinson
9. C Brian Navarreto

P Humberto Mejía (5.68 ERA, 9.00 FIP, 24.1 K%, 38.9 Hard Hit% in 6.1 IP)

Baseball Savant

Notes: Everybody is still buzzing over the debut of Marlins top prospect Sixto Sánchez. While his final pitching line may seem ordinary, the quality of his stuff was nothing short of spectacular. I highly recommend this extension GIF breakdown from Nick Pollack of Pitcher List...Francisco Cervelli has been indispensable for the Marlins so far this season. They will need to trudge forward without him for the foreseeable future after the veteran catcher was placed on the 7-day concussion injured list. In steps Brian Navarreto, who’ll join the long list of Fish to make their major league debut in 2020.

Nationals Lineup

1. SS Trea Turner
2. RF Adam Eaton
3. LF Juan Soto
4. DH Howie Kendrick
5. 1B Eric Thames
6. C Kurt Suzuki
7. 2B Luis García
8. 3B Carter Kieboom
9. CF Víctor Robles

P Aníbal Sánchez (8.50 ERA, 6.88 FIP, 15.0 K%, 33.3 Hard Hit% in 18.0 IP)

Baseball Savant

Notes: Not to jinx it but superstar Juan Soto has had a quiet series thus far, singling and drawing two walks through the first three games. He has neither a run scored nor a run batted in. He still leads the major leagues with a 227 wRC+, however...Sánchez’s pitch velocity has dipped to a career low. The splitter continues to be a quality weapon for him—accounting for nine of 14 strikeouts this season—but the rest of his repertoire has been extremely hittable.

How to watch/listen/follow

The game is scheduled to get underway at 12:35 p.m. ET. Watch on FOX Sports Florida and via MLB.TV or listen on 940 WINZ. Broadcasters will be calling the action remotely from South Florida.

Fish Picks

Please comment below or tweet to @fishstripes with your picks for the following props. The contest locks at first pitch.

1. Which team throws the fastest pitch of the game? (Marlins/Nationals)
2. Over/Under 9.5 total runs scored? (Over/Under)
3. Over/Under 1.5 hits for Jonathan Villar? (Over/Under)
4. Will Aníbal Sánchez allow any home runs? (Yes/No)
5. Who wins? (Marlins/Nationals)