Marlins vs. Nationals: Start time, how to watch, game thread and Fish Picks—September 19, 2020

Welcome to Saturday’s Marlins (26-24) vs. Nationals (19-30) game thread. The Marlins’ magic number to clinch a postseason berth is nine.

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. The 2020 full-season points leader gets their pick of three new Marlins-themed t-shirts.

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Nationals Lineup

1. SS Trea Turner
2. LF Juan Soto
3. 1B Asdrúbal Cabrera
4. DH Eric Thames
5. C Yan Gomes
6. 2B Luis García
7. 3B Carter Kieboom
8. RF Andrew Stevenson
9. CF Victor Robles

P Patrick Corbin (4.10 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 21.7 K%, 46.1 Hard Hit% in 52.2 IP)

Baseball Savant

Notes: Identical starting lineup to Friday’s early game...Soto enters Saturday leading all MLB qualifiers in on-base percentage (.474 OBP), slugging percentage (.698 SLG) and weighted runs created-plus (195 wRC+)...Corbin has pitched well against the Marlins since joining Washington, including nine strikeouts over 6 ¹⁄₃ innings in a start last month. However, there are several red flags—or more precisely, blue flags—in his 2020 underlying stats. The veteran left-hander is missing fewer bats and allowing much harder contact. One factor contributing to that is the average spin rate on his slider (2,238 RPM) is significantly lower than we’ve seen in recent seasons, making it easier for opponents to spoil in putaway situations.

Marlins Lineup

1. SS Miguel Rojas
2. CF Starling Marte
3. 1B Garrett Cooper
4. DH Jesús Aguilar
5. 3B Brian Anderson
6. RF Lewis Brinson
7. LF Corey Dickerson
8. 2B Sean Rodríguez
9. C Chad Wallach

P Pablo López (4.02 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 23.2 K%, 33.1 Hard Hit% in 47.0 IP)

Baseball Savant

Notes: Jon Berti (finger) and Magneuris Sierra (hamstring) have been playing in simulated games at the team’s alternate training site, which seemingly puts them on the verge of returning from the injured list. The expectation is that they’d replace Jazz Chisholm and Monte Harrison, respectively, on the Marlins active roster...Don Mattingly said pregame that the decision to start Wallach over Jorge Alfaro is meant to put Pablo in the best position to succeed after they worked well together as a battery last time...Corbin will be an interesting adversary for Anderson. As hot as BA has been lately—blasting a franchise record-tying three homers on Friday night—breaking balls have given him issues, and Corbin’s slider remains his bread-and-butter despite its limited effectiveness in 2020.

How to watch/listen/follow

The first pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET. Watch on FOX Sports Florida or MLB.TV or listen on 940 WINZ.

Danis Sosa (@dsosaphotography) is at Marlins Park snapping photos before, during and after the game.

Fish Picks

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

1. Which starting pitcher lasts longer? (Corbin/López)
2. Over/Under 2.5 total bases for Brian Anderson? (Over/Under)
3. Over/Under 7.5 total runs scored? (Over/Under)
4. Will the Marlins strike out Juan Soto? (Yes/No)
5. Who wins? (Nationals/Marlins)