Marlins vs. Nationals Series Preview

The Miami Marlins head to Washington, D.C. for the final leg of the cross-country road trip. In this series preview, you’ll get all the details for the team’s three games against the Washington Nationals:

• Schedule, Watch, Listen
• Probable Pitchers
• Recent Lineups
• What To Watch For

Schedule, Watch, Listen

Friday, April 30 at 7:05 pm

• TV: Bally Sports Florida
• Radio: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Saturday, May 1 at 1:05 pm

• TV: Bally Sports Florida, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Radio: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Sunday, May 2 at 1:05 pm

• TV: Bally Sports Florida
• Radio: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Probable Pitchers

Friday: RHP Pablo López vs. LHP Jon Lester

• López: 2.93 ERA, 1.084 WHIP, 28.6 K%, 34.7 HardHit% in 27.2 IP
• Lester (2020): 5.16 ERA, 1.328 WHIP, 15.9 K%, 38.9 HardHit% in 61.0 IP

Saturday: RHP Paul Campbell vs. LHP Patrick Corbin

• Campbell: 8.22 ERA, 2.087 WHIP, 22.0 K%, 32.0 HardHit% in 7.2 IP
• Corbin: 10.47 ERA, 2.020 WHIP, 17.1 K%, 46.4 HardHit% in 16.1 IP

Sunday: LHP Trevor Rogers vs. RHP Max Scherzer

• Rogers: 1.29 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 34.9 K%, 45.8 HardHit% in 28.0 IP
• Scherzer: 3.00 ERA, 0.933 WHIP, 32.8 K%, 39.4 HardHit% in 30.0 IP

Recent Lineups

FanGraphs.com

What to watch for on...

Friday: Jesús Aguilar.

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

• Current road trip (7 games): 24 AB, 7 H, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K
• Aguilar has been magnificent on this road trip, stepping up in place of his injured teammates. All five of his home runs this season have come in the past six games. My colleague Juan Páez published an article this morning on Aguilar’s production for the Marlins thus far, noting that Aguilar has consistently cut down on his strikeout percentage over the past five seasons. His 13.8 K% this season puts him in the top 10% of the league with names like Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuña Jr. His 22 RBI in 2021 is also the best in the NL. Look for Aguilar to continue his hot streak going into the series against the Nationals.

Saturday: Both Joe Ross and Patrick Corbin have been susceptible to the long ball.

• The Nationals haven’t announced the Saturday starter yet, but it will likely be Ross or Corbin on the mound.
• Ross had a terrible start against the St. Louis Cardinals last week in which he gave up four home runs and 10 runs total in 4.1 innings. One-quarter of his flyballs allowed have gone for home runs this season. Patrick Corbin has been even worse, allowing 19 earned runs over 16.1 innings. He’s allowed six home runs in total, for a 30.0 HR/FB%. Whoever the Nationals choose to start on Saturday, look for balls barreled up in the air to clear the wall.

Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday: Max Scherzer.

• From 2013 to 2019, Scherzer has been in the top 5 vote-getters for the Cy Young Award, winning it three times. He has cemented his status as one of the game’s best pitchers.
• Scherzer has faced the Fish 24 times and hitters slash .235/.284/.382 against him. Hopefully the Marlins can eke out a run or two and let Trevor Rogers do his thing on the mound.