The Miami Marlins will try to build on a surprising weekend performance when they open a three-game series at the Washington Nationals on Monday.
Miami (65-72) took three-of-four at the New York Mets and has rebounded from a dismal early August stretch that saw them fall nine games under .500.
The Marlins, who had lost their past seven series, sit third in the National League East.
“We are going to approach every game like we have from Opening Day,” manager Clayton McCullough recently told MLB.com. “Evaluate that game, learn things that went well and the things we didn’t do as well from an execution standpoint. We’ll try to (get better) the next day.”
Seven games under .500 would be a veritable home run for the slumping Nationals (53-83). Washington has lost eight straight games and hasn’t led during that stretch. Since the start of June, Washington is 25-53, the worst record in baseball.
“We were playing good,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said, referring to a recent 5-3 stretch against the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. “It’s not like they’ve given up or anything like that. They’re battling. They’re fighting. Today I told them: (25) more games. You’ve got to keep fighting. You’ve got to finish strong.”
The Nationals are looking to avoid the fourth 100-loss season since the former Montreal Expos team moved to Washington in 2005. The Nationals finished 71-91 a year ago.
Better pitching would help. According to the Washington Post, the Nationals finished August with a 6.31 ERA, the worst team ERA in a month in club history (2005-present). Though in fairness, the bullpen has been solid of late, including six scoreless innings in Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
With MacKenzie Gore on the injured list, left-hander Andrew Alvarez will be called up from Triple-A Rochester to make the start on Monday. The 26-year-old was Washington’s 12th-round pick in the 2021 draft.
Alvarez is 3-7 with a 4.10 ERA in 25 starts at Rochester. Over his last six starts, he’s 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings.
“He’s been one of the most consistent pitchers in Triple-A,” Cairo said. “He throws strikes, and that’s something I like. He was (the organization’s) Pitcher of the Year (in 2023). We want someone that can throw strikes. When you’ve got someone that can throw strikes and keep us in the game, that will be awesome.”
The Marlins had not yet named a Monday starter.
On Sunday, 23-year-old Agustin Ramirez hit a two-run homer to back Sandy Alcantara, who pitched seven strong innings in a 5-1 Marlins win. Jakob Marsee (24) had two hits, two walks and scored twice, and Heriberto Hernandez (25) had two hits.
“There are a lot of young players (here) that are hungry all the time,” Alcantara said. “They want to be out there, have an opportunity to play the game and win the game.”
The Nationals rallied from a 7-0 deficit to within 7-4 on Sunday. Brady House and Daylen Lile had two hits each for the Nationals, who struck out 16 times.
–Field Level Media
