Can Nationals solve Marlins’ Fernandez?
Two of the most exciting young hurlers in the National League lock horns tonight, but does Miami’s fireballer have what it takes to halt a three-game losing streak?
Jose Fernandez seeks to be that stopper when the Marlins host Joe Ross and the Nationals at 7:15 p.m. ET. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv prefer the hosts here, whereas the NL East leaders represent +137 underdogs. The over/under total stands at seven runs.
Washington handed the Fish yet another home defeat Friday, 4-1, dinging up starter Justin Nicolino in the process. Fernandez (5-2, 3.21 ERA), of course, is an entirely different animal. Don Mattingly’s ace boasts a 4-0 mark in his past four outings with 37 punchouts. He’s also 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA in eight turns against the Nats, having just bested them for the second time this season Sunday.
What’s Mattingly’s to do, though, about his group’s middling record in South Beach? The Marlins are 8-11 there, and matters won’t get easier with Ross (3-3, 2.63) toeing the rubber for Dusty Baker. The hard-throwing righty went 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his first three matchups vs. Miami in 2016. Ross also receives the luxury of dealing to a borderline lost Giancarlo Stanton at the moment. Arguably the sport’s foremost masher struck out thrice in the series opener, giving him 12 Ks in 14 at-bats. He hasn’t homered since May 15.
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These two division rivals know each other so well that we keep anticipating an offensive bonanza that never materializes. With Stanton and the Nationals’ Bryce Harper resembling mere mortals, why proceed in such a direction here? Sit back, and enjoy the Fernandez-Ross duel.
SATURDAY MLB FREE PICK: NATIONALS/MARLINS UNDER 7 RUNS
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