Nationals vs. Marlins
Miami, FL – After surviving a daunting schedule that included trips to Puerto Rico and the West Coast, the Marlins are finally set to play their first game in Florida in nearly three weeks.
Waiting for them there will be one of baseball’s most highly touted pitchers.
Seeking their first win in Miami in nearly a month, the Marlins will face Stephen Strasburg in the opener of a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Nationals –130 money line favorites for Friday’s game against the Marlins. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 59% of more than 526 bets for this game have been placed on the Nationals -130.
Florida (42-46) hasn’t played at home since losing to San Diego on June 27 and hasn’t won in Miami since beating Tampa Bay on June 20. Since losing to the Padres, the Marlins hosted the Mets for a three-game series in Puerto Rico before embarking on a 10-game trek that took them to Los Angeles and Arizona. Florida won five of the final eight contests on the trip, including Sunday’s 2-0 victory over the Diamondbacks.
"We let a couple slip away but we’re going in the right direction," Dan Uggla said.
The Marlins now play their next 10 at home – a stretch team president David Samson said will likely determine if Florida is a buyer or seller at baseball’s trade deadline.
The Marlins are known for playing in front of sparse crowds at Sun Life Stadium, but they’ll likely see a boost in attendance with Strasburg (3-2, 2.32 ERA) scheduled to start.
People have flocked to watch Strasburg pitch, and for the most part, the phenom has lived up to the hype.
In an 8-1 win over San Francisco last Friday, Strasburg allowed one run and three hits with eight strikeouts in six innings for his first victory since June 13. The hard-throwing right-hander, who turns 22 next Thursday, had only gotten one total run of support in going winless his previous four starts.
"He’s kept us in every single ballgame,” Adam Dunn said. "I’ve said this from Day 1 – I shouldn’t say ‘always,’ but so far and in the future, he’s going to give us a pretty good chance to win every day.”
Dunn is 10 for 20 with five home runs and 10 RBIs in his last five games, but 3 for 17 lifetime against scheduled starter Ricky Nolasco.
This will be Strasburg’s first start against the Marlins, against whom the Nationals have split their first six games. Washington, 2-13 away from the nation’s capital since June 1, has lost 13 of 16 in Florida, though.
The Nationals, who fell to the Giants 6-2 on Sunday, went into the All-Star break losers of three of four. Washington (39-50) is 11 games under .500, but its record is considerably better than its 26-61 mark at last year’s break.
"There’s some progress. … We want to get to the point where we’re not satisfied with progress,” manager Jim Riggleman said. "We want to make the next step.”
Riggleman’s lineup will likely be tested in the opener against Nolasco, who is looking to win five straight starts for the first time in his career.
Nolasco (9-6, 4.55) has posted a 3.54 ERA during his winning streak while striking out 34 over 28 innings. In a 3-2 win over Arizona last Friday, the right-hander allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings.
Nolasco, who also won four consecutive starts from June 18-July 5, 2009, struggled against the Nationals on April 30, yielding five runs and eight hits in four innings of a 7-1 loss. He was 6-0 with a 2.98 ERA in his previous eight starts against Washington.
Posted: 7/16/2010 8:42 PM ET