Thursday was not a good night for the Nationals, who did so many things wrong during the course of a 6-3 loss to the Marlins that really should have been a win based on the way the game began and based on the way Mitchell Parker pitched.
But it’s a new day, so they’ll try to bounce back tonight and win game two of the four-game series, with another rookie left-hander on the mound who has enjoyed success against this opponent before.
Way back on June 15, DJ Herz made only his third career start. It was against the Marlins, here in D.C. And he proceeded to toss six innings of scoreless ball, striking out 13 of the 19 batters he faced that afternoon. It was a brilliant performance that suddenly showed the world just how good Herz can be when he’s locked in. He was similarly locked in last weekend against the Pirates, tossing five hitless innings on 87 pitches before he was pulled. You never really know with certainly what you’re going to get from him on any given night, but if ever the stars were aligned for a dominant performance …
The Nationals need better offensive production tonight against Edward Cabrera than they got Thursday against Darren McCaughan, who gave up three quick runs in the first inning and then nothing else the rest of the way. It’s been a while since the Nats last saw Cabrera, April 27 to be precise. They got to the right-hander for six runs in only 4 1/3 innings that afternoon, though it’s worth noting the big hits in that game came from Jesse Winker, Nick Senzel and Trey Lipscomb, none of whom are going to be here tonight.
Update: CJ Abrams was scratched from the lineup after jamming his left shoulder making a diving play at shortstop Thursday night. Everyone moves up a slot in the lineup, with Nasim Nuñez now batting ninth and starting at shortstop.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 79 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
3B José Tena
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Joey Gallo
C Drew Millas
CF Jacob Young
SS Nasim Nuñez
LHP DJ Herz
MARLINS
SS Xavier Edwards
3B Connor Norby
1B Jake Burger
DH Jonah Bride
2B Otto Lopez
RF Griffin Conine
CF Cristian Pache
C Nick Fortes
LF Javier Sanoja
RHP Edward Cabrera