Zimmermann looks to reel in the Fish for the first time (plus shameless plug)

Only twice this season has Jordan Zimmermann allowed more than three earned runs in a start. One of those two outings came against the Marlins. Zimmermann gave up four runs on eight hits over six innings against the Fish back on May 28 in Miami in a game that the Nats lost 5-3. Surprisingly, Zimmermann has never beaten the Marlins in six career starts against them, making them the only National League East team he's yet to conquer. The righty has put up an 0-3 record and a 4.81 ERA against the Marlins in his career. Zimmermann will get another crack at the Marlins tonight, this time without slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the Miami lineup. Stanton, who mashed 19 home runs and had 50 RBIs in the first half, will miss four to six weeks after needing knee surgery over the All-Star break. I'm sure Zimmermann won't miss him all that much, especially since Stanton has three homers and five RBIs in 13 at-bats against Zimmermann in his career. A few other Marlins have fared well against Zimmermann: Hanley Ramirez, Logan Morrison, Carlos Lee and Greg Dobbs all have OPS ratings of at least 1.000 off the Nationals righty, although that's over a relatively small sample size. Of the Nats hitters who have seen Marlins starter Josh Johnson previously, only Roger Bernadina (.417 average, two RBIs in 12 at-bats), Rick Ankiel (.308, two RBIs in 13 at-bats) and Danny Espinosa (.400, two RBIs in five at-bats) have had much success off him. Mark DeRosa also has a homer off Johnson in his only plate appearance against the two-time All-Star. By the way, we're now less than two and a half hours away from the deadline for teams to sign their 2012 draft picks, and still nothing on Lucas Giolito. The Nationals are one of just three teams who have yet to lock up their first-round pick, with the Orioles (Kevin Gausman) and Pirates (Mark Appel) the others still trying to finalize contracts. Shameless plug: I'll be co-hosting "Nats Xtra" over the next three days, so be sure to tune in and watch me in action. Then you can feel free to come back here and make fun of how shiny my hair is.