Game 68 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

After a 2-4 road trip, the Nationals have lost five straight series, all coming against tough opponents. And depending on how you view the Marlins, another one is on deck this weekend.

The Fish are 38-31 and in second place in the National League East, but have the second-worst run differential in the division at -30. Their bread and butter is one-run games in which they are a stunning 17-5, including two out of the three games they won against the Nats in May.

Of course, the Nats have struggled against the Marlins for a while. They are 4-18 against their division rivals since the start of last year.

Trevor Williams gets the start in tonight’s opener. The right-hander is 3-4 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.355 WHIP in his first 13 starts. He has set season highs with six strikeouts in back-to-back outings and turned in a quality start against the Marlins the last time these two teams met.

Sandy Alcantara gets the call for the Fish. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has not put up the kind of numbers we’re used to seeing from the right-hander, going only 2-5 with a 4.75 ERA on the year. But he did hold the White Sox to one run over seven innings in his last start.

Alcantara dominated the Nats last year, going 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA including a complete game

and another nine-inning scoreless outing in an extra-inning game over his five starts.

There have been some scattered storms in the D.C. area throughout the afternoon, but hopefully, they have passed for good so we can play ball. 

MIAMI MARLINS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Storms clearing, 72 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
3B Jeimer Candelario
DH Joey Meneses
LF Corey Dickerson
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
CF Victor Robles
SS CJ Abrams

RHP Trevor Williams

MARLINS
2B Luis Arraez
DH Jorge Soler
LF Bryan De La Cruz
RF Jesús Sánchez
1B Yuli Gurriel
SS Joey Wendle
3B Jon Berti
C Jacob Stallings
CF Jonathan Davis

RHP Sandy Alcantara