Nationals game blog: Short-handed Nats look to end losing skid

For the second time in the last three games, the Nationals go to battle without two of their top hitters in the lineup.

First baseman Ryan Zimmerman will miss his fourth consecutive contest with a sore left oblique that he injured during an at-bat against the Braves last weekend. Third baseman Yunel Escobar, who went 2-for-4 and scored the Nationals' only run last night, was a late scratch tonight with a stomach bug. Escobar missed Wednesday's finale with the Mets after his fever spiked to 103 degrees.

Danny Espinosa starts at second base with Anthony Rendon shifting to third base. Espinosa is 2-for-12 with one homer and one RBI over his last six games, including two starts.

With Escobar out, manager Matt Williams has also altered his batting order, sliding Rendon into the leadoff spot and moving Jayson Werth down to cleanup. Rendon has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games, batting .316 (24-for-76) with three home runs, three doubles, 10 walks, 12 RBIs and 18 runs scored over the hot stretch.

Werth extended his on-base streak to 20 games with a walk in the first inning last night. Over that span, Werth is hitting .305 (25-for-82) with four homers, seven doubles, 11 walks, 10 RBIs and 14 runs scored.

Tanner Roark makes his eighth start of the season tonight. After spending the majority of his season in the bullpen, Roark returned to the rotation on Sept. 4, allowing one run on five hits with three walks over 4 1/3 innings in a 5-2 win over the Braves.

Roark is 3-1 with a 5.21 ERA in his seven previous starts this season.

The Nationals also won't have the services of right-hander Drew Storen, who broke his right thumb slamming his locker shut after Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Mets.

The Nats face a tall test to end their current four-game losing streak. Marlins right-hander Jose Fernandez is 15-0 with a 1.14 ERA in 24 career starts at Marlins Park.