Opposite dugout: Fish reeling after weekend sweep by Braves

Manager: Don Mattingly (1st season)

Record: 3-7

Last 10 games: 3-7

Who to watch: LF Christian Yelich (.353/.511/.529), RF Giancarlo Stanton (2 HR, 8 RBIs), 3B Martin Prado (.342), 2B Dee Gordon (.300), LHP Adam Conley (0-0. 3.38 ERA), RHP Jose Fernandez (5.06 ERA), RHP A.J. Ramos (2 saves, 0.00 ERA)

Season series vs. Nationals: 1-1

Pitching probables:

April 18: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Jose Fernandez, 7:10 p.m., MASN
April 19: RHP Stephen Strasburg vs. LHP Adam Conley, 7:10 p.m., MASN2
April 20: RHP Joe Ross vs. LHP Wei-yin Chen, 7:10 p.m., MASN2
April 21: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Tom Koehler, 1:10 p.m., MASN

Inside the Marlins:

There's not much mystery to the way the stars have to align for the Marlins to challenge for a postseason berth in Don Mattingly's first season at the helm. Second baseman Dee Gordon has to get on base, run with abandon and score a lot of runs; right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has to stay healthy and mash baseballs; and staff ace Jose Fernandez has to come back in his first full season following Tommy John surgery and be the pitcher he was before the procedure. Sure, some other things have to happen, but those are the big three. If any of those things don't happen, well, the best things going in Little Havana will be café cubano and ropa vieja.

So far, it's been a mixed bag for the Fish, who have won only one series out of four and were swept by the previously winless Braves over the weekend to stretch their losing streak to four games. (Miami split the Nationals' first home series of the new campaign in D.C.). Gordon is getting on base and contributing to the tune of a .300 average, which is what you'd expect from a guy who inked a five-year $50 million contract in the offseason. Stanton has yet to hurt anything and leads the club with two homers and eight RBIs. And Fernandez is showing no ill effects of recovering from surgery, though his 0-1 record and 5.06 ERA don't look exactly inspiring at this point. But it's still early, right?

On offense, the Marlins haven't been particularly strong, though they're no longer the one-man show they were last year when they rose and fell on Gordon's ability to reach safely or as they were in previous seasons when Stanton had little protection in the lineup. Left fielder Christian Yelich, who is slashing .353/.511/.529, is showing early signs of a breakout season and veteran third baseman Martin Prado is experiencing a resurgence with a .342 average. First baseman Justin Bour used a .333 week to boost his average to .300 and finally hit his first home run on Saturday. But the Marlins need for Stanton (.205) center fielder Marcell Ozuna (.190) to shake their early-season doldrums.

A four-game series always gives teams a good opportunity to see the opponent's pitching staff, and the Nats will get a second look at both lefty Adam Conley and righty Tom Koehler, who are slated to go in the second and fourth games of the series, respectively. A rain delay limited Conley to a single inning in his April 7 start in D.C., but he's coming off a nice start on April 13 when his threw six innings of four-hit shutout ball at the Mets at Citi Field, fanning nine and walking one. Koehler has trouble with the Nats, against whom his is 3-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 10 lifetime starts. Bryce Harper owns the right-hander with a .308/.379/.923 slash line that includes five homers and 10 RBIs. As much as Koehler struggles against Harper, the Nationals struggle against Fernandez, who draws the nod in the series opener. In six career starts against Washington, Fernandez is 3-0 with an 0.98 ERA and 0.977 WHIP. Yep, those are ace stats, but the comeback from Tommy John often has its ups and downs. Wednesday's starter is lefty Wei-yin Chen, the Marlins' big offseason free agent addition, who signed a five-year deal that could net him as much as $96 million. The Nats saw some of Chen in the Battle of the Beltways over the past few seasons and have roughed him up quite regularly. In four career starts against the Nats, Chen is 1-3 with a 5.09 ERA.

One of Miami's bugaboos over the past few years has been finding relievers who can be effective enough to cover for the rotation's short starts and not be tired out by the All-Star break. So far, so good - the Marlins bullpen has a collective 3.24 ERA, the fifth-best mark in the National League. A.J. Ramos is 2-for-2 in save opportunities and the Fish made a shrewd offseason signing to let situational lefty Craig Breslow, who adds a veteran presence and leadership.