The Washington Nationals have a chance to reach the .500 mark for the first time in over a month when they take on the Miami Marlins on Saturday.
The Nationals secured a 3-2 win in the series opener Friday night, improving to 13-7 on the road. The Marlins, meanwhile, have dropped five of their last six games and are now 2-6 on their 10-game homestand.
Washington will send Zack Littell (1-4, 7.24 ERA) to the mound against fellow right-hander Janson Junk (2-3, 2.82) in the second game of the three-game set.
Junk is coming off a strong stretch on the mound. Over his last three starts, he has allowed just one run on nine hits in 16 1/3 innings. In his most recent outing on May 4, Junk took a 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up one run on five hits—including a solo home run by Bryce Harper—over 5 1/3 innings, while striking out six without issuing a walk.
“Overall, I thought it was solid,” Junk said. “I left the game in a good spot and a chance to score some runs. [Relief pitcher John] King coming in and getting out of the inning for me was big time. Just unfortunate we couldn’t come away with it.”
Junk is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Washington.
Littell is expected to either start or work behind an opener, as he did in his last outing—a strategy that paid off. After allowing 18 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings while losing three straight starts, Littell earned his first win last Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers, entering in the third inning and pitching 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit.
“The goal is to go out there and continue to build on the good things that are coming out of the starts,” Littell said. “Felt like we did that.”
Littell is 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA in three games (one start) against Miami.
Friday’s game saw all the scoring happen in the first inning. Washington received an RBI single from CJ Abrams and a two-run homer from Jacob Young.
“Every day you go to the field, your swing is a little different,” Young said in a post-game on-field interview. “Just being able to adjust to that and understand that there is production in there and just finding different ways to get it out. When it happens on big swings like that, it definitely makes it all worth it.”
Curtis Mead reached base three times for Washington with a single and two walks. Foster Griffin tossed seven solid innings, and the Nationals bullpen closed it out, with PJ Poulin stranding two runners in the ninth.
For the Marlins, Xavier Edwards homered in the first inning, and Otto Lopez had three hits and scored a run.
“It was good to see us answer,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said of the early rally. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to really mount much until really late.”
Lopez extended his hitting streak to 11 games, while Edwards has collected a hit in nine of his last 10 contests.
