Marlins at Nationals
Anthony Rendon is finally an All-Star after being snubbed a couple times but is perhaps thinking Nationals more than National League as Washington kicks off a six-game homestand Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. Rendon hasn't decided whether he'll attend, citing a nagging injury and a desire to potentially use the break to get healthier and concentrate on the second half.
“I hear it’s no rest, so that’s not a good thing,” Rendon, who is batting .311 with 19 home runs, 58 RBIs and a 1.028 OPS, told reporters about the All-Star festivities. “They said your schedule is jam-packed and you’re going to events or whatever, or you’re doing interviews or whatever it might be. So it seems like it’s right up my alley. It’ll be funny how it’s going to play out, if I decide to go.” The Nationals (42-41) have won 11 of their last 15 games to get within seven of first-place Atlanta in the National League East and are among several teams in wild card contention. Miami (32-50) is the worst team in the NL but has won seven of its last 12 after taking two of three from Philadelphia over the weekend. Washington's Patrick Corbin on Tuesday makes his third start of the season against Miami (2-0, 0.56 ERA) and opposes Zac Gallen, who lost to Corbin and the Nationals on Wednesday in his second career start.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Miami), MASN 2 (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Zac Gallen (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. Nationals LH Patrick Corbin (7-5, 3.71).
Gallen allowed three runs, four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in five innings of a 7-5 loss to Washington on Wednesday. "I kind of settled in after the second inning," the 23-year-old New Jersey native told reporters. "I would have liked to have gotten through six with less pitches, but other than that, I think I did OK." Gallen earned a no-decision after yielding one run and five hits while striking out six in five innings of Miami's 7-6 victory at St. Louis - the team that drafted him in the third round in 2016 - on June 20 in his major league debut.
Corbin has permitted one run in winning each of his last two starts, including Wednesday against the Marlins when he allowed three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. The 29-year-old New Yorker returned to good form after going 0-3 and yielding 16 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings over his previous three turns. Corbin, who yielded Gallen's first major league hit, was 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in six starts against Miami prior to this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Washington has won seven of 10 meetings in 2019 after sweeping three games last week by a combined 21-11.
2. The Nationals have homered in a club-record 15 straight games after Rendon went deep Sunday, making him 5-for-9 with two HRs and three RBIs in his last two contests.
3. Marlins 1B Garrett Cooper hit .372 with four of his seven home runs and 16 of 27 RBIs in June but is 7-for-27 with one RBI versus Washington this season.