MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
No team release available.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
OPPONENT – MIAMI MARLINS
The Nationals and Marlins will play 13 times this season (7 in D.C., 6 in MIA)…Trevor Williams (2nd rd., 2013) and Stone Garrett (8th rd., 2014) were drafted by the Marlins…Hunter Harvey’s dad, Brian, saved 45 games and was an All-Star for the Marlins in 1993, his first of three seasons with them (1993-95)…Bullpen coach Ricky Bones capped his 11-year MLB career with the Florida Marlins (2000- 01)…Robert Garcia made his Major League debut with the Marlins earlier this Season….Marlins first baseman Josh Bell spent two seasons (2021-22)
in D.C.
DISTRICT BASEBALL
The Washington Nationals continue their nine-game, 11-day homestand on Saturday night against the Miami Marlins…Despite the loss on Friday, the Nationals are 16-6 (.727) at home since July 8, the best home record in Major League Baseball since that date. In addition to the four-game series against Miami, this homestand includes series against the New York Mets (2 G) and Los Angeles Dodgers (3 G).
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
In his first game since having his contract selected on Friday, Travis Blankenhorn launched a solo homer in the third inning to tie the game 3-3…His homer was the second of his career. Blankenhorn became the 13th player to homer in his first game with the Nationals (2005-pres.) and the first to do it since Joey Meneses on August 2, 2022 against the New York Mets.
NEXT ON 20-20: LANE THOMAS
With three more stolen bases, Lane Thomas would record the sixth 20 home run – 20 stolen base season in Nationals History (2005-pres.) and the first since 2016. Thomas ranks in the National League in doubles (T5th, 32), hits (6th, 149), total bases (7th, 250), runs (8th, 89) and extra-base hits (T10th, 56). He leads Major League Baseball with a career-high 13 outfield assists.
BORN TO RUN
Since being moved to the leadoff spot on July 7, CJ Abrams is hitting .269 with a .431 slugging percentage, six doubles, a triple, eight homers, 17 RBI, nine walks, six hit by pitch, 27 stolen bases and 34 runs scored. His 27 stolen bases since moving to the leadoff spot on July 7 are the most in Major League Baseball ahead of Ronald Acuña Jr. (22)…On the season, he ranks third in the National League with 38 stolen bases. Abrams hit his 15th homer of the season on Friday, becoming the 15th shortstop in National League history to record 15 home runs and 35 stolen bases in a season…He is the first National League shortstop to record 15 home runs and 35 stolen bases in a season since Trea Turner in 2019.
WINNING WAYS
Since July 8, Washington is 28-20 (.583), the fifth-best record in the National League. the Nationals completed the month of August with a 17-11 record, their first winning month since June 2021 (19-9).
START ME UP
The Nationals have used just seven starting pitchers this season, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for fewest in MLB…Washington is also the only team in baseball to have five pitchers make 20 or more starts…The fewest number of starting pitchers the Nationals (2005-pres.) have ever used in a season is eight (2012, 2014)…
Washington matched a team record last season with 15.
JOEY BATS
Joey Meneses is tied for fifth in the National League with 32 doubles, tied for eighth with 145 hits and 11th with a .282 batting average…Additionally, he ranks seventh in the National League with a .361 average with runners in scoring position. He is 22-for-70 (.314) with seven doubles, 13 RBI, four walks and 11 runs scored in his last 18 games.
SAVING GRACE
Kyle Finnegan is 2-0 with 14 saves a 1.69 ERA (4 ER/21.1 IP) and 20 strikeouts against just four walks in his last 21 appearances…He tied for the Major League lead with 10 saves in the month of August. He ranks seventh in the National League with a career-high 25 saves this season. He has 14 saves, five holds and has pitched to a 1.50 ERA (6 ER/36.0 IP) with a .185 opponents’ average in his last 33 appearances. Finnegan surrendered seven earned runs and three home runs in his first three outings…Since the next outing on April 7 at Colorado, he has pitched to a 1.85 ERA (12 ER/58.1 IP) with 57 strikeouts and five home runs allowed in 55 games since that date.
DOWN, BUT NEVER OUT
The Nationals have recorded 12 wins when tied or behind after the sixth inning since the All-Star break, tied for the most in Major League Baseball (with Seattle), according to the Elias Sports Bureau…Prior to the All-Star break, they had just six wins in the same fashion. Washington has scored 56 runs in the ninth inning, tied for sixth-most in Major League Baseball.
STARTING PITCHER – #32 TREVOR WILLIAMS
Veteran right-handed starter signed a two-year contract with the Nationals in Dec. 2022…From 2018-21, Williams was exclusively a starter, but he transitioned to a versatile swingman in 2021 and 2022…He is 35-41 with a 4.33 ERA in 118 career starts and 3-3 with a 3.84 ERA in 41 relief outings…Was a second-round pick of the
Miami Marlins in 2013 but was traded to Pittsburgh in 2015 while pitching in the Arizona Fall League.
LAST START
Allowed two earned runs on five hits, walked two and struck out five in a season-high 7.0 innings on August 27 against Miami at IonDepot Park…He took the loss in the Nationals’ 2-1 defeat.
LAST TWO STARTS
Williams is 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA (2 ER/13.0 IP) and a .152 opponents’ average (7-for-46) over his last two starts…That includes his last start as well as his start on Aug. 20 vs. Philadelphia (6.0 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 SO) in the Little League Classic.
vs. MIAMI
Faces the Marlins for the fourth time this season…Is 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA (22 ER/ 47.1 IP) and 43 strikeouts over 12 career appearances against Miami.
POST-BREAK SUCCESS
Williams has pitched to a 3.87 ERA in 79 games (54 starts) after the All-Star break…That is compared to a career ERA of 4.35.
START ME UP
Tonight marks Williams’ 27th start of the season…Because of his time as a reliever in 2021 and 2022, as well as the shortened season in 2020, his 27 starts are his most since he started 26 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019.
STRONG START
Williams opened the 2023 season going 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA (8 ER/21.1 IP) with 13 strikeouts and just four walks in his first four starts of the season…After allowing four earned runs on April 27 at New York (NL), he tossed 5.1 innings of four-hit, shutout ball on May 2 vs. Chicago (NL).
