The Washington Nationals head to Miami on Friday to open a three-game set against the Marlins, carrying a 7-5 win over the Twins and a chance to move above.500. Washington finished its homestand at 3-3 and improved to 18-20, still two wins shy of the break-even mark but in sole possession of second place in the NL East.
The trip begins with a matchup that pits one club trying to keep climbing against another trying to stop the slide. Miami is in the middle of a four-game losing streak, but its offense has not been empty. Otto Lopez has delivered a 143 wRC+ in 2026, while Xavier Edwards has been even better at 145. None of the Marlins’ usual starting nine hitters is older than 28, and the group has helped support a club ERA of 4.09.
The pitching opening lines up with Robby Snelling, who is scheduled to make his major league debut against Washington. Snelling, acquired from the Padres for reliever Tanner Scott in 2024, reached this point after posting a 1.86 ERA in Triple-A this season. The Marlins are hoping the 2026 debut gives them something stable in a rotation that has already had its share of uneven nights.
Across from him, Sandy Alcantara takes the ball with a 3-2 record and a 4.01 ERA. He has been brilliant in six of his eight starts, but he has also allowed seven runs in two of them, including his last outing against the Orioles. That is the version Washington has to sort through: the ace who can control a game, and the one who can lose it quickly.
The Nationals know the opportunity in front of them. After beating Minnesota and surviving a 3-3 homestand, they said they would try to climb over.500 with the three-game set in Miami. The Marlins, described as a middling team, offer a path for Washington to keep the momentum if its pitching holds and the lineup keeps doing enough to support it.
That is the tension in this series. Washington arrives with better recent results and a record that says the season is still within reach. Miami arrives younger, shorthanded in tone if not in talent, and with enough offensive numbers to make a series dangerous. The first game will say whether the Nationals can turn a small opening into something bigger, or whether the Marlins can use their debut starter and their home field to reset the week.
