Miami Marlins vs Washington Nationals Series Preview: Can the Nats’ starters stop Giancarlo Stanton? Can anyone?

The Washington Nationals have their rotation fully intact with Max Scherzer coming off the DL, but they’ve got their hands full with Giancarlo Stanton and the red-hot Miami Marlins.

By Matt Weyrich@ByMattWeyrich Aug 28, 2017, 1:30pm EDT

Marlins (66-63) vs Nationals (78-51) Series Info:

Game 1: Monday, Aug. 28 at 7:05 p.m. EST (MASN/106.7 The Fan)

Game 2: Tuesday, Aug. 29 at 7:05 p.m. EST (MASN/106.7 The Fan)

Game 3: Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 4:05 p.m. EST (MASN2/106.7)

Pitching Matchups:

Monday: Jose Urena (12-5, 3.68 ERA) vs. Max Scherzer (12-5, 2.25)

Tuesday: TBA vs. Edwin Jackson (4-3, 3.38)

Wednesday: Adam Conley (6-5, 5.17) vs. Stephen Strasburg (10-4, 3.10)

What to watch for:

Washington boasts full arsenal of arms

Joe Ross is still out for the year, but the Nats have their four best arms on the active roster for the first time since late July.

Max Scherzer’s neck troubles appear to be behind him and Stephen Strasburg claims the calf cramps that limited him in his last start won’t be an issue moving forward.

With Edwin Jackson posting a 2.93 ERA in seven starts for the Nats this season, Washington doesn’t appear to have any holes in its rotation moving forward.

Giancarlo Stanton is doing Giancarlo Stanton things

It’s Giancarlo Stanton’s world, we’re just living in it.

In 41 games since the All-Star Break, Stanton is hitting .338 with a staggering 24 home runs and 50 RBIs — which brings his season totals to 50 homers and 108 RBIs.

He wasn’t in the MVP conversation prior to the break with great-but-not-amazing numbers and the Marlins floundering, but with his recent performance that’s helped shoot Miami up the standings, Stanton’s certainly in the conversation.

Is Anthony Rendon an MVP candidate?

The answer to this question is yes, but writers who don’t believe in the value of sabermetrics will probably disagree.

Anthony Rendon leads the NL in fWAR (5.8) and ranks top 10 in OPS (.945), wRC+ (143) and defensive runs saved (9), making him one of the most valuable players in baseball.

His standard numbers don’t pop off the page like Stanton or Paul Goldschmidt, but that shouldn’t take him out of the race.

Who to watch out for: Christian Yelich

A slow start cost Christian Yelich a spot in this year’s All-Star Game, but he’s been on fire in the second half.

He’s already hit almost as many homers (seven) since the break as he did in twice as many games before it (eight).

Yelich, Stanton and Marcell Ozuna make up one of the best offensive outfields in baseball when they’re all healthy and at their best, and that’s exactly how they are as the Marlins arrive in D.C.