Washington Nationals’ lineup for 2nd of 4 with the Miami Marlins + Dusty Baker on Vance Worley...

Washington signed Vance Worley as a free agent this past January, but the Nationals cut the veteran right-hander late in Spring Training, on March 29th. Three days later, however, the 29-year-old, eight-year veteran signed on with the Miami Marlins, who gave the right-hander a minor league deal and started him out at Triple-A.

Worley was up in the majors in May, and he was (0-2) in 13 games and five starts with a 6.42 ERA and a .319/.379/.536 line against over 33 ²⁄₃ innings pitched before taking the mound in Marlins Park last week against the visiting Nationals.

Worley tossed seven scoreless on 92 pitches, limiting Nats’ hitters to two hits in a 7-0 win.

“He seemed sharper tonight,” Marlins’ skipper Don Mattlingly told reporters. “I think with Vance, command is a thing that -- kind of a must, where he can get the ball to both sides and kind of be able to work the ball that way.

“Today, he looked like he had better command, and probably just from the standpoint of working a few times in a row.”

Nationals’ manager Dusty Baker was asked if he saw anything different from Worley in Miami than he’d seen in Spring Training.

“No, in the Spring there just wasn’t room,” Baker said. “He’s pitched those kind of games against my clubs before when he was in Philadelphia, so he was sharp tonight, he was around the plate, he was effectively wild on a couple balls. He had us topping balls, and we just couldn’t center them and then when we did, then somebody was standing there, so he threw a good game tonight.”

Baker’s Nationals take on the right-hander again tonight in the nation’s capital, where Worley is (1-1) with a 2.79 ERA and a .270/.316/.419 line against in 19 ¹⁄₃ IP in his career.

With the win last week, Worley improved to (5-2) with a 2.78 ERA and a .250/.288/.399 line against in 45 ¹⁄₃ IP against Washington in his career.

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 2ND OF 4 WITH THE FISH IN D.C.:

LINEUP NOTES: Hmmm, where’s Daniel Murphy? Can Jose Lobaton steal some strikes for A.J. Cole with his super-soft hands and FP-approved pitch framing? Will tonight be the night fans revolt about Dusty Baker’s choice for the two-hole hitter? Will the Nats be able to figure out Worley this time and barrel the Marlins’ righty up? Are we going to stop asking questions any time soon? Yes.