Washington Nationals vs Miami Marlins Series Preview: Nats stumble into series with Marlins

Nationals (82-54) vs. Marlins (67-69) Series Info:

Game 1: Monday, Sept. 4 at 7:10 p.m. EST (MASN/106.7 The Fan)

Game 2: Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 7:10 p.m. EST (MASN2/106.7)

Game 3: Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 7:10 p.m. EST (MASN2/106.7)

Pitching Matchups:

Monday: A.J. Cole (1-4, 4.50 ERA) vs. Adam Conley (6-6, 5.02)

Tuesday: Stephen Strasburg (11-4, 2.90) vs. Odrisamer Despaigne (0-2, 4.13)

Wednesday: Gio Gonzalez (13-6, 2.58) vs. Dillon Peters (7 IP, 0 ER)

What to watch for:

Matt Wieters returns to the lineup

After missing three straight games with both a sore knee and tight back, catcher Matt Wieters will return to the starting lineup on Monday.

Wieters is hitting just .238 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs this season, homering only twice in his past 43 games.

Backup catcher Jose Lobaton went 0-6 with three strikeouts and a walk in Wieters’ absence.

Ryan Zimmerman finally beginning to heat back up

Ryan Zimmerman:

April 3 – June 13: .372/.415/.726, 19 home runs, 52 RBIs in 58 games

June 14 – Aug. 8: .208/.259/.340, five home runs, 24 RBIs in 43 games

Aug. 9 – Sept. 3: .303/.418/.566, six home runs, 15 RBIs in 23 games

Zimmerman’s finally starting to heat back up, extending his hitting streak to seven games Sunday with a two-hit performance that included his 30th homer of the season.

While he’s always been a streaky player, Zimmerman’s resurgence bodes well with the playoffs only a month away.

Dillon Peters wows in MLB debut

The Marlins don’t have a very deep farm system, so it was surprising to say the least when Dillon Peters, a prospect who skipped AAA, tossed seven scoreless innings against the Phillies in his MLB debut.

It was amazingly only the 10th time this season a Marlins starter went seven innings, something Nats fans have come accustomed to over the past few years.

He will be given the tall task of facing Gio Gonzalez in the series finale, however, with a much more potent offense at the dish.

Who to watch out for: Giancarlo Stanton

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

We couldn’t possibly put together a complete series preview without talking about Giancarlo Stanton.

He’s up to 52 home runs on the season but also leads the league in RBIs (111) and slugging percentage (.653).

The power matchup of Stanton and Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday will be the most exciting matchup of the series.