Marlins' Heriberto Hernandez heating up as Nats try to avoid sweep

The Miami Marlins, who will attempt to sweep the visiting Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon, are receiving contributions from surprising sources such as outfielders Heriberto Hernandez and Jakob Marsee.

Hernandez, signed by the Marlins as a minor-league free agent in November 2024, made his MLB debut in May 2025. He slugged 10 homers in 87 games that season.

This year, Hernandez leads the Marlins with 19 homers, including a blast in Miami's 4-2 win over Washington on Saturday.

Hernandez, 26, caught fire in June, hitting six homers and posting an .849 OPS. In July, he slugged eight homers and posted a .949 OPS. He has gone deep three times so far this month.

"He's very capable of doing that," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said of Hernandez's second-half hot streak.

Marsee, 25, was acquired from San Diego in a May 2024 trade. He made his MLB debut on Aug. 1, 2025, and he produced an .842 OPS in 55 games.

This year, Marsee has struggled to a .651 OPS in 125 games. But Marsee went 2-for-4 with a homer on Saturday, and McCullough believes he simply hit into bad luck earlier this season.

"He's starting to string together productive days," McCullough said.

The Marlins, who are 7-1 against Washington this season, will start right-hander Janson Junk (6-8, 4.37 ERA) on Sunday. He is 1-1 with a 5.63 ERA in three career appearances against the Nationals.

As for Miami's bullpen, McCullough said closer Pete Fairbanks will be ready for the series finale after getting a rest on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Nationals are just 2-9 over their past 11 games.

Washington's offense is struggling with just four runs scored in its past three games, and those results are easy to understand as shortstop CJ Abrams (ankle) and right fielder James Wood (oblique) are both out with injuries.

Catcher Keibert Ruiz, who rested on Saturday, is expected to return on Sunday, and he should give the Nationals a boost.

Right fielder Dylan Crews, who hit an RBI double on Saturday, is another key. The ex-LSU star, who was the second overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, has yet to produce an OPS better than .641 in his three big-league seasons.

In fact, Crews has a .635 OPS this season. He is still just 24 years old, however, and the Nationals are holding out hope that a breakthrough is coming.

Unfortunately for Washington, Crews followed his .801 OPS in July with a .443 OPS this month.

Crews, though, has a good defensive reputation, and Nationals manager Blake Butera said his team's overall run prevention has improved this year.

"I know we didn't get off to a good start defensively," Butera said. "But I'm proud of our guys for what they've been able to do defensively since then."

On the mound, the Nationals are set to start left-hander Jackson Kent (0-1, 9.39 ERA) on Sunday.

Kent, a 23-year-old rookie from the University of Arizona, was Washington's fourth-round pick in 2024. He has made just two major-league appearances, and he has walked eight batters in 7 2/3 innings. He also has nine strikeouts.

His pitching mix includes a fastball that ranges from 93 to 96 mph; a slider; a changeup; and a curve. He throws his fastball 46 percent of the time.

--Field Level Media