Nationals' Keibert Ruiz strives to continue stellar season in matchup vs. Marlins

Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz had two hits, including a home run, on Friday night in a loss to the Miami Marlins as he continued his breakout season.

Ruiz's OPS is .761, which would be a career high in a full season if he can sustain that mark through Game 162.

He likely will be behind the plate again on Saturday afternoon in the middle game of a weekend series in Miami, and that's of great comfort to Washington manager Blake Butera.

"He's been unbelievable this year -- just the person he is," Butera said. "It's hard not to have a smile on your face when you talk about Keibert."

Indeed, Ruiz is a feel-good story for the Nationals. That's because he looked like a star heading into the 2023 season when the Nationals gave him an eight-year, $50 million contract. However, in the past two years, he struggled with an OPS of .619 in 2024 and .595 in 2025, plagued by concussions and limited to 68 games last year.

Now, he's back on track. He's batting .279 this season, with eight homers and 43 RBIs.

"Maybe people were down on him," Butera said. "I know he went through a lot physically and mentally over the past 24 months. To see him come back from that to have the year he's having ... he's transformed himself. He's been huge for us this year."

Assuming he's catching on Saturday, Ruiz will handle right-hander Jake Irvin (2-7, 5.80 ERA) as Washington's starting pitcher.

The Nationals are 7-8 when Irvin starts this year. Over his four-year career, he is 24-41 with a 5.05 ERA and is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA in five starts against the Marlins.

Run support could be a problem, as Washington has just two runs over its past two games. The Nationals are 2-8 over their past 10, and their top two stars are injured: shortstop CJ Abrams (ankle) and right fielder James Wood (oblique). For the season, those two have combined for 51 doubles, four triples, 59 homers, 41 steals and 164 RBIs.

Miami, which is 6-1 against Washington this year, will start right-hander Eury Perez (6-9, 3.23 ERA) on Saturday.

Perez has pitched better than his record. He leads Miami with 133 strikeouts, and his ERA, WHIP (1.11) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.8) are all better than teammate Sandy Alcantara's numbers. Yet Alcantara leads the team in wins and has a 13-8 record.

Against the Nationals, Perez is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in six career starts.

On offense, the Marlins -- who broke a three-game losing streak by beating Washington 3-2 in a walk-off victory on Friday -- rely on players including Griffin Conine (.901 OPS), All-Star shortstop Otto Lopez (.307 batting average and 55 RBIs) and Heriberto Hernandez (18 homers).

But then there's also Javier Sanoja, who won a Gold Glove last year as a utility player. On Friday, he had the walk-off hit, and he continues to impress manager Clayton McCullough.

"He's always ready," McCullough said. "We ask him to play a lot of positions, and his at-bat quality has improved, too.

"As good as he is, he continues to refine his approach. He hits to all fields, and when things are the hottest, he has an ability to stay in the moment and come through."

--Field Level Media