Nationals look to avenge last weekend's series sweep by Marlins

The Washington Nationals have a 6-12 record and have not won a series since they swept the Cincinnati Reds three weeks ago, but following back-to-back road wins over the Miami Marlins, the Nationals have a shot at success.

The Nationals will host the Marlins in the third contest of a four-game series on Sunday. A victory will give them their first series win since they took three games from the Reds from Aug. 7-9. The Nationals also could pay the Marlins back for their three-game sweep of Washington last week in Miami with wins both Sunday and Monday.

Left-hander Andrew Alvarez (2-6, 3.72 ERA) will pitch for the Nationals, seeking to break his personal three-game losing streak. The Nationals scored just two total runs in those games -- a 3-1 setback to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, preceded by 2-0 and 4-1 losses to the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, respectively.

Offense has not been a problem in the first two games in Miami for the Nationals, who won the opener 9-2 on Friday night and 5-4 in 10 innings on Saturday. And that reflects their season. The Nationals have scored 718 runs in 2026, trailing the MLB-leading Chicago Cubs by just two.

On Saturday, the Nationals scored four runs in the third inning, and the Marlins tied the game with four runs in the seventh.

In the 10th, Washington accomplished a season first -- a walk-off win -- when Dylan Crews' two-out, bases loaded single scored automatic runner Nasim Nunez from third.

"That's an awesome win right there, what a dogfight," Crews said on the field after the game. " ... We've been going through it the past couple of weeks. With this team, we're never out of a game."

The postgame enthusiasm likely was tempered a bit by the potential of an injury to starter Cade Cavalli, who was hit in the right calf by a comebacker off the bat of Javier Sanoja with two outs in the fourth inning. Cavalli recovered to throw out Sanoja to end the inning but did not return to pitch in the fifth.

Cavalli has been the most consistent pitcher for the Nationals, holding the team lead in three categories with 12 wins, a 3.12 ERA and 177 strikeouts. In his four innings on Saturday, Cavalli gave up no hits, walked three and struck out eight.

The Marlins have lost four of their past five games and had a shot to win on Saturday after they fought back from a 4-0 deficit, thanks to a two-run double by Kyle Stowers and a two-run home run by Heriberto Hernandez, both with two outs.

It was the 22nd home run of the season -- a team high -- for Hernandez. He is the third Marlins' outfielder since 2018 with 20 home runs in a season, joining Stowers (2025) and Adam Duvall (2021).

"Bert can hit, and one thing Bert can do is he can hit velocity, and he can hit in-zone spin, and he handles left-handers very well," manager Clayton McCullough said of Hernandez.

Hernandez likely will be in the lineup Sunday against the left-handed Alvarez.

Alvarez is 0-1 with an 0.93 ERA in two career starts against Miami. He most recently faced the Marlins on June 3, allowing one run on four hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five batters and took a no-decision in the 4-1 loss.

Right-hander Janson Junk (6-8, 4.21) is expected to start for the Marlins on Sunday, making his third appearance in eight days. If McCullough pivots because of the workload for Junk, it likely will be right-hander Tyler Phillips (3-6, 3.59) on the mound.

Junk faced the Nationals just a week ago, giving up one run on two hits in 4 2/3 innings, throwing 69 pitches in the 6-2 victory last Sunday. He did not pitch enough innings to earn the win.

With the Marlins in need of a spot reliever, Junk pitched one inning Wednesday, retiring the Boston Red Sox in order on just eight pitches in the eighth inning in the 4-0 Miami victory.

In his career against Washington, Junk is 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA in four appearances (three starts).

--Field Level Media