Game Preview: Washington Nationals kick off a weekend series against the Miami Marlins

Game preview as the Washington Nationals kick off a weekend series against the Miami Marlins tonight, September 16, 2022

by The Nats Report Newsroom

Updated September 16, 2022

Washington D.C. - The Washington Nationals kick off a weekend series against the Miami Marlins tonight. The Nationals will send RHP Josiah Gray to the mound, and the Nationals will face LHP Jesús Luzardo. This series will be the final visit for the Miami Marlins for the 2022 season. The Nationals are looking to snap their eight-game home losing streak at the hands of the Miami Marlins dating to Sept. 15, 2021.

Game Notes

The Washington Nationals rank fifth in Major League Baseball (3rd in NL) with 76 runs scored since Aug. 30 and trail only the Los Angeles Dodgers (83) and Arizona Diamondbacks (77) among National League clubs. Washington paces MLB in batting average (.291) and ranks in OPS (4th, .783), slugging percentage (4th, .444), and on-base percentage (7th, .338) over this stretch.
In 37 games since making his Major League debut on August 2, 2022, Joey Meneses is hitting .322 with ten doubles, eight home runs, 22 RBI, six walks, and 23 runs scored, and he’s hit safely in 30 of the 37 games, including 15 multi-hit efforts. Meneses's 49 hits through his first 37 games are the most by any rookie through his first 37 games in franchise history (MON/WSH).
Since C.J Abrams' debut with the Nationals on August 15, 2022- the Nationals rank fifth in Major League Baseball in opponents' batting average on ground balls (.208 opp. AVG)…From Opening Day through Aug. 14, the Nationals ranked 29th in MLB with a .275 opponents' average on grounders. On Monday, CJ Abrams earned his first career MLB Play of the Week Award for his diving stop on Sept. 9 at Philadelphia.
RHP Josiah Gray faces the Marlins for the fifth time this season. He allowed six runs on ten hits in 5.2 innings on July 1 against Miami. His six games (6 GS/34.1 IP) in his career against the Marlins are his most against any team in Major League Baseball. In his last start, Gray pitched 3.1 innings on September 8 at St. Louis and allowed four earned runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts.