Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/16/2022

Time: 6:40 p.m. ET

Venue: loanDepot park, Miami, FL

Where to watch: MASN 2, Bally Sports Florida

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Nationals: 12-23

Marlins: 15-18

The Washington Nationals still aren't quite where they'd want to be, but one way to ensure that life isn't always going to be too difficult is snapping the Houston Astros' 11-game winning streak on Saturday and putting up 13 runs in the process.

The only difference in this situation is that the Nationals actually beat the Astros at home, unlike in the 2019 World Series when they beat Houston in seven games with the road team winning every time.

Yadiel Hernandez had four RBI going 2-for-5 with a homer, and Nelson Cruz also pitching in with three RBI on a 3-for-4 day from the clean-up spot. Juan Soto finished 1-for-3 and also drew two walks. Overall, a great day at the plate for the now 12-23 Nats.

“I feel great,” said Hernandez. “I honestly didn’t know until I looked up on the scoreboard at some point in the game and said, ‘Four RBIs? Who else has driven a run in?’ I started doing the math, and obviously, once you realize that, it’s a good feeling.” 

“Every win right now is a good win, no matter who it is,” said manager Dave Martinez. “The Astros are playing well. We hit the ball well today, and that’s good to see. … We’ve got to be ready to play tomorrow and try to win the series.”

The Nationals needed a win after losing seven of their last nine coming in, and to score double-digit runs for the first time since May 3 was a good start. I think they could still use a little more contact from Soto -- preferably if he and Josh Bell could switch places -- but the pitching staff is a work in progress now that they're post Max Scherzer.

The Miami Marlins got to celebrate the 25th-anniversary team that won the World Series improbably in 1997, and they did so in style with plenty of homers and a reminder that this year's team might actually be pretty decent.

Yeah, the Marlins are 3-10 in May, and that's likely not a recipe for success, but they're only three games below .500 and that's progress for a Marlins team that won 9-3 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.

Jesus Aguilar, Jorge Soler and Brian Anderson all went deep, and Jazz Chisholm went 2-for-5 to bump his batting average to .288. 

“That's relying a little bit more on home runs than what we want to do,” said Anderson, who was 4 years old when that Marlins team won the championship. “I think all these guys can hit the ball really hard. I think we're going to see that come up with doubles -- not just home runs. Putting together solid at-bats over and over again. We have a bunch of big righties, and obviously you mix in [Jesús Sánchez] and Jazz [Chisholm Jr.] in there, and it's a good lineup. It's kind of what we're expecting: barrels, balls in the gap, baserunners on the move.”

One way to show you're playing that well is when you're going after the Brewers' pitching. It wasn't one of the three-headed dragon that they faced, but the Marlins still got four runs off Eric Lauer to hang his first loss of the year.

“That's good to see for us, because that's a team over there that we know are capable of putting up big numbers and quick," manager Don Mattingly said. "So to be able to add on is a good thing. It's something we've kind of missed. We've had some bigger innings, the last homestand we had four and scored one inning the whole game, a couple of different games. So it's good to see us kind of be sustained.”

The Marlins have a chance to make some serious improvements to close out May with six more games of a nine-game homestand, all against winnable division opponents Washington and Atlanta (maybe not as much as the champs, but still). I expect the Marlins to finish this stretch strong and get back on track. Marlins win 7-4

Check back later for trends.

Nationals:
Cesar Hernandez (S) 2B
Juan Soto (L) RF
Josh Bell (S) 1B
Nelson Cruz (R) DH
Yadiel Hernandez (L) LF
Maikel Franco (R) 3B
Lane Thomas (R) CF
Riley Adams (R) C
Alcides Escobar (R) SS
SP - TBD

Marlins:
Jesus Sanchez (L) CF
Jesus Aguilar (R) 1B
Jorge Soler (R) LF
Avisail Garcia (R) DH
Brian Anderson (R) 3B
Miguel Rojas (R) SS
Bryan De La Cruz (R) RF
Erik Gonzalez (R) 2B
Payton Henry (R) C
SP - Cody Poteet

Batting average: Josh Bell -- .336

Hits: Josh Bell -- 41

Home runs: Juan Soto -- 8

RBI: Two tied -- 21

Wins: Josiah Gray -- 4

Saves: Tanner Rainey -- 3

ERA: Josiah Gray -- 4.34

Batting average: Jazz Chisholm -- .288

Hits: Jesus Aguilar -- 31

Home runs: Two tied -- 6

RBI: Jazz Chisholm -- 24

Wins: Pablo Lopez -- 4

Saves: Anthony Bender -- 6

ERA: Pablo Lopez -- 1.05