Nationals play the Marlins in first of 4-game series #Nationals #play #Marlins #4game #series

Miami Marlins (66-67, third in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (62-72, fourth in the NL East)

Washington; Thursday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Braxton Garrett (7-5, 3.96 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 135 strikeouts); Nationals: Joan Adon (2-0, 5.25 ERA, .92 WHIP, 20 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Marlins -162, Nationals +138; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Miami Marlins on Thursday to begin a four-game series.

Washington has a 62-72 record overall and a 29-36 record at home. The Nationals are 45-15 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

Miami has gone 28-36 on the road and 66-67 overall. The Marlins have the eighth-best team batting average in MLB play at .257.

The matchup Thursday is the 10th meeting between these teams this season. The Marlins hold a 7-2 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lane Thomas has 32 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs and 69 RBI for the Nationals. Carter Kieboom is 7-for-26 with a double, three home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.

Luis Arraez has 27 doubles, three triples and five home runs for the Marlins. Jake Burger is 12-for-38 with two doubles over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 6-4, .220 batting average, 4.08 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

Marlins: 2-8, .204 batting average, 3.93 ERA, outscored by 24 runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Lane Thomas: day-to-day (back), Carl Edwards Jr.: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Stone Garrett: 60-Day IL (leg), Rico Garcia: 15-Day IL (biceps), Victor Robles: 60-Day IL (back), Cade Cavalli: 60-Day IL (elbow), Thad Ward: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Stephen Strasburg: 60-Day IL (ribs/shoulder), Tanner Rainey: 60-Day IL (elbow), Victor Arano: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Marlins: Andrew Nardi: day-to-day (hand), Jorge Soler: day-to-day (hip), Avisail Garcia: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Johnny Cueto: 15-Day IL (illness), Huascar Brazoban: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Matt Barnes: 60-Day IL (hip), Jonathan Davis: 60-Day IL (knee), Trevor Rogers: 60-Day IL (forearm ), Max Meyer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Bender: 60-Day IL (elbow)