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Aug 10, 2010 - 7:36 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Florida (54-56) at Washington (49-63), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Stephen Strasburg is back, but not for long.

The 22-year-old phenom will return from a shoulder injury when the Washington Nationals open a three-game series against the visiting Florida Marlins on Tuesday night.

Strasburg (5-2, 2.32 ERA) was placed on the 15-day disabled list July 29, two days after being scratched minutes before his last scheduled start.

The right-hander was activated Tuesday and is expected to be limited to 90 pitches against the Marlins (54-56). He beat them July 16 by allowing four hits and striking out seven in six innings of a 4-0 win.

"I'm not really looking for him to go out there for the seventh inning," manager Jim Riggleman said. "If we were to get six innings out of him, that would be a huge step. If he got five, that would be a good number to build on for his next one."

Strasburg, who threw a side session Saturday, is also restricted to no more than 160 innings this year, and he's logged 109 2-3 over 20 games between the Nationals (49-63) and the minors.

"Based on the math - how many starts he would have left and how many innings per start, I think he could probably get into mid-September before he reached the limit," Riggleman said. "I'm hoping that's what happens, because that means he didn't miss any more starts."

A return to Nationals Park could help Washington rebound from Sunday's 8-3 loss at Los Angeles, which capped a 3-4 trip. The Nationals have won four of six at home and Strasburg has been impressive in five starts there, going 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 46 strikeouts with only four walks in 31 innings.

Florida manager Edwin Rodriguez feels aggressive at-bats could be the key to beating him.

"Our hitters have to be aggressive with him," he told the team's official website. "He throws right around the plate and doesn't walk anybody."

The Marlins are hoping they didn't lose any momentum at the plate after the finale of a three-game set with St. Louis was rained out Sunday. They collected nine hits with three homers in Saturday's 5-4, 10-inning win after hitting .206 with three homers during a five-game slide.

The expected returns of first baseman Gaby Sanchez (hamstring) and center fielder Cody Ross (neck) could keep Florida productive.

Sanchez, who has missed two games, leads the team with a .294 average and has 12 homers with 52 RBIs. He's 6 for 14 with one homer and four RBIs in four games at Washington.

Ross is 6 for 16 with one homer and two RBIs in his last four road games.

They combined to go 1 for 5 with four strikeouts against Strasburg last month.

The Marlins will give the ball to Anibal Sanchez (8-7, 3.50), who allowed four runs and seven hits with seven strikeouts in 4 1-3 innings of a 7-2 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday. That came after he threw a one-hitter in a 5-0 win at San Francisco on July 29.

The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.97 ERA in 10 starts against Washington.