• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Nationals aim to continue winning ways

Apr 21, 2007 - 2:38 PM Washington (6-11) at Florida (6-10) 7:05 pm EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Contrary to popular belief, the Washington Nationals can play winning baseball.

The suddenly surging Nationals take on the slumping Florida Marlins in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday.

Washington opened the season with two straight losses to Florida on their way to a 1-8 start. Since then, they have won five of their last eight, including a pair of one-run decisions over the last three games.

The Nationals' latest win, a 6-5 victory in 14 innings in the series opener on Friday, came courtesy of a game-winning RBI single off the bat of Chris Snelling. Washington's Felipe Lopez went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to six games and is batting .393 (11-for-28) during that stretch.

Matt Chico (1-1, 5.27 ERA) takes the mound for the Nationals. He allowed a run and four hits over five innings to pick up his first major league win against the Braves on Monday.

The 23-year-old lefthander will be hoping for a better performance than he had in his major-league debut against the Marlins on April 4. In four innings, he gave up six runs and eight hits - including three home runs - but Washington scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory.

Florida counters with Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 4.32), who opposed Chico in the first series finale. He allowed only one run and four hits in his last start but walked six batters as the Marlins lost to Houston 4-3 on Monday.

The righthander is 2-0 with a 3.23 ERA in five career starts against the Nationals.

The Marlins opened the season 5-2 but has since lost eight of its last nine games, including six straight. Perhaps the biggest reason for their demise are the nine players that currently reside on the disabled list.