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Marlins continue homestand against Nats

Apr 6, 2011 - 3:02 PM (Sports Network) - The Marlins and Nationals continue a three-game set from Sun Life Stadium this evening with Florida aiming to continue its recent dominance against the Nationals.

The Marlins have largely owned the Nats over the last several years but needed extra innings to take Tuesday's opener as Donnie Murphy lined a game-winning single to score Omar Infante with the deciding run in a 3-2, 10-inning final.

Washington's Jayson Werth opened the door with an error to start the frame and Infante took second on a wild pitch by Drew Storen (0-1), who later loaded the bases with nobody out. Sean Burnett came on to get the first two outs but Murphy ended things with his base knock to left.

"It never gets old. It's always fun to hit in that situation," Murphy said. "I felt good going into the at-bat and was just looking for a good pitch."

The heroics made a winner of Edward Mujica (1-0), who fired a spotless top half of the inning. Logan Morrison popped his second home run of the season and finished 2-for-4 for Florida, which picked up its first win in three games despite leaving 11 men on base and going 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Anibal Sanchez lasted 5 2/3 innings in the start, fanning seven with three walks while surrendering seven hits and two runs.

Veteran Jason Marquis went 6 1/3 frames in the start for Washington, giving up two runs on six hits. Ryan Zimmerman clubbed his first home run of the year, walked three times and scored twice in the loss.

"I felt comfortable on what I wanted to do," Marquis said after the game. "My game is to put the ball in play and, obviously, the defense did a good job tonight."

Florida went 13-5 against the Nats in 2010 and is 40-14 in the series over the last three seasons.

Right-hander Chris Volstad will be charged with keeping the Marlins on track tonight. The 24-year-old is already beginning his third full-time season as a member of Florida's rotation and is coming off a 12-9 season where he set career bests in starts (30) and innings pitched (175.0) alongside a 4.58 earned-run average.

Volstad found success against the Nats in 2010, facing them five times and posting a 4-0 record despite a 5.28 ERA. In nine career starts versus Washington, Volstad is 5-1 with a 5.70 ERA.

Opposing Volstad will be wily veteran Livan Hernandez, who already has one outing under his belt this year. The 36-year-old received the Opening Day start for Washington versus Atlanta, and was bested by Derek Lowe in a 2-0 Braves win. Hernandez produced a solid line, though, going 6 1/3 frames and allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and no walks.

The native Cuban went 10-12 in 2010 with a 3.66 ERA over 33 starts -- three of those outings coming against the Marlins. The workhorse right-hander went 0-2 with a 2.33 ERA and is 13-10 in 31 career starts versus Florida, carrying a 3.48 ERA into tonight's matchup.