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Jacobs, Marlins seek sweep of Nationals

Apr 10, 2008 - 1:13 PM Florida (5-3) at Washington (3-6) 7:10 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) - Mike Jacobs and the Florida Marlins eye their first series sweep of the season on Thursday when they meet the Washington Nationals.

Despite trading offensive standout Miguel Cabrera to Detroit this offseason, the Marlins are scoring 5.1 runs per game, slightly up from the 4.9 they averaged last season.

Much of that success can be attributed to the consistent production they are getting from Jacobs, who had two home runs in Florida's 10-4 win over the Nationals on Wednesday.

Jacobs will get a chance to improve his numbers when he faces Odalis Perez (0-1, 6.00 ERA), who surrendered five runs over four innings in a 5-4 loss at St. Louis on Friday. The lefthander is 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in nine career games - six starts - against Florida.

Florida will counter with Mark Hendrickson (1-1, 6.10), who benefited from the Marlins' offense in his last outing - a 7-3 win on Saturday. The lefthander allowed three runs - one earned - with three walks and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings in the victory.

He is 0-1 in five appearances - three starts - with a 5.40 ERA lifetime against the Nationals.