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Marlins look to continue dominance of Nationals

Jun 30, 2008 - 12:29 PM Washington (33-50) at Florida (42-39) 7:10 pm. EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Florida Marlins may have to continue their dominance of the Washington Nationals without Dan Uggla, who leads the majors in homers.

The surprising Marlins host the lowly Nationals in the opener of a three-game series on Monday.

Uggla, who is tied with Philadelphia's Chase Utley for the most home runs in baseball (23), sat out Sunday's 4-3 win over Arizona with a sprained left ankle he suffered on Saturday. The 28-year-old sustained the injury when he tried to turn a single into a double in the fourth inning of a 6-2 loss.

Even without Uggla, the Marlins may have no trouble beating Washington. Florida has won eight of the last nine meetings, outscoring the Nationals, 63-33 in the process. The Marlins may need to continue to score runs at a feverish pace with rookie righthander Ryan Tucker on the mound.

Tucker (2-2, 6.75 ERA) was tagged for seven runs and eight hits in four-plus innings of a 15-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Washington is coming off a dramatic victory on Sunday as Ronnie Belliard hit a two-run home run in the 12th inning to lead the Nationals to a 3-2 victory over Baltimore on Sunday.

Tim Redding (6-3, 4.05) has been a good luck charm, as Washington has won 14 of his 17 starts - including nine straight. However, the righthander has not received a decision in his last seven starts.