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Nolasco helping Marlins find consistency

Jul 2, 2008 - 12:41 PM Washington (34-51) at Florida (43-40) 12:10 p.m. EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Florida Marlins' rotation has lacked consistency this season but Ricky Nolasco is helping to reverse that trend.

Nolasco goes for his fourth win in as many decisions on Wednesday when he takes the mound for the Marlins against the lowly Washington Nationals.

Despite ranking 26th in the majors with an 4.57 ERA this season, Florida (43-40) is just 1 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies (45-39) for the top spot in the National League East Division.

Nolasco (8-4, 4.05 ERA) has been a huge part of that success, winning seven of his last eight decisions while lowering his ERA from 6.10 to 4.05 over that span.

The 25-year-old righthander allowed just one run and six hits in eight innings on Friday, walking only one while striking out nine en route to a 3-1 victory over the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks.

Odalis Perez (2-5, 3.87) toes the rubber for the Nationals on Wednesday after pitching four scoreless innings during a 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Perez did not factor in the decision, however, as he was limited to just 75 pitches in his first start since returning from a stint on the disabled list with left shoulder tendinitis.