Rookie left-hander DJ Herz will look to build off his first win in more than a month when the Washington Nationals play the second contest of their four-game series against the visiting Miami Marlins on Friday.
Herz (3-7, 3.82 ERA) tossed five scoreless innings without allowing a hit in a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
The 23-year-old said he had no issue with receiving the hook, especially since he has thrown a career-high total of 114 2/3 innings this season between the majors and minors.
“I definitely understand,” Herz said, per the Washington Post. “The most I’ve ever gotten was last year with the Fall League, and it was about 110 innings. And coming into the start, I think I was (around there). So I totally understand, and I agree with it. Just take however long they let me go, and we’ll go from there.”
Though impressive in that outing, Herz may have done better in his lone career start against Miami on June 15. He permitted one hit and no walks while striking out 13 in six scoreless innings during a 4-0 victory.
Rookie Dylan Crews had an RBI single to highlight his second straight two-hit performance on Thursday for the Nationals (65-81), who will look to rebound after seeing an early three-run lead go by the boards in a 6-3 setback to the Marlins (55-92).
Washington was hurt by committing three errors, much to the chagrin of manager Dave Martinez.
“Physically, these guys are good. They’re just making mental mistakes,” Martinez said. “We have to catch the ball before we throw it. We have to be in position to catch the ball. And we have to be in position to throw the ball. It’s just not happening.”
Miami manager Skip Schumaker said, “There’s value to putting the ball in play. We say it all the time. There’s a lot of strikeouts in the league, and I know you hit into some double plays at times, but you have to make them play defense.”
Jonah Bride and Connor Norby each drove in two runs and Jake Burger added three hits as Miami defeated Washington for the second consecutive meeting after the Nationals won the initial eight matchups in the season series.
Bride is 7-for-21 with four RBIs and three runs during his six-game hitting streak.
Right-hander Edward Cabrera (4-6, 4.88) will bid to give the Marlins at least a split of the current series when he takes the mound on Friday.
Cabrera, 26, has bounced back from a three-game skid with back-to-back wins, highlighted by a strong performance in his latest outing. He carried a no-hit bid into the sixth before allowing three hits over seven scoreless innings in a 10-1 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Cabrera is 2-2 with a 4.97 ERA in five career starts against Washington. He took a loss vs. the Nationals on April 27 after permitting six runs (five earned) on four hits in 4 1/3 innings of an 11-4 setback.
–Field Level Media