Hot-streaking Foster Griffin leads the Washington Nationals into South Florida as top prospect Robby Snelling debuts for Miami in a high-stakes battle for second place in the East.
Off the heels of their first series win at home of the 2026 regular season, the Washington Nationals will travel to sunny South Florida for a weekend slate against the Miami Marlins. The Nats are currently sitting in second place of the entertaining NL East, and are looking to gain more footing against a division rival.
Washington is 6-4 in their last ten games, which is honestly better than most thought they would be at this point in the season. Meanwhile, Miami is a reverse 4-6 in their last ten, and is slowly dropping down the ranks of the NL East.
Foster Griffin will take the mound first on Friday night for Washington. The Orlando native is scoreless across his last two starts, and he’s looking to stay hot for this opening game in his home state. Griffin is the Nats current ERA leader, sporting a 2.67 ERA to kick off 2026.
On the other end, southpaw Robby Snelling will make his MLB debut. After designating veteran pitcher Chris Paddack for assignment, Snelling was called up as the corresponding move. Snelling is the No. 32 prospect in baseball, per MLB.com. He has built himself a 1.86 ERA with the Marlins Triple-A Jacksonville over six starts. Snelling was the Padres’ 39th overall pick in 2022, and was sent to Miami as part of the Tanner Scott trade in 2024.
Saturday will have Zack Littell for the Nats square against the Marlins’ Janson Junk. Littell has struggled with letting up runs during his starts, but he only allowed one in his last outing against the Brewers across 3.2 innings. Sunday’s closing game will have Cade Cavalli take the bump against 2022 NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara has been fighting to get back to prime form in recent years, and has a 4.01 ERA across 51.2 innings.
CJ Abrams is always a player to watch, hitting .290 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 2026. Ironically, both the Nats and the Marlins are hitting .229 across their last ten games, leading for some pretty even matchup predictions. This is the first time these division rivals will face each other this season. These young, rebuilding squads will be in a battle to maintain second place in the NL East.
The Nationals also enter the series with a chance to climb back over .500 since March 31 when the team opened the season, 3-2, overall.