Seattle @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 15, 2008 ) Washington 6, Seattle 2

THE STORY: The Washington Nationals missed their chance to pull to .500 on Sunday but still have to be considered one of the hotter teams in the league with eight wins in their last nine games and a 12-6 mark in June. The Seattle Mariners are surprisingly strong as well, using superb starting pitching to stay above .500 and remain in the race in the American League West. The Mariners will be looking to carry the momentum from a series win over the majors’ best team on the road when they open up a six-game trip at the Nationals on Tuesday.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Root Sports (Seattle), MASN2 (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Livan Hernandez (4-8, 3.77 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Doug Fister (3-8, 3.53 ERA). Hernandez pitched the 50th complete game of his career last time out, needing only 105 pitches to shut out the St. Louis Cardinals on three hits. The victory snapped an eight-start winless streak for the ageless Cuban. Hernandez has been around long enough to have a bit of a track record against Seattle, owning a 1-2 record with a 2.82 ERA in three starts, and is 20-18 with a 4.83 ERA in 49 career interleague chances. Fister has lost three in a row, yielding 11 runs and 21 hits in 22 innings. The 27-year old has been the victim of some awful run support this season as the Mariners have averaged less than two runs over his last 10 turns. Fister has made only one start against a National League club, getting rocked for four runs in four innings at Milwaukee last June.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (35-37): Washington had its season-high eight-game winning streak end Sunday when it dropped a 7-4 decision to its Beltway rivals the Baltimore Orioles. But the Nationals, who have managed to climb past the sinking Florida Marlins and into a tie for third in the NL East, can still feel good about how they have been playing lately, especially on offense. Since Ryan Zimmerman returned to the lineup June 14, Washington is averaging 6.8 runs per game. The increased power production from Mike Morse and Danny Espinosa - a combined nine home runs in June - has helped keep the pressure off Jayson Werth as he continues to find his groove at the plate.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (37-35): When Seattle manages to scratch a few runs across, it usually finds a way to win games. That was no different this weekend as the Mariners took two out of three from the Philadelphia Phillies behind strong starts from Michael Pineda and Jason Vargas. Seattle needed only two runs Sunday, getting RBIs from Justin Smoak and Adam Kennedy as Vargas allowed three hits in his second career shutout. The win kept the Mariners within sight of the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West. Seattle’s starters rank second in the AL in ERA and batting-average against, helping to cover for an offense that sits last in the league in runs scored.

FINAL PITCH: The Nationals placed outfielder Rick Ankiel on the disabled list Sunday with a rib cage injury. The move, retroactive to June 15, allowed Washington to activate lefthander Tom Gorzelanny, who was roughed up in the start against Baltimore on Sunday.