Seattle @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 22, 2011 ) Seattle 1, Washington 2

THE STORY: Ryan Zimmerman has returned to a team that believes in itself, and his presence has only added to their surge. The Washington Nationals have won 10 of 11 to push their record to .500 for the first time since May 11. All of a sudden the Nationals are a tough team to face and a potential threat to make some noise in the National League playoff picture. The Seattle Mariners have been the latest victims of Washington’s newfound confidence, watching the Nationals take advantage of every mistake through the first two games of the series. Washington will send Jason Marquis to the mound in search of a sweep on Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, ROOT, MASN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Jason Marquis (7-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Michael Pineda (7-4, 2.64 ERA)

Marquis has been mentioned as the most likely trade chip for Washington next month. But with the team moving up in the standings, perhaps they’ll keep him around all summer. The veteran righthander struggled through 5 1/3 innings against Baltimore over the weekend, allowing four runs on 12 hits. That broke up a string of three straight starts in which Marquis had allowed two runs or less. He is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in three career starts against Seattle.

Pineda has put himself at the top of the American League Rookie of the Year discussion, ranking in the top 10 in the AL in ERA and WHIP. The 22-year old Dominican took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies last Friday and ended up yielding one run on two hits to earn the win. Pineda has won both of his starts against NL opponents, yielding a total of one run and four hits in 13 innings against Philadelphia and San Diego.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (37-37): Washington has not been at .500 this late in a season since finishing the 2005 campaign with an 81-81 mark. Zimmerman, who was out over two months with an injured abdominal muscle, has seen the Nationals go 7-1 since his return as the young club continues to improve. After a walk-off homer from Wilson Ramos during a five-run ninth inning on Tuesday, Washington took what they could get on Wednesday, taking advantage of two errors to grab two runs. John Lannan allowed just one run in his 5 2/3 innings and four relievers combined on the final 3 1/3 frames.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (37-37): Two days, two strong starts wasted for Seattle. On Tuesday, it was the bullpen that let the team down after eight strong innings from Doug Fister. On Wednesday it was the defense, as Erik Bedard, who struck out 10 in six innings, was charged with a pair of unearned runs in the 2-1 setback. The Mariners’ .500 record is not nearly as much a cause for celebration as Washington’s. While both teams were terrible in 2010, the Mariners have built in some hopes of contention over the first few months of 2011, hanging around in the American League West as the Texas Rangers struggle to pull away. Chone Figgins, who had Tuesday off, returned to the lineup Wednesday and made one of the errors that led to a Nationals run while going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts to drop his average to .190.

FINAL PITCH: Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-4 on Wednesday to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. The former All-Star has eight multi-hit games in that span, raising his batting average from .252 to .279.