Miami right-hander Sandy Alcantara will return from paternity leave to make the start on Saturday afternoon as the Marlins host the Washington Nationals in the second contest of a three-game series.

Washington overcame a four-run deficit to secure a 7-4 victory on Friday. The Nationals are 12-2 against the Marlins since the start of the 2024 season.

Alcantara (1-0, 3.72 ERA) missed all of last season after undergoing elbow surgery in October 2023. He hopes to revert to his form of 2022, when he went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA in a league-high 228 2/3 innings.

After that season ended, Alcantara was a unanimous selection as the National League’s Cy Young Award winner.

In 15 career starts against the Nationals, Alcantara is 7-6 with a 3.42 ERA. He also has a 2.98 ERA in 72 home appearances.

Washington will turn to right-hander Trevor Williams (1-0, 5.40 ERA) to make the start on Saturday.

Williams, who will turn 33 later this month, is 51-55 in his career. But since the start of the 2024 season, he is 7-1 with the Nationals.

In 14 career appearances (nine starts) against the Marlins, however, Williams is 1-4 with a 4.95 ERA. He has yet to defeat the Marlins in Miami, going 0-3 in six appearances (three starts).

Offensively, the Nationals are led by their young core of catcher Keibert Ruiz, second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., shortstop CJ Abrams, right fielder Dylan Crews and left fielder James Wood.

Wood, who has five homers and a 1.009 OPS, arrived in 2022 along with Abrams in a trade that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres. At 6-foot-7 and 234 pounds, Wood has massive power to all fields, and he showed that Friday by blasting a 400-foot homer to left-center.

Ruiz, a switch hitter who arrived in 2021 in the trade that sent Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to the Los Angeles Dodgers, has a .940 OPS.

Abrams (.874 OPS) became an All-Star last year with 20 homers and 31 steals. However, he left Friday’s game due to a hip-flexor injury. He is listed as day-to-day.

Garcia (.539 OPS) had a breakout season last year with 18 homers and 22 steals.

Crews, the second overall pick in 2023, is off to a rough start. The former LSU star is batting .116 with a .272 OPS.

Wood said he and his teammates have a strategy to get ahead.

“We’re trying to make the other team work a bit more,” Wood said.

It will be interesting to see if Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe will be able to play on Saturday.

On Friday, he didn’t start due to illness. However, he entered the game as a pinch hitter, and he delivered a three-run, go-ahead double that kissed the left field line.

Meanwhile, the Marlins have placed starting catcher Nick Fortes on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain.

With Fortes out, Liam Hicks is the new starting catcher, and veteran Rob Brantly, a 35-year-old with nine years of MLB experience, was called up from Triple-A to serve as the backup.

“Liam has done a nice job for us,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said, “and (Brantly) has a veteran presence. We have a lot of confidence in ‘Brant’ when his name is called.”

–Field Level Media