Situational handicapping doesn't apply to baseball nearly as much as it does in other sports. But this spot can't be ignored.

The rested Marlins have reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara on the mound to face a bad and tired Nationals team.

Washington has the second-worst record in the National League. The Nationals upset the Astros in extra innings last night. But they had to use their three best relievers in order to accomplish the feat. The Nationals have the fourth-worst bullpen ERA in baseball. So they are going to be extremely vulnerable there.

Unfortunately for the Nationals they are starting one of the backend members of their rotation, Trevor Williams. He has a losing record and a 4.11 ERA. Williams has become a journeyman. Washington is the fourth team he has played for during the last four years.

The Marlins were idle on Thursday. So their bullpen is rested. Alcantara is having a down year compared to last season. Still, he has a 1.18 WHIP and is holding opponents to a .226 batting average. Alcantara looked good in his last outing, holding the White Sox to one run on three hits in seven innings this past Saturday.

The Nationals rank 29th in homers, 23rd in runs and 23rd in OPS.