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The Washington Nationals Jason Kipnis Jersey , who have won two straight division titles and three in the past four years, need a miracle to make the playoffs this season.On Monday night, the Nationals (76-74) visit the Miami Marlins to start a quick two-game series. trailing the division-leading Atlanta Braves by 7.5 games.Article continues below ...The Nationals are also six games out of the second and final wild-card spot with just 12 contests left on their schedule. Worse yet, the Nationals trail five teams in the wild-card standings.“It’s a bummer we’re not winning games,” Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper told the media recently. “That’s the biggest thing on my mind.”If Harper is disappointed, imagine how the Marlins feel. Miami (58-91) has the worst record in the National League and the third-lowest win percentage in the majors.Miami hasn’t won consecutive games since Aug. 24-25, and the Marlins have gone 5-13 in that span.Monday’s pitching matchup features a pair of 25-year-old rookie right-handers: Miami’s Trevor Richards against Washington’s Erick Fedde.Richards (3-9, 4.85 ERA) has struck out at least seven batters in six of his 22 games this season. He has a below-average fastball (90.8 as opposed to the league norm of 93.1 mph). But he survives on a nasty changeup.Lately, though, it appears teams have figured him out. In his past seven starts, Richards is 0-4 with a 6.68 ERA.Perhaps a good omen for Richards is the fact that he pitched six scoreless innings the only time he faced the Nationals at Marlins Park this year, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out eight.Fedde (2-3, 5.12 ERA) http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , a Las Vegas native, was Washington’s first-round pick in 2014, coming out of UNLV.His best pitch may be his hard (94 mph) slider, and this will be his first-ever start against the Marlins, so there could be an adjustment required of Miami hitters.Fedde is coming off his best start of the season, holding the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless for 5 2/3 innings on Tuesday, striking out nine while allowing just two hits.One of the batters Fedde will have to pitch carefully to is Marlins right fielder Peter O’Brien, a 6-4, 235-pounder who has massive power but has yet to get his major league career untracked at age 28.A former University of Miami star, O’Brien was picked up by the hometown Marlins earlier this month and has two homers and five RBIs in his past three starts.“We’re going to get him extended playing time as we finish up,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of O’Brien. “He has a good approach and a feel for his game, which is that he can hit the ball out of the ballpark.”Indeed, O’Brien hit 26 homers in 2013, 39 in 2014 Larry Doby Jersey , 32 in 2015 and 29 in 2016. He hit just 16 homers last year but has 32 this season in a bounce-back campaign.Still, out of all those homes, only eight have come in the majors, where his career OPS is just .699.“I’m looking to have quality at-bats,” O’Brien told the media on Sunday when asked about his approach. “Consistency is the main thing.”Harper, of course, is Washington’s big bat. He has 97 RBIs, 97 runs scored and 118 walks. He is on track to become just the sixth player since 2014 to record 100 in each of those categories.A free agent after this season ends, Harper — who turns 26 next month — needs to drive in two more runs to tie his career high.“I’m not worried about my numbers because I am who I am,” Harper said. “That sounds bad, but I am. On any given night, I’m able to do things that are special.”Harper hit just .214 with an .833 OPS in the first half of this season. But since then, he has hit .305 with a .985 OPS.The Nationals, who have won seven of their past nine games Bob Feller Jersey , have ridden the hot bats of Harper, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto, among others.Rendon has reached base in 25 consecutive games, hitting .330 during that span. He hit his 20th homer on Sunday, marking the third straight season he has reached that milestone.Soto, 19, has reached base in 21 consecutive games. That ties Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle for the second-longest streak by a teenager since 1920. Mel Ott, who had a 22-game streak in 1928, owns the record. A look at what’s happening around the majors today:JUST A MINUTERecently suspended players Jose Urena and Yasiel Puig are both appealing their punishments and should remain in action this weekend. Urena, the Marlins right-hander who plunked breakout Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. with the first pitch of a game Wednesday, was suspended six games by Major League Baseball but was in uniform Friday and could pitch this weekend while the appeal process is completed. Puig also figures to play this weekend for the Dodgers in Seattle as he appeals his two-game ban for fighting and inciting a benches-clearing scrap against San Francisco.CY PAST VS. CY POTENTIALMets ace Jacob deGrom tries to enhance his NL Cy Young credentials when he starts vs. Jake Arrieta and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. DeGrom leads the majors with a 1.81 ERA — he’s evened his record at 7-7 after New York recently gave him some long-overdue run support. Arrieta (9-7, 3.33) won the 2015 NL Cy Young Award with the Cubs.BARTOLO’S BALLThe Texas Rangers will honor Bartolo Colon with an on-field tribute before they host the Angels. Earlier this month, the 45-year-old Colon topped Dennis Martinez for the most wins by a pitcher from Latin America.Colon added another victory this week and is 247-186 in the majors. Martinez, who finished in 1998 http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , was 245-193. Martinez will be at Globe Life Park for the ceremony, which will include the Rangers and their players making presentations to Colon.INJURED AND IMPATIENTTrevor Bauer isn’t going to let a stress fracture in his right leg get in the way of throwing a baseball. Cleveland’s right-hander will be out four to six weeks with the injury, but that’s not stopping him from keeping his arm in shape. Bauer played catch from his knees while wearing a walking boot with an athletic trainer Friday, and he hopes to return faster than the timetable given by manager Terry Francona. The right-hander admitted he didn’t take the news very well when he learned he’ll be out for an extended period of time.“I was furious,” he said. “I’ve pretty much felt the same way since.”ON THE JOB TRAININGReds Gold Glove catcher Tucker Barnhart is getting a different look at the diamond. He made his first career start at first base on Friday night after Cincinnati put star Joey Votto on the 10-day disabled list with a bruised lower right leg. Barnhart had seen limited time at Votto’s spot earlier this season.EVALUATING ERICThe Brewers are hoping for quick recovery for slugger Eric Thames after he injured his left knee colliding with center fielder Lorenzo Cain chasing a flyball Friday. St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter drove a ball into the right-field gap in the first that Thames caught before running into Cain. Both players fell to the ground and remained still for a few seconds before getting up on their own. A Brewers trainer checked with Thames and Cain before the game resumed, and Thames was lifted in the bottom of the third with knee soreness. He is hitting .229 with 16 homers and 37 RBIs in 68 games.LONG, LOSING ROADAngels lefty Andrew Heaney has gone nearly three years since winning a start on the road. His streak of 16 consecutive winless road starts has already tied Rudy May (1965-69) for the longest such streak in team history. Heaney’s last road win was Sept. 2, 2015 at Oakland. His scheduled start Saturday night at Texas, where he is 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA in two career starts, comes a year to the date after his return to the Angels from Tommy John surgery on July 2, 2016.