Nationals in position for rare sweep against Marlins

The Washington Nationals will shoot for their first series sweep since May when they host the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Washington took the middle game of the series 5-2 on Tuesday after prevailing 2-0 on Monday. The Nationals have won three in a row as recently as Aug. 20-22, but they have not swept a set since winning two straight against the Atlanta Braves from May 20-22.

The Nationals last swept a three-game series from May 16-18, against the host Baltimore Orioles.

Among the numerous positives for Washington on Tuesday night, James Wood smacked a two-run homer, just his third since the All-Star break and 27th of the season. The left-handed hitter went to the opposite field against right-hander Adam Mazur.

"I think it's a good sign," Wood said. "I've been working through some things, trying to figure some stuff out. I feel like that's always a good sign, being able to drive one that way like that. For me, especially, that shows me I'm in a spot I want to be at."

Wood has reached base safely in 20 of his past 24 games and has multi-hit games in five of his past 11 contests.

The Nationals will send struggling left-hander Mitchell Parker (7-15, 5.94 ERA) to oppose right-hander Eury Perez (6-4, 4.04) in the finale.

Perez is 2-1 with 7.17 ERA over his past five starts. Last time out, he gave up five runs on three hits -- two of them home runs -- and walked two in two-thirds of an inning during a loss to the New York Mets on Friday.

"Perez didn't throw enough strikes, and when he did, he was hit hard," Miami manager Clayton McCullough said after that game. "It was not a good night. I feel for him. It was tough for everyone. He didn't have a whole lot coming out today as far as any real command and execution. They made him pay."

Perez is 1-0 with a 2.29 ERA in four career starts against the Nationals. On June 15, he threw four innings of one-run ball at Washington.

Parker is 0-5 with a 10.21 ERA over his past six starts. His most recent outing was his best since July as he allowed three runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings but lost 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. He settled in after allowing two runs in the first and wound up with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Parker is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five career starts vs. Miami, including an 0-1 mark with an 8.62 ERA in two starts this year.

On Tuesday night, Washington starter Cade Cavalli allowed two runs over five innings and the bullpen shut out Miami the rest of the way with Jose A. Ferrer earning his sixth save. Nationals relievers have pitched 17 scoreless innings over the past four games, allowing only two hits and four walks while striking out 21.

"They're doing great," Cavalli said. "They're just shut-down. Every guy that runs out there, we have confidence in. It's a great feeling whenever you can come out of a game, hand the ball off to somebody and know that you have a great chance at having a scoreless inning."

Connor Norby had two hits and drove in two runs for Miami, which was held to four hits, all singles. He has hit safely in eight of his past nine games and is batting .323 (10-for-31) with a home run, seven RBIs and six runs in that stretch.

Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run. Over his past six games, he is batting .391 (9-for-23) with one homer and seven RBIs.