Nationals Offense Goes Quiet as Marlins Take 4-2 Win in Miami

The Washington Nationals could not overcome an early deficit Saturday, managing only three hits in a 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park.

Miami jumped on Washington starter Jake Irvin for three runs in the first two innings and never surrendered the lead. Heriberto Hernandez and Jakob Marsee each homered for the Marlins, while Eury Perez held Washington to three hits over five innings. The loss dropped the Nationals to 61-70 and extended their losing streak to three games.

Washington showed some life in the middle innings, cutting a 3-0 deficit to 3-1 in the fourth and answering another Miami run with Dylan Crews’ RBI double in the fifth. That was as close as the Nationals would get.

Miami’s bullpen retired Washington without a hit over the final four innings to finish off the 4-2 victory.

Marlins Strike Immediately

Washington fell behind almost immediately.

Irvin retired Xavier Edwards to begin the bottom of the first but walked Griffin Conine. Owen Caissie followed with a double to right field that put runners at second and third.

Otto Lopez then delivered the game’s first major swing, lining a two-run single to right that scored both runners and gave Miami a 2-0 lead. Irvin escaped additional damage by getting Marsee to ground into a double play.

It was the type of first inning Washington could not afford with Perez waiting on the other side.

Perez held the Nationals hitless through the first three innings and immediately received another run of support in the second.

Hernandez led off the bottom of the inning by driving an Irvin pitch 393 feet to left field for a solo home run. Miami suddenly held a 3-0 advantage.

Perez Controls Washington Early

Washington struggled to put anything together against Perez.

The Nationals did not record their first hit until the fourth inning. Perez mixed power with enough command to keep Washington from generating consistent pressure, ultimately allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out four and walking three over five innings.

Perez earned the victory to improve to 7-9 with a 3.17 ERA.

Washington finally broke through in the fourth.

Luis Garcia Jr. — listed in the play-by-play as Ortiz — drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a groundout. Jose Tena then reached on an infield single, and a throwing error by Lopez allowed the runner to score.

The unearned run cut Miami’s lead to 3-1.

For a brief moment, Washington had a chance to turn the game.

Miami responded almost immediately.

Marsee Answers With Home Run

Marsee led off the bottom of the fourth and sent Irvin’s pitch 379 feet to right field for his eighth home run of the season.

Just like that, Miami restored its three-run advantage at 4-1.

The Marlins threatened to add even more after Hernandez walked and Liam Hicks reached on an infield single, but Irvin worked his way out of the inning without allowing another run.

That escape kept Washington within striking distance.

The Nationals responded in the fifth.

Andrew Pinckney singled to right with one out. Daylen Lile then hit into a fielder’s choice, replacing Pinckney at first.

Crews provided Washington’s biggest hit of the afternoon, driving a double to center field that brought Lile home and trimmed the deficit to 4-2.

Brady House followed with a flyout, ending the threat.

Washington would not record another hit.

Irvin Settles Down After Rough Start

Irvin’s final line looks worse because Miami did nearly all of its damage early.

The right-hander allowed four earned runs on six hits across six innings. He struck out four and walked two while taking the loss, dropping his record to 2-8 with a 5.82 ERA.

Three of those four runs came during the first two innings.

After Marsee’s fourth-inning homer, Irvin kept Miami off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing.

He retired the Marlins in order in the fifth. Marsee singled and stole second in the sixth, but Irvin stranded him there by retiring Hernandez, Hicks and Javier Sanoja.

The Nationals needed that type of stabilization after falling behind early.

The problem was that the offense never provided enough support.

Nationals Bullpen Keeps It Close

Washington’s bullpen did its job.

Erik Tolman entered for the seventh inning and worked around an Edwards bunt single to keep Miami scoreless. Tolman’s inning included a strikeout of Esteury Ruiz, the first major-league strikeout of his career.

Jake Bird followed with a perfect eighth inning.

Washington’s pitching staff therefore held Miami scoreless over its final four offensive innings.

That gave the Nationals more than enough time to mount a comeback.

The offense simply could not do it.

Miami Bullpen Shuts Down Washington

Once Perez left after five innings, the Nationals did not record another hit.

Michael Petersen retired Washington in order in the sixth.

Jared Ekness followed with a perfect seventh, striking out Pinckney to finish the inning.

Ekness returned for the eighth and retired Lile before Tyler Zuber entered. Zuber retired Crews and House to quickly end the inning.

Washington went to the ninth trailing by only two runs, but Miami closer Calvin Faucher made sure there would be no late rally.

Faucher retired the Nationals in order. He got the first batter on a flyout to right, retired pinch hitter Miguel Vargas on a flyout to left and induced Tena to ground out to shortstop for the final out.

Faucher earned his second save of the season with a hitless ninth.

Three Hits Not Enough

The biggest problem for Washington was straightforward: the Nationals simply did not hit.

Washington finished with only three hits in the entire game. All three came during a two-inning stretch in the fourth and fifth.

Tena recorded the infield single that helped generate Washington’s first run. Pinckney singled in the fifth. Crews supplied the Nationals’ only extra-base hit with his RBI double.

That was it.

Washington went hitless in the first three innings and then hitless again from the sixth through the ninth.

Miami finished with seven hits.

The Marlins also produced the game’s biggest power swings. Hernandez’s 393-foot homer and Marsee’s 379-foot homer accounted for two of Miami’s runs, while Lopez’s two-run first-inning single provided the early cushion.

Washington Wastes Solid Late-Inning Pitching

The Nationals did enough on the mound after the fourth inning to give themselves a chance.

From the fifth inning forward, Miami did not score.

Irvin handled the fifth and sixth before Tolman and Bird combined for two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Washington therefore entered each of the final four innings facing only a two-run deficit.

That is manageable.

But the Nationals went 12 consecutive outs without a hit to close the game.

That inability to generate baserunners eliminated any chance of making Miami uncomfortable late.

Marlins Continue Strong Play at Home

Miami improved to 66-64 overall and an impressive 40-25 at loanDepot park.

It marked the first time since 2023 that the Marlins reached 40 home victories in a season. Miami won a franchise-record 46 home games that year.

The Nationals fell to 61-70 overall and 34-34 on the road.

Miami also took a 2-0 lead in the three-game series after beating Washington 3-2 in Friday’s opener.

The Nationals have now dropped three straight games.

MSB Take

This was another frustrating Nationals loss because the pitching ultimately gave Washington an opportunity to get back into the game.

Irvin struggled early. There is no getting around that. Allowing a two-run single in the first and a homer in the second put the Nationals in a difficult position almost immediately.

But Irvin settled down.

After Marsee’s homer in the fourth, Washington’s pitching staff did not allow another run.

When a team trails 4-2 after five innings and the pitching staff throws three more scoreless frames, the offense has to find a way to make something happen.

Washington did not.

The Nationals managed just three hits, and none came after Crews’ fifth-inning RBI double.

That is the story of the game.

Crews supplied one of the few encouraging offensive moments, while the bullpen did exactly what Washington needed. Tolman’s first major-league strikeout was also a nice moment for the young left-hander.

But three hits will rarely be enough to win a major-league game.

Washington will need a much better offensive performance Sunday if it wants to avoid being swept in Miami.

Left-hander Jackson Kent is scheduled to start the series finale for Washington against Miami right-hander Janson Junk. Kent enters at 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA, while Junk is 6-8 with a 4.37 ERA.