Find MASN on your cable or satellite provider.

Felipe Lopez went 2-for-4 and was the only Washington hitter with more than one hit. The Nationals came in to the game hitting .223, lowest in baseball.

"We were making some mistakes and it's costing us," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "For us to get out of this funk we have to start playing better baseball."

Behind 5-3, the Nationals tied the game with two runs in the ninth off reliever Kevin Gregg (2-0). With runners on first and second and two out, a passed ball by catcher Mike Rabelo allowed the runners to advance. Austin Kearns then poked a two-run single to right.

It was Gregg's first blown save of the year.

Washington starter Shawn Hill threw five-plus innings in his season debut, yielding four runs and eight hits with six strikeouts. Hill had hoped to be Washington's opening day starter, but went on the disabled list during spring training with a bothersome right forearm.

"Overall, not very good," Hill said. "I didn't execute my pitches when I had to."

Trailing 3-1, the Marlins took their first lead of the game during a three-run sixth inning. Josh Willingham led off with a triple and scored on Jacobs' single. Jacobs later scored on a sacrifice fly by Cody Ross. Jorge Cantu doubled, was sacrificed to third, and scored on an error by second baseman Felipe Lopez.

Game Preview:
The Marlins (9-7) have dropped back-to-back games for the second time in a week after generating five hits in a 6-4 loss to the Nationals (5-12) on Friday. That came after they were held to three hits in an 8-0 loss to Atlanta on Thursday.

The Marlins' offense is hitting only .184 with three homers and nine runs in seven losses, getting shut out three times. In the victories, it has a .296 batting average, 21 homers and 61 runs.

Mike Jacobs, who is 1-for-7 in the last two games, has hit all six of his homers and all 12 of his RBIs with a .378 (14-for-37) batting average in the winning efforts compared to hitting .167 (4-for-24) in the defeats.

The offense has been even more valuable with Florida's staff posting an NL-worst 5.22 ERA. The starting pitchers are ranked at the bottom of the majors with a 6.44 ERA, while allowing opponents to hit .307 with 14 homers.

The Marlins will give Burke Badenhop (0-1, 6.00) his second career start since being acquired in a blockbuster eight-player deal that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to Detroit in the offseason.

Badenhop, 25, didn't fare well in his first major-league start, allowing four runs and seven hits, including two homers, in five innings of a 5-1 loss at Houston on Sunday. That performance came after the 6-foot-5 right-hander threw a perfect inning of relief to close out a 10-4 win at Washington on April 9.

"He's going to be a huge asset for us," Marlins catcher Matt Treanor told the team's official Web site after Sunday's defeat. "He's a lanky guy. He definitely strolls to his own beat."

The Nationals, are looking to win consecutive games for the first time since opening the season with a three-game winning streak. They followed up that start by winning only once in 13 games before beating Florida on Friday to snap a seven-game road losing streak.

Washington hopes Shawn Hill can shake off the effects of stiffness in his right forearm when he makes his season debut on Saturday.

The injury forced Hill to begin 2008 on the disabled list, but he has been activated and will get his first start of the season after going 4-5 with a 3.42 ERA in 16 starts last year.

The right-hander didn't fare well in his final rehab start with Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, giving up six runs and nine hits in six innings.

Hill has been impressive in two starts against the Marlins, going 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA while striking out 10 with only two walks in 12 innings.

To make room for Hill on the roster, the Nationals placed catcher Paul Lo Duca on the 15-day disabled list Friday, retroactive to April 14, with a right hand injury.

Lo Duca hurt his hand when he was hit by a pitch from Jeff Bennett in Sunday's 5-4 win against Atlanta.