Nats fall 2-1 to Marlins; Guzman's error in 6th proves costly
The Nationals defense let Shairon Martis down and kept him from winning his first Major League game. Cristian Guzman's second error of the night, in the sixth, allowed Hanley Ramirez to score what turned out to be the game winner in the Marlins 2-1 victory.
Ramirez was on second, after walking and stealing second, when John Baker hit a grounder back to Martis. Martis, instead of running at Ramirez, threw behind him and Guzman's throw to third hit Ramirez and went into foul territory, allowing Ramirez to score easily.
The Nationals' had many chances to score, but couldn't get a timely hit. They left seven runners on base in the first four innings, 11 on the night, but only managed one run.
Willie Harris and pinch-hitter Ryan Langerhans hit consecutive two-out singles in the eighth, to put runners on the corners, but pinch-hitter Kory Casto popped out to the catcher to end the rally.
Washington got back-to-back two-out singles in the first, but Elijah Dukes struck out to end the inning. After scoring in the second, the Nationals' had the bases loaded but Scott Olsen got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right to end the threat.
In the fourth, Martis reached second on a fielder's choice and throwing error and moved to third on a wild pitch. Anderson Hernandez walked to put runners on the corners, but Guzman popped out to third baseman Jorge Cantu, in front of the pitchers mound, to end the inning.
Willie Harris scored the first run of the game, in the second, when he singled and stole second. After a walk and pop out, Hernandez doubled to the gap in left-center, scoring Harris.
Martis, who only allowed two hits, got help from Aaron Boone in the second to keep it a 1-0 game.
Ramirez walked and stole second. Baker grounded to short; the ball went off the glove of Martis, but Guzman's throw was low and Boone couldn't scoop it. Ramirez rounded third and headed home when Boone picked up the ball and fired to Wil Nieves, who got Ramirez with a sweeping tag.
Florida got a lead-off home run from Cantu, his 25th of the season, in the third to tie the game at 1-1. Martis retired the next six Marlins, the last five on strike outs, before running into trouble in the sixth.
After Martis walked Cantu, Manny Acta pulled him in favor of Charlie Manning. Manning struck out Mike Jacobs, the only batter he faced. Steven Shell spelled Manning and gave up a single to load the bases.
Shell settled down and got Josh Willingham to pop out to short and struck out Cody Ross to end the inning.
Matt Lindstrom pitched a perfect ninth to earn his third save if the season.
Postgame Notes
Willie Harris went 2-3 with a walk, stolen base and run scored
Wil Nieves went 1-2 with a walk.
Aaron Boone didn't get a hit in four at bats
The Marlins win gives them an 11-3
Final Linescore
Nationals 1-8-2
Marlins 2-4-1
WP-Olsen (7-10)
LP-Martis (0-2)
SV-Lindstrom (3)
HR-Cantu (25)
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Martis' final line
Shairon gave up a lead-off homer in the fourth, but retired six straight after, including striking out five in a row, until he walked Hanley Ramirez to start the sixth. The walk came back to haunt Martis because Ramirez stole second and scored on Cristian Guzman's throwing error. After a walk to Jorge Cantu, Martis was done for the night.
5+ IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 3 BB, 9 K, HR. 95 pitches, 58 strikes.
Marlins scoring, 6th inning
The Marlins scored an unearned run in the sixth to take a 2-1 lead on Shairon Martis.
Hanley Ramirez walked and stole second to lead-off the inning. John Baker grounded back to Martis who had Ramirez hung up between second and third. Instead of running at Ramirez, he threw behind him. Cristian Guzman caught the ball and his throw to third hit Ramirez and skirted into foul territory, allowing Ramirez to score.
Marlins scoring, 4th inning
Jorge Cantu's 25th long ball of the season tied the game 1-1 in the fourth. Leading off the inning, Cantu crushed a 1-2 offering into the seats in left.
Shairon Martis regained his composure and retired the next three batters, two on strike outs.
Martis thru 3 innings
Shairon is pitching much more confidently than in his MLB debut eight days ago. He's working the strike zone very effectively. Martis allowed a one-out single in the first and walked Hanley Ramirez with two outs in the third for the only Marlins base runners. He already has four strike outs, two more than his first start.
3 IP, H, BB, 4 K. 51 pitches
Nationals scoring, 2nd inning
Anderson Hernandez delivered an RBI double, in the second, to put the Nationals' up 1-0.
Willie Harris hit a one-out single, stole second and scored on Hernandez's double to left-center, on a 0-2 pitch. Hernandez has played 11 games for Washington and has 11 RBI.
Scott Olsen, who walked Wil Nieves before Hernandez doubled, walked Cristian Guzman to load the bases, but he got Ryan Zimmerman to pop out to right to end the inning.
Starting Line-Ups
Nationals
2B Anderson Hernandez
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
CF Lastings Milledge
RF Elijah Dukes
1B Aaron Boone
LF Willie Harris
C Wil Nieves
P Shairon Martis
Marlins
SS Hanley Ramirez
C John Baker
3B Jorge Cantu
1B Mike Jacobs
2B Dan Uggla
LF Josh Willingham
CF Cody Ross
RF Jeremy Hermida
P Scott Olsen
Game Preview
Nationals (56-90) at Florida (74-72)
Washington, losers of two straight, begin a three-game series with the Marlins at Dolphin Stadium, as they wrap up their three city, nine-game road trip.
The Nationals', 2-4 on the current roadie, make their final visit to Florida, where they are 2-4 on the season. Overall, Washington is 2-10 against the Marlins this season with six games remaining against their NL East foe.
Florida, all but eliminated from playoff contention, is 8 ½ games behind first place New York in the division and nine games out of the Wild Card race, with only 16 games remaining.
The Marlins return home to begin a nine-game homestand, their last of the season, after completing a six-game road trip, were they went 3-3 and won the last two.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Shairon Martis (0-1, 3.60), making his second career big league start, was pretty impressive in his Major League debut on September 4th.
Martis gave up two runs on four hits in five solid innings, but he walked five Braves and suffered the loss in Atlanta's 2-0 win.
Although he never retired the side in order in any inning, Martis showed poise for a 21-yard old rookie. He got out of a first inning, two on, two out jam when Omar Infante hit a weak fly ball to center to end the inning.
A triple by Kelly Johnson and an RBI sac fly by Brian McCann, in the third, led to the games first run. Three walks, in the fourth, led to the Braves taking a 2-0 lead. Martis lasted one more inning, but having thrown 92 pitches, 46 for balls, put an end to his day.
With his first start out of the way, I expect Martis to be a little more on target with his pitches.
LHP Scott Olsen (6-10, 4.41) is winless in his last nine starts and the Marlins are 0-9 in those games. In six of those nine starts, Olsen allowed four runs or more including the last four. He's 0-6 with a 5.74 ERA in that span.
The 24-year old in making his fourth start against the Nationals' this season and he looks to remain undefeated. Olsen is 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA. He has gone at least six innings in each start and the Marlins are 3-0 in those games.
In his last outing vs. Washington, May 11th at Nationals Park, Olsen gave up four runs on six hits in six innings in Florida's 5-4 win. The Nationals' jumped out to a 4-1 lead on a solo home run and RBI triple from Aaron Boone, and a two-run shot from Ronnie Belliard. Florida scored three runs off former National Luis Ayala in the eighth to pick up the win.
In his only start in Florida, Olsen allowed one run, a solo homer to Austin Kearns in the fifth, in seven strong innings. The Marlins won 6-1.
In his career against the Nationals, Olsen is 5-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 11 starts and he's 3-2 with a 4.05 ERA in six starts at Dolphin Stadium.
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