Nats drop fourth straight; Marlins win 4-2
Five Marlin pitchers shut down the Nationals' offense for the second consecutive night and won the second game of the series 4-2.
Tim Redding gave up two, two-run homers and lost his ninth game of the season. He went six innings, allowing five hits, but the two long balls were enough to hand Washington their fourth straight loss.
Elijah Dukes' two-run double, in the sixth, was all the offense the Nationals could generate off Florida starter Josh Johnson. Johnson went six innings gave up six hits and struck out nine to pick up his fifth win of the season.
The Marlins got to Redding in the first when John Baker walked with one out and Jorge Cantu hit a towering blast to left field. It was Cantu's 26th home run of the season and second in as many nights.
In the second, Alfredo Amazega singled and moved to second on Johnson's sac bunt. Lead-off batter Hanley Ramirez followed with his 30th dinger of the season, giving the Marlins the 4-0 lead.
The Nationals' finally go to Johnson in the sixth. Ryan Zimmerman and Lastings Milledge hit consecutive two-out singles before Dukes hit a double off the scoreboard in left, scoring both runners and cutting the Marlins lead in half.
Washington had a chance in the first but failed to score when Cristian Guzman was thrown out at third to end the inning. With one out, Guzman and Zimmerman hit back-to-back singles. Milledge struck out and with Dukes batting, Guzman tried to advance to third on a wild pitch, but Baker nailed him with a perfect throw.
After Dukes' double, the Marlins bullpen; Logan Kensing, Arthur Rhodes and Kevin Gregg, retired six straight before turning the game over to closer Matt Lindstrom.
Lindstrom walked Milledge to start the ninth, but Dukes grounded into the 6-4-3 double play and Kory Casto popped out to shallow left to end the game. It was Lindstrom's fourth save of the season and second in as many nights.
Postgame Notes
Ryan Zimmerman went 2-3 and raised his average to .287.
Garrett Mock tossed two scoreless innings.
Final Linescore
Nationals 2-6-1
Marlins 4-5-0
WP-Johnson (5-1)
LP-Redding (10-9)
SV-Lindstrom (4)
HR-Cantu (26), Ramirez (30)
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Redding's final line
Tim has settled down since giving up four runs in the first two innings. He allowed just two hits over the next four innings, but his night is over, as the Nationals try to pull even with the Marlins bullpen. Redding retired the last seven batters he faced.
6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 HR. 100 pitches, 65 strikes
Nationals scoring, 6th inning
Elijah Dukes cut the Marlins lead in half with a two-run double, off the scoreboard in left field.
Ryan Zimmerman and Lastings Milledge singled with two outs before Dukes delivered his 16th two bagger of the season.
Redding thru 3 innings
Redding is throwing a lot of pitches to this point and he's already in a 4-0 hole. The two homers he's surrendered were on fastballs over the middle of the plate. It's going to be a short night for the veteran righty if he keeps that up.
3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR. 57 pitches.
Marlins scoring, 2nd inning
Lead-off hitter Hanley Ramirez belted his 30th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the second, to put the Marlins up 4-0.
Alfredo Amazega singled, advanced to second on pitcher Josh Johnson's sac bunt and scored ahead of Ramirez.
Marlins scoring, 1st inning
Tim Redding grooved a 1-2 fastball to Jorge Cantu and he crushed it over the wall in left for a two-run homer, giviing the Marlins a first inning lead.
John Baker walked and scored on Cantu's 26th home run of the season. After a walk and an error by Emilio Bonifacio, Redding struck out Jeremy Hermida to end the inning.
Starting Line-Ups
Nationals
LF Willie Harris
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
CF Lastings Milledge
RF Elijah Dukes
1B Kory Casto
2B Emilio Bonifacio
C Wil Nieves
P Tim Redding
Marlins
SS Hanley Ramirez
C John Baker
3B Jorge Cantu
1B Mike Jacobs
2B Dan Uggla
LF Josh Willingham
RF Jeremy Hermida
CF Alfredo Amazega
P Josh Johnson
Game Preview
Nationals (56-91) at Florida (75-72)
Last night the Nationals wasted numerous opportunities against Scott Olsen and lost 2-1. They left 11 men on base, seven in the first four innings, and couldn't get a timely base hit.
Shairon Martis tossed five solid innings of two-hit ball, giving up two hits and two runs, on earned, but it wasn't enough to hold down the Marlins.
Tonight, Tim Redding looks to get Washington back in the win column as he squares off against Josh Johnson
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Tim Redding (10-8, 4.49) is coming off his third quality start in his last four outings, when he tossed six innings of three-run ball against the Braves a week ago in Atlanta.
Redding, who didn't get a decision, allowed five hits and walked three while throwing 79 effective pitches and the Nationals' defense turned two, inning ending, double plays.
Leading 1-0, Redding allowed an RBI sac fly to Brandon Jones and an RBI single to Bregor Blanco in the second. Only one run was earned due to Elijah Dukes' fielding and throwing errors in Casey Kotchman's single.
The veteran righty is making his fifth start against the Marlins this season. He's 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA and 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA at Dolphin Stadium.
In his last start against Florida, June 30th, Redding gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings in the Marlins 6-5 win in 10 innings. Former National Jon Rauch gave up a game-tying homer run to Hanley Ramirez in the ninth and a walk-off homer to Josh Willingham.
Redding is making his 15th road start of the year. He's 4-3 with a 4.09 ERA and he's 4-2 with a 3.80 ERA in his career vs. the Marlins. Washington is 20-10 when Redding takes the hill.
RHP Josh Johnson (4-1, 3.33) is coming off his first loss of the season, but still logged a quality start last Sunday in St. Louis. The 24-year old gave up three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in the Cardinals 3-1 win at Busch Stadium.
Johnson, who hasn't faced Washington this season, is 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three games, two starts, in his career vs. the Nationals', while holding them to a .128 batting average.
The last time he faced Washington, August 22, 2006, Johnson gave up three runs on five hits in seven solid innings in the Marlins 7-5 win at Dolphin Stadium.
Johnson is making his fifth start at home this season. He's 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA compared to 3-1 with a 2.80 ERA in seven road outings.
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