The Nationals came into this weekend’s three-game series against the Marlins needing to find some way to beat their divisional foes.
Entering tonight, the Nats were 4-18 with a -41 run differential against the Fish since the start of last season. They played tight but were ultimately swept out of Miami last month, losing all three games by a total of four runs.
The Marlins aren’t world-beaters. Although they began the night in second place in the National League East, they had a -30 run differential on the year.
That ever so slightly improved tonight as did their record against the Nats. Despite another hard-fought game, the Nationals dropped the series opener 6-5 in front of an announced crowd of 22,379 at Nats Park, with the Marlins improving to 18-5 in one-run games already this season.
“We were down. We got a good pitcher in there. We come back," manager Davey Martinez said after the loss. "Score some runs early and then the bats, we had a couple of opportunities to score again. We just couldn't capitalize. And then big moment, ball up the middle. I think that inning really started with the walk. We always talk about not walking guys because, especially early in innings, it's gonna bite you. But overall, I thought you know we did well, we played well, we came back, we kept coming back. We just couldn't score any runs at the end.”