Early scoring chances missed (Nats win 4-2)

The Nationals are giving themselves plenty of chances to score runs. They just aren't converting on many of those chances so far.

Despite racking up five hits and two walks off Tom Koehler through the first three innings of today's game, the Nats have scored just once, picking up on a theme they established during Thursday's home-opener loss to the Marlins.

The saving grace: Miami missed an early opportunity to bust the game open as well.

Giancarlo Stanton's one-out single through the left side of the infield (which left his bat at a mere 119 mph) brought Dee Gordon (who tripled on the first pitch of the game) home to give the Marlins a quick 1-0 lead. But with two on and one out, Joe Ross managed to get Martin Prado to ground into a double play and escape the inning without any further damage.

The Nationals answered right back in the bottom of the first, thanks to Anthony Rendon's single and Bryce Harper's laser of an RBI double off the wall in left-center. Harper came within a couple feet of his 100th career home run, but the run-scoring double was more than satisfactory for the reigning National League MVP, who has opened his season 4-for-11 with two homers, three RBIs, four walks and (perhaps most impressively) zero strikeouts.

The Nats had a chance to do much more against Koehler, who walked both Daniel Murphy and Jayson Werth. But Harper was thrown out trying to take third on a ball in the dirt, and Wilson Ramos grounded out to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

The Nationals also put two men on base in the bottom of the second, with singles by Ross and Michael A. Taylor (who snapped an 0-for-12 slump to start the season). But Rendon popped out, stranding two more on base and leaving this a 1-1 game.

It hasn't helped the cause that both Harper and Murphy have run into outs early in this game. Murphy was caught stealing on Werth's strikeout to end the third.

Update: Both pitchers are settling into a groove now, each posting nothing but zeroes since the first inning. But the Nationals continue to miss opportunities to take the lead.

It happened again in the bottom of the fifth, when the Marlins intentionally walked Harper to put two on with two out for Murphy. Murphy did everything he could to drive in the run, scorching a line drive toward first base. But Justin Bour got enough glove on it to knock it down and ultimately hold Murphy to a single (and the runners to one base apiece). The Marlins challenged the call, thinking Bour got back to the base before Murphy did, but New York let the call stand.

That, however, only left the bases loaded for Werth, yet another big opportunity for the slumping veteran. Once again, Werth couldn't deliver. He grounded to short on the first pitch, ending the inning and leaving himself 0-for-13 to begin the season, 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

It's one thing to start the year in a slump. It's another to be doing it in the heart of the lineup with so many golden opportunities at your fingertips.

Thus, this remains a 1-1 game through five innings.

Update II: It had to happen eventually, right? Jayson Werth got a hit. And it came at a most opportune moment for the Nationals.

After the Marlins intentionally walked Murphy to bring him to the plate with one out in the seventh, Werth worked the count to 2-2 against ex-teammate Edwin Jackson and then blooped an RBI-single into shallow right-center, giving the Nats their first lead of the afternon and Werth his first hit of the season.

Werth slapped his hands together after rounding first as the crowd of 24,593 applauded (and perhaps breathed a sigh of relief).

Clint Robinson then provided some big-time insurance, delivering a two-run, opposite-field single to left that suddenly turned this into a 4-1 game.

So the Nationals lead after seven and will hand the rest of this game over to their bullpen. Ross wound up with a really strong season debut, allowing one run in seven innings on 97 pitches. He got stronger as the game went on and certainly acquitted himself well in his first outing of 2016.

Update III: For the third time in four games this season, the Nationals have won thanks to a late rally. They did it twice in Atlanta. They couldn't do it Thursday against the Marlins. They could do it today against Miami.

Those clutch hits by Werth and Robinson in the bottom of the seventh proved the difference, delivering the Nats a 4-2 victory in the finale of this rain-abbreviated series.

It's only four games in, but the Nationals have already shown a penchant for producing late offense. So far they've scored a total of six runs in innings 1-through-6, but nine runs in innings 7-through-10.

Not that the lineup gets all the credit for their 3-1 start to the season. The pitching staff has impressed so far, as well. Ross delivered seven strong innings this afternoon, then Blake Treinen retired the side in the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon did serve up a solo homer to Christian Yelich and then a two-out single to Martin Prado in the ninth, but he got Derek Dietrich to ground out and thus recorded his third save in as many tries this season.