Familiar results from pitchers vs. Marlins (Nats, Fish tie 2-2)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez pitched out of a jam. Sean Doolittle threw a ton of fastballs during a scoreless inning of relief. Brandon Kintzler struck out two of the four batters he faced.

Change the setting from a lazy February afternoon in Florida to a warm July evening in Washington, and the early innings of today's exhibition game would've looked very much like a typical regular season affair for the Nationals. (Well, except for the Kintzler strikeouts.)

Making his first start of the spring, Gonzalez found himself in a familiar position in the top of the first: pitching out of the stretch with runners on base. He allowed a leadoff single to the Marlins' Magneuris Sierra and later issued a two-out walk to Cameron Maybin.

But Gonzalez, as he did so well throughout the 2017 regular season, avoided any damage. He got Justin Bour to ground out to second and Tomas Telis to line out to short to escape the first inning with a zero on the board.

The left-hander's second inning was much simpler. He retired the side, striking out both Garrett Cooper and Monte Harrison. Gonzalez then departed the mound having thrown 27 total pitches, 16 strikes, during a scoreless outing.

Doolittle took over for the top of the third and didn't miss a beat in his 2018 spring debut. The closer retired the side on 10 pitches, striking out Miguel Rojas to end the inning. Doolittle appeared to throw all fastballs, though it's possible he sneaked in one or two off-speed pitches, something he has said he intends to try to utilize more this year.

Kintzler pitched the top of the fourth and proceeded to post another zero, though not in his conventional manner. The right-hander, who struck out only 12 batters in 26 innings following his July 31 acquisition by the Nationals, struck out both Maybin and Cooper during his scoreless frame.

Update: The Nationals have taken a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning. Bryce Harper got things started in the fourth when he lashed a double into the left field corner, his first hit in five at-bats this spring. Miguel Montero's sacrifice fly later in the inning brought Harper home with the afternoon's first run. Montero also figured into the Nats' second run; with runners on the corners and one out in the sixth, he grounded sharply to first baseman Garrett Cooper, who didn't step on the bag before throwing to second. Shortstop Miguel Rojas wound up missing second base as well, making everybody safe and extending the Nationals' lead to 2-0.

Update II: The top of the eighth wasn't too pretty. On multiple fronts. It began when Matt Grace took a comebacker off his face, a scary scene for a just a moment. It looked like the lefty was able to get his glove up in time to absorb much of the force, so when head athletic trainer Paul Lessard came out to check on him, the conversation was brief and Grace remained on the mound. Things devolved from there, though. Grace was late to cover first on a ground ball to the right side, and that allowed one run to score. Moments later, the Nats couldn't properly complete a rundown between first and second, allowing another runner to score and leave this game tied 2-2.

Update III: And that's how this one will finish. The Nationals and Marlins end in a 2-2 tie with no extra innings.