Little things add up in Nats' loss to Marlins

MIAMI - There was no one singular moment that defined the Nationals' 6-1 loss in the opener of a four-game series at Marlins Park. But compile a list of small moments throughout the 2 hour, 43 minute affair, and you'll wind up with a detailed account of a ballgame that might have looked far different than it did.

Like Christian Yelich's hard grounder that squirted through the Nationals' drawn-in infield to bring home the night's first run. Or the risky double play first baseman Ryan Zimmerman decided not to attempt later that inning, which left the door open for Marcell Ozuna to drive home two more runs via a two-out single.

There was Michael A. Taylor, who otherwise had one of his most encouraging games of the young season, striking out with the bases loaded in the top of the second. And there was Bryce Harper just getting under a pitch from Jose Fernandez in the top of the fifth, turning a potentially game-changing, three-run homer into a mere sacrifice fly.

In the end, this game boiled down to two facts: The Marlins made the most of their opportunities against Tanner Roark, while the Nationals didn't make anything of their opportunities against Fernandez.

"They were outhitting us, but I think we had more baserunners than they did," manager Dusty Baker said. "One of the differences in the game was Ozuna's two-out RBI hit that he got. That was big. That gave Fernandez a 3-0 cushion at that time. And that two-out RBI hit has been eluding us."

Actually, the Nationals are hitting a collective .327 with two outs and runners in scoring position so far this season, tied for the third-best mark in the majors. But they also hadn't faced an opposing pitcher anywhere within the realm of Fernandez before tonight.

The Marlins' electric young ace wasn't exactly in peak form - he issued four walks and hit a batter in the first three innings alone - but he never let those self-inflicted wounds turn into catastrophe. He did so by striking out eight of the first 18 batters he faced, the first four of those with at least one man on base.

"We got some walks; we got his pitch count up," said Zimmerman, who struck out twice against Fernandez. "But he just made good pitches when he needed to. I had pitches to hit that I missed, and you can't really do that against a guy like that."

You also can't watch your own starter make a couple critical mistakes at inopportune moments, not on a night when he needs to be near-perfect to topple an opposing ace. Such was the case for Roark, who for the second straight time against the Marlins surrendered three first-inning runs.

Roark had a chance to minimize the damage, but was the victim of perhaps some bad luck. With one out and a man on third, Yelich's sharp single found its way in between the drawn-in Danny Espinosa and Anthony Rendon on the left side of the Nationals infield.

"We brought the infield in, 'cause you can't just give away runs when you're facing Fernandez," Baker said. "A lesser pitcher, we'd have probably conceded a run. But the ball he hit would've been a hit anyway. The ball Yelich hit, he just hit it in the perfect spot."

Even so, Roark might briefly have thought he was going to escape the inning with only one run crossing the plate when Zimmerman snagged Justin Bour's chopper to first. Zimmerman turned toward second and for just a split second considered the possibility of throwing to Espinosa to start a potential inning-ending double play. Then he thought better of it.

"I turned and looked, and all I really saw was (Giancarlo) Stanton's back, pretty much," Zimmerman explained. "That early in the game, you have to make sure you get an out right there. Later in the game if it's a situation where we're down a run or it's not the first inning ... because say I turn and throw it and hit Stanton right there, now it's bases loaded, or they even score a run. So you get an out right there and give us a chance to get out of the inning."

Which would have been fine if not for Ozuna's single to left, bringing home two runs and leaving Roark and the Nationals in a 3-0 hole.

That deficit expanded to 4-0 in the second via an unearned run. And when Stanton crushed a 2-0 fastball from Roark in the fifth over the recently shortened fence in center field, the Nationals found themselves trailing 5-1 and highly unlikely to mount a comeback.

"It's just kind of a strange game," said Roark, who has now surrendered nine runs this year, all to the Marlins. "It's a long season. It's a marathon, not a sprint. That's all I've really got to attribute to it."