Marlins succeeding with small ball (Nats lose 2-1)

Davey Johnson typically isn't a huge fan of giving away outs by sacrificing and relying on the small-ball game. Tonight, Ozzie Guillen's Marlins have done just that. And they have two big runs on the board as a result. In the fourth, Jose Reyes reached on a leadoff single and was immediately moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Omar Infante. One batter later, Reyes came around to notch the game's first run on an RBI single to right-center off the bat of Carlos Lee. The Nationals tied things up in the top of the fifth on a Jesus Flores bloop single to left which plated Ian Desmond. The Nats' shortstop got a great read on the play and came around from second base to touch home, marking the second time in as many days he's gotten a fabulous jump and scored on a Flores bloop. The Marlins were able to grab the lead right back a half-inning later, however, when Emilio Bonifcaio reached on a leadoff single, immediately moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored a batter later on an RBI single. Stop me if you've heard this before. This time, it was Donovan Solano - Jhonatan's brother - moving the runner over and John Buck driving him in. The Marlins have a 2-1 lead entering the seventh in a swiftly moving game that's been very well-pitched so far. Gio Gonzalez went six strong innings, striking out nine and allowing just the two runs. He's been bested - thus far - by Mark Buehrle, who has been incredibly pitch-efficient and held the Nats at bay. Update: Despite a strong outing by Gonzalez, he's tagged with the loss as the Nationals drop this one, 2-1. Gonzalez is now 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA. Buehrle finished his day after seven strong innings, improving to 9-8 with a 3.13 ERA. Steve Cishek pitched 1 2/3 innings and earned his second save of the year. Tomorrow, the Nats will send Stephen Strasburg (9-4, 2.83 ERA) to the mound to face Ricky Nolasco (8-6, 4.35 ERA).