Nats blow early six-run lead, lose 8-7 on Ozuna's walk-off hit

MIAMI - Up six runs against yet another division rival hopelessly trying to get within striking distance of the comfortable division leaders? What could possibly go wrong for the Nationals?

Well, a lot, as it turned out.

Not only did the Nats blow a six-run lead to the Marlins, their subsequent 8-7 loss in tonight's series opener also saw Anthony Rendon depart with an apparent injury.

The Marlins stormed back to score six runs off Tanner Roark in the bottom of the third, tied the game again in the seventh off Jacob Turner and then won it in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth.

Enny Romero, who pitched a scoreless eighth (extending his streak to 13 innings of nothing but zeroes), got two quick outs in the ninth but then walked Dee Gordon on four pitches. Up came Giancarlo Stanton, who two innings after tying the game with a home run sent a hot shot toward second base. Daniel Murphy couldn't corral the ball, and that left the winning run 90 feet away.

After Christian Yelich drew a walk, Marcell Ozuna stepped up with the bases loaded and the game on the line. Romero got ahead in the count 0-2, but then Ozuna lashed the left-hander's 37th pitch of the night to the gap in left-center, bringing home the winning run and ending Romero's scoreless streak.

Rendon, meanwhile, was pulled in the fifth, two innings after he appeared to get hurt making a diving stop of Stanton's rocket to third base. Though he remained in the game to play another inning, he wasn't able to step to the plate the next time his turn in the order arrived, adding to the Nationals' recent injury woes.

The Nationals were well on their way to a blowout victory, up 6-0 in the third inning thanks to home runs by Bryce Harper and Rendon, plus RBI hits by Murphy and Michael A. Taylor.

But Roark, who cruised through his first two innings, collapsed in the bottom of the third. Two runs had already crossed the plate before he issued back-to-back two-out walks, his pitch count for the inning approaching 40 and entering dangerous territory.

Justin Bour then tied the game with one mighty swing, launching a grand slam into the right field bullpen. And when Roark subsequently allowed a single to J.T. Realmuto on his 44th pitch of the frame, his night came to an abrupt conclusion.

In lasting only 2 2/3 innings, Roark wound up authoring the shortest start of his big league career.

The Nationals lineup cooled off from its early onslaught against Marlins lefty Justin Nicolino, but the unit did manage to get the lead back in the top of the fifth. Ryan Zimmerman set the stage with a leadoff single. Stephen Drew, pinch-hitting for the injured Rendon, then laced a double down the left field line to give the Nats a 7-6 lead.

Needing a whole lot of zeroes from their bullpen, the Nationals got them from Matt Grace and Oliver Pérez, who combined to record 11 outs without surrendering a run. But Turner was summoned to face Stanton in the bottom of the seventh, and the result was all too familiar to Nationals fans who have watched Stanton terrorize their pitching staff for years: an opposite-field home run that tied the game again heading into the eighth.