Nats still can't beat Marlins as they drop series opener (updated)

The Nationals came into this weekend’s three-game series against the Marlins needing to find some way to beat their divisional foes.

Entering tonight, the Nats were 4-18 with a -41 run differential against the Fish since the start of last season. They played tight but were ultimately swept out of Miami last month, losing all three games by a total of four runs.

The Marlins aren’t world-beaters. Although they began the night in second place in the National League East, they had a -30 run differential on the year.

That ever so slightly improved tonight as did their record against the Nats. Despite another hard-fought game, the Nationals dropped the series opener 6-5 in front of an announced crowd of 22,379 at Nats Park, with the Marlins improving to 18-5 in one-run games already this season.

“We were down. We got a good pitcher in there. We come back," manager Davey Martinez said after the loss. "Score some runs early and then the bats, we had a couple of opportunities to score again. We just couldn't capitalize. And then big moment, ball up the middle. I think that inning really started with the walk. We always talk about not walking guys because, especially early in innings, it's gonna bite you. But overall, I thought you know we did well, we played well, we came back, we kept coming back. We just couldn't score any runs at the end.”

That big moment came in the top of the eighth with Carl Edwards Jr. pitching in a 5-5 game. The right-hander issued a one-out walk and single to put the go-ahead run on second base. After a strikeout put the Nats one out away from getting out of the jam, a bobbled ball by CJ Abrams cost his team another run.

Pinch-hitter Garrett Cooper hit a ball up the middle that Abrams couldn’t field cleanly. But when the runner from second turned the corner to go home, the young shortstop had time to get the final out at the plate. But his throw to Keibert Ruiz was far from perfect and the catcher couldn’t corral it and place the tag as the Marlins scored what ended up being the game-winning run.

“Ball hit pretty far," Abrams said. "I'm trying to keep it on the infield. I don't know if I had a chance to at first or not, but just trying to get him going home. Didn't complete step two. ... On that ball, I think I closed my glow too early. That was probably the first thing I could have done better."

“I got to really look at it," Martinez said. "They gave it hit. I don't know if it's hit or not. Just if you field the ball, you don't feel the need to throw it. At least you keep it in the infield. That's a ball he should catch.”

After putting together multiple rallies earlier in the night, this was the one deficit the Nats couldn’t overcome.

The night began as a back-and-forth affair as both lineups were able to make solid contact against their respective opposing starting pitcher.

The Marlins jumped out to three different two-run leads and a one-run lead over the first four innings against Trevor Williams. But the Nationals, scrappy as ever, clawed their way back against Sandy Alcantara to knot the game at 5-5 going to the fifth inning.

A leadoff single and a walk came back to haunt Williams in the form of a two-run single by Jesús Sánchez to put the Nats down 2-0 in the top of the first. Williams needed 31 pitches to get out of the first frame.

But in the bottom frame, Lane Thomas hit a leadoff home run off Alcantara, hitting a 97 mph fastball right down the middle for his 10th of the season and seventh leadoff homer of his career, second this year. Then back-to-back hits set up Joey Meneses' sac fly to right and just like that this one was tied 2-2.

Williams, though, couldn’t keep Miami from jumping out in front again. In the very next frame, he gave up a two-run homer to Luis Arraez, the best hitter in the game, to give the Marlins their second two-run lead in as many innings.

"When the guys put up a fight like they did today for us, it was really turning into a slugfest between me and Alcantara," Williams said. "But I really have to do a better job with the shutdown innings. The shutdown innings that have the flow of the game and gives momentum back to our dugout. So just a better job of executing.

In the bottom of the third, Jemier Candelario’s second of three doubles set up Meneses’ second RBI to make it 4-3.

“He's been really good," Martinez said of Candelario. "He's been really good for us offensively, defensively. He's driving in some runs for us. Lane has been really good as well. He started off the game with a home run there. Those guys are playing really well for us, so we gotta keep them going.”

But once again, the Marlins were able to bump it back to a two-run lead, this time on Arraez’s third RBI in the game’s first four innings. Entering the night hitting by his standards a paltry .378 and trying to get back to .400, Arraez finished 5-for-5 with two runs scored and the three RBIs to raise his average to .390.

"What he's doing is special," Williams said of Arraez. "To get five hits like he did today and to stay off good pitches from the relievers, he's a really good hitter. When you game plan for a hitter like that, you see the .380, you see the .400 and you say, 'Well, he's going to get his hits.' You just have to eliminate slug. He's a tough out because he doesn't swing and miss and he'll take his walks."

“He can hit," Martinez said. "He barrels balls up. You talk about using the whole field, I mean he really uses the whole field. He knows the strike zone really well. He's a really good hitter, he really is. He doesn't try to do too much up there. He just tries to barrel up the balls and he’s got good bat-to-ball skills.”

And once again, the Nats refused to go away. Abrams hit an RBI double to center to score Dominic Smith from first, making it a one-run game again. And then Thomas tied it again with an RBI double to left, leaving this one tied 5-5 after just four innings.

After setting season highs in back-to-back starts with six strikeouts, Williams couldn’t settle into this one like he has in the past. He only completed 4 ⅓ innings and was charged with five runs, seven hits and three walks with only one strikeout over his 86 pitches, 52 strikes.

The Nats didn’t make it easy for Alcantara, either. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, who dominated Washington last year to the tune of a 0.90 ERA over five starts, gave up a lot of hard contact. After his 5 ⅓ innings, he had tied his season high of 10 hits allowed while also being charged with five runs and only one strikeout.

“He throws a lot of strikes," Martinez said. "He's got to be around the plate. Want to be aggressive. Want to kind of get the ball up a little bit. I thought we did that really well early in the game. Got the ball up. He's got one of the best changeups in the game. We knew that, so we were just looking for the ball up a little bit and stay on the fastball. We had good at-bats against him.”

The Nats weren't as successful against the Marlins bullpen. After Alcantara was pulled with one out in the sixth, a combination of three left-handed Marlins relievers retired 10 out of the last 12 Nats batters to end the game.

“We chased," Martinez said. "I think that's the biggest thing, too, with runners on third base. We talk about it all the time is how the pressure is on the pitcher. It shouldn't be on the hitter. We got to swing at better pitches, get them in the zone. We started chasing right away, put ourselves in bad counts. So we gotta get better at it. Runners on third base with less than two outs, we got to have better at-bats. We really do. And the focus should be is just getting the ball in the zone and staying in the middle field. Just moving the baseball.”

For whatever reason, the Nats can’t catch these Fish. It may be a matchup problem. Or it may just be one of those weird baseball things.

Whatever it is, the Nats will have two more chances to change that narrative this weekend.

"As far as the process goes, it's good for us to fight and to push," Williams said. "One of these days, we're going to win one of those one-run games when we come back like that."