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Source: FanGraphs
Attendance: 24,616
Hero of the Game: Giancarlo Stanton (0.110 WPA)
Goat of the Game: Adeiny Hechavarria (-0.169 WPA)
Play of the Game: Christian Yelich homered in the sixth inning. (+0.123 WPA)
The Miami Marlins got another good performance from Nathan Eovaldi, and Christian Yelich hit a home run for the team that happened to be the most impactful play in the game. So how did the Fish end up losing this game versus the Washington Nationals?
The Nats got things started earlier than Miami, as they jumped out with three hits and some good baserunning in the first inning and led off with two runs. Consecutive singles by Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper put runners on first and third, and a Jayson Werth grounder scored the first run of the game. Ian Desmond then singled as part of a three-hit night, leading to the second run of the game and an early 2-0 lead.
Fortunately for Miami, those were the only runs they would score against Eovaldi and the Fish. Captain EO allowed five more hits after that, so his stuff was definitely hittable, but he was also able to avoid the free passes (one intentional walk) and ramp up the strikeouts for the second time in a row (six strikeouts in six innings). Eovaldi was sitting at 97 mph for the entirety of his run in tonight's contest, though he did only get seven whiffs in 104 pitches. He threw his pitches overall at a two-to-one balls to called strike ratio, which is impressive overall given his previous control struggles.
With Eovaldi and the bullpen holding back Washington for the rest of the game, the Fish had plenty of time to manufacture offense versus Ross Ohlendorf. Unfortunately, Miami did no such thing. The Fish twice threatened runs, with the first being in the fourth inning. Yelich singled and Giancarlo Stanton doubled, putting runners on second and third with one out. Logan Morrison got a close call on a 2-1 pitch that forced an intentional walk to load the bases, but neither Ed Lucas nor Justin Ruggiano could drive the runners home.
The next opportunity for Miami came in the sixth after Yelich homered. Stanton and Morrison walked, but it was Lucas and Ruggiano who again failed to finish the inning with runs. Overall, the Marlins only gathered four hits and three walks, as the remaining inning remained mostly empty. The Fish failed to capitalize, and they took the 2-1 loss as a result.