WSH 3, MIA 7; 15 hits from the Fish lead to a key win

The Marlins came into tonight with a 26-24 record, going up against the Washington Nationals defending World Champs. Coming off Friday’s monster game where Brian Anderson hit 3 home runs the Marlins carried the momentum into tonight by scoring seven runs on 15 hits.

The night started off with a bang for the Marlins as Miguel Rojas hit his 4th home run of the year at the very top of the first inning. Igniting a lead which they did not look back from the rest of the game, even scoring in 4 straight innings (from the 3rd through 6th).

Pablo López took the mound coming off a tremendous previous start vs. the Phillies, went up against Two-Time All-Star Patrick Corbin, who just like, Pablo pitched 7 innings in his last start.

López started the game lights out for the first three innings, only allowing a single hit against the Nats. Pablo did have trouble in the fourth giving up two hits, walking Asdrúbal Cabrera and Carter Kieboom as well as two runs, which would end being the only runs scored against López.

The night ended up well for Pablo as he pitched 5 ¹⁄₃ innings and striking out seven. His ERA dipped to 3.96 from the 4.02 he had prior to the game.

Tonight’s hero—or should I say heroes—ended up being the bats for the Marlins. In the 3rd inning, Garrett Cooper hit a monster home run against Corbin, his 5th homer of the year overall. The Fish had six players who had two or more hits on the night, including Miggy, who had three hits, bumping his avg up to .347 on the year. Chad Wallach tonight, who got the start over Jorge Alfaro as Wallach has worked better with Pablo in the past, had two hits providing support for his pitcher.

The Marlins ended up being too much for Patrick Corbin, giving up 14 hits and 7 ER in 6 innings pitched. Tom Glavine (1999) and Tim Hudson (2015) are the only pitchers ever to allow more hits to the Marlins in a single game.

The bullpen for the Fish combined for 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 K and 1 BB. Strong performances from the ‘pen are critical as they look forward the postseason. It has been rocky all season long in that department, but Don Mattingly is beginning to find a formula that works. They will need more of the same over the next week to officially punch their ticket to October baseball.

There are 3 players and one non-player who I believe distinguished themselves as the stars of the night for the Fish:

• Pablo López—5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 7 K, 3 BB
• Miguel Rojas—3-for-5 , 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R
• Garret Cooper—2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI
• Left Field Ball Guy

The Marlins proved they are ready for what is ahead, including a doubleheader tomorrow, four games vs. the Braves and the final series vs. the red-hot Yankees who are winners of 10 straight. By winning most of those remaining games, they can end a 17-year postseason drought.

Tomorrow is a crucial pitching matchup as the Marlins will send Sandy Alcantara to face the 3x Cy Young winner Max Scherzer in the doubleheader’s first game. The first pitch will be at 1:10 pm EST. Rookie left-hander Braxton Garrett is the leading candidate to start the second game, though the Marlins would need to recall him from their alternate training site (nothing official yet).

Marlins vs. Nationals Box Score

Fish Picks Answer Key

1. Corbin
2. Under
3. Over
4. Yes
5. Marlins