The Nationals held a 3-2 lead over the Marlins tonight after just one inning of play, and sure enough, that was the same score we sat on after nine innings were through. A blistering start by both offenses in the first inning turned into a pitcher’s duel as both lefty starters, Foster Griffin and Robby Snelling settled in after that. The Nats got a big fly from Jacob Young, seven strong innings from Foster Griffin, five clean outs from Brad Lord (should have been six if not for an error behind him), and a one-out save from PJ Poulin to claim the first of this three-game series in Miami.

The Action

The game got started, as mentioned before, with a flurry of runs on both sides in the first. The Marlins’ young left-hander, Robby Snelling, tossed three consecutive curveballs to strike out James Wood in his first big league at-bat. A Curtis Mead double served as the gap between strikeouts, as Snelling would get Brady House to strike out for the second out of the inning. Also interesting to note that those two strikeouts were the only two that Snelling recorded in his five innings of work tonight. The damage came, as it has so often this season, with two outs. CJ Abrams jumped on a first pitch curveball and laced it up the middle for an RBI single, and then the big swing would come from Jacob Young. Often overlooked as a power threat, Young does something every now and then to remind us he’s still capable of it. He sure did that tonight, turning on an inside fastball and sending it well over the left field wall into the second level for a two-run homer, putting the Nats ahead 3-0.

That lead was immediately threatened in the bottom of the first, as it took Foster Griffin a little while extra to settle into this game. The Marlins jumped on him quickly, with Xavier Edwards leading off the inning with a homer, instantly shortening the lead to 3-1. That wouldn’t be all, as Otto Lopez followed up with a double, and then came around to score on a throwing error by Curtis Mead on a ball hit by Kyle Stowers. Just like that, the lead was down to 3-2, with still nobody out. Griffin was able to buckle in and escape with the lead intact, something that would prove to be fairly important, and we went to the second inning with the Nationals ahead 3-2.

The top of the second saw a great opportunity for the Nats to add to the lead, with the first two batters reaching with nobody out. Unfortunately that threat would be erased by a Keibert Ruiz double play ball, and the score remained where it was.

Foster Griffin got out of a jam of his own in the bottom of the second, getting Lopez to line out with runners on first and third with two outs to escape that inning as well.

We talked about the starters settling in, the next hit for either team came on a Brady House single in the fifth, and that put men on the corners with one out. CJ Abrams came up in this golden opportunity to try and extend this lead, and once again the double play bug bit the Nats, as Abrams grounded into a 4-6-3 to end the threat.

Foster Griffin finished the last three innings of his outing tonight with a flourish, retiring the last seven hitters he faced, and striking out six over his final three frames, including the last two batters of his outing. To get seven innings out of him after what the first one looked like is just an unbelievable boost for this Washington team from what’s been just an incredible start to the season for Griffin.

• Foster Griffin: 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, 103 pitches
• Robby Snelling: 5 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 86 pitches

The Nats’ bullpen took over in the bottom of the eighth as their offense remained silenced by the Miami pitching staff. Brad Lord came on for his first outing in six days and retired the side in order thanks to a caught stealing throw by Keibert Ruiz.

The Nationals went down quietly in the top of the ninth, leaving Brad Lord to close out what was still a 3-2 ballgame. Lord induced a fly out to lead off the inning, and then picked up a strikeout to put himself an out away from a six-out save. Then the Marlins were given some hope, as CJ Abrams made a bad throw on a ball hit by Javier Sanoja, allowing the tying run to reach base with two outs. That made things too interesting.

Blake Butera has shown time and time again that he does not care about traditional closers or roles, he’s going to play the matchups every time. That was no different tonight, as he immediately went to PJ Poulin to try and close this one out. The Marlins played the chess game and substituted a right-handed hitter, Heriberto Hernandez, to counter the lefty pitcher. Poulin walked him, putting the winning run on base, but then won a seven-pitch at-bat against Leo Jimenez, getting him to ground out to end this ballgame, and put the Nationals just one game below.500.

What’s Next?

This weekend series will get back underway tomorrow afternoon with a 4:10 start time. The Nats will send out Zack Littell (1-4, 7.24 ERA), for what might be a ‘prove it’ outing, in an effort to evaluate whether or not Littell is a guy who can help the team the rest of the season after this abysmal start. The Marlins will counter with Janson Junk (2-3, 2.82 ERA), a journeyman who’s found a home in Miami, and has thrived over the past year. The Nationals have already found a 1.5 game cushion over the Phillies for second place in the division, but a win tomorrow would bring the boys back to .500 in a turn of events I’m not sure anyone saw coming.

Down on the Farm

AAA Rochester

• 7-5 win tonight at Syracuse
• Andrew Alvarez: 4.2 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts (ERA down to 5.29)
• Eddy Yean: 1.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts (ERA down to 4.86)
• Erik Tolman: 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts (First Triple-A save)
• Christian Franklin: 1-4, home run (2), RBI, walk (BA up to .271, OPS to .763)
• Dylan Crews: 1-4, walk (BA up to .252, OPS to .744)
• YoYo Morales: 1-2, 3 walks (BA up to .316, OPS to .889)
• Trey Lipscomb: 1-3, home run (4), 2 RBIs, walk (BA up to .240, OPS to .698)
• Tres Barrera: 2-3, 2 RBIs, walk
• Tomorrow: 1:05 game at Syracuse (Chandler Champlain pitching)

AA Harrisburg

• 9-1 loss tonight versus Erie
• Kyle Luckham: 5 innings, 12 hits, 8 runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts (ERA to 6.62)
• Chance Huff: 2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts (ERA to 3.57)
• Maxwell Romero: 1-3, double, walk (BA up to .264, OPS to .880)
• Seaver King: 1-2 (lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth)
• Tomorrow: 6:00 game versus Erie (Alex Clemmey pitching)

High-A Wilmington

• 6-3 win tonight at Hub City
• Isaac Lyon: 4 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts (ERA to 1.42)
• Robert Cranz: 1.1 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts (3rd save)
• Devin Fitz-Gerald: 3-5, home run (5), RBI (BA up to .317, OPS to 1.014)
• Ronny Cruz: 2-5, RBI, stolen base (BA up to .350, OPS to .985)
• Angel Feliz: 1-4, home run (2), RBI, walk (BA up to .226, OPS to .658)
• Kevin Bazzell: 1-3, home run (1), RBI, walk (BA up to .200, OPS to .735)
• TJ White: 3-5, double, RBI (BA up to .259, OPS to .870)
• Hunter Hines: 2-3, double, walk (BA up to .182, OPS to .568)
• Randal Diaz: 1-5, double, stolen base (BA up to .200, OPS to .694)
• Tomorrow: 4:35 game at Hub City (Riley Maddox pitching)

Low-A Fredericksburg

• 11-5 win tonight at Hill City
• Leuris Portorreal: 3.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts (ERA to 4.74)
• Gus Hughes: 2.1 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts
• Eli Willits: 0-4, walk (BA to .267, OPS to .845)
• Yeremy Cabrera: 2-3, double, 2 RBIs, walk (BA to .317, OPS to 1.091)
• Coy James: 2-4, RBI, walk (BA to .198, OPS to .704)
• Jacob Walsh: 3-5, home run (5, grand slam!), 5 RBIs (BA to .256, OPS to .958)
• Rafael Ramirez Jr.: 1-5, double (BA to .250, OPS to .767)
• Jordan Williams: 2-3, double, RBI (BA to .295, OPS to .856)
• Tomorrow: 6:30 game at Hill City (Alexander Meckley pitching)