Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins Clobber Nationals (Grades)

Apr 15, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton connects for a three run home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Marlins Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Marlins 11, Washington Nationals 2

Recap (link coming soon) | Box Score

Tom Koehler, SP: B-

7.0 IP, 1 H, 5 BB, 3 SO

Koehler kept the Washington Nationals hot bats off the scoreboard in his seven innings of work, allowing just one hit, while striking out three hitters and inducing 9 groundball outs. It however was not the cleanest of starts, as Koehler walked five hitters on the evening. In the process, Koehler improved his ERA to 1.89 for the season, in his three starts.

Giancarlo Stanton, RF: A

2-for-5, HR (5), 2B (5), 3 R, 5 RBI, BB, 2 SO

When Stanton swung at a slider in the dirt on the second pitch, I thought the Marlins were in for a long day. I was wrong, as two pitches later, Stanton sent a Stephen Strasburg slider to straight away center for his 5th home run of the season. On his second time up, Strasburg decided it would be best to let the beast sleep and walked Stanton intentionally. Stanton added a 2-run double in the 5th.

Marcell Ozuna, A+:

4-for-5, 3 R, RBI

Batting in front of Stanton is a very important job for whomever assumes the responsibility on a given night. Returning to the lineup after missing Monday’s game, Ozuna responded to the challenge quite well. Ozuna collected four hits on the evening and scored three times. Ozuna has been a major surprise early on for the Marlins.

Mike Redmond, Manager: A

Since our editor called for the firing of Redmond on Sunday (something I’m not totally against), we figured we’d give him credit for not using Greg Dobbs or Carlos Marmol in this one and blowing another huge Marlins lead.

Marlins: A:

This could easily go down as the second best game for the Marlins on the young season. The team hit for power, drove in big runs, and pitched well. The game just did not generate the same type of feeling that Opening Day did, though. That’s likely because that was an Jose Fernandez start and it was the first real baseball game in Miami in a long while.