The Miami Marlins Walked Off In Ninth Inning Loss To Nationals

After a game that saw 26 runs scored by the Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals on Thursday night, things settled down a bit on Friday night. A walk-off home run by Mark Reynolds gave the Nationals a 3-2 win at Nationals Park to take the first two games of the series.

The Miami Marlins had plenty of opportunities to score but squandered them as they left nine batters on base. Kyle Barraclough took the loss for the Marlins. Sean Doolittle was the winning pitcher.

The walk-off by Reynolds was his second of his career and the first since 2016.

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Miami got itself out of a jam in the eighth inning by getting three straight outs with the bases loaded to keep the score 2-2 heading to the ninth inning.

Barraclough came into the game, hoping to get the Marlins to extra innings, but quickly fell behind to the lead-off hitter Reynolds, 3-0. Barraclough, who had come in during a non-save situation, threw a strike before giving up the long ball.

Barraclough, the National League Reliever for the month of June, is now 0-3 on the season.

The loss was the team’s second in a row to Washington and 13 straight to their National League East rival that dates back to August 2017.

The two teams combined for 17 hits on the night but also left 17 batters on base. The Marlins were 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Catcher J.T. Realmuto did not have a hit on the night but did strike out twice.

Hitting

• Starlin Castro had two hits, scored one run and had an RBI. He is now hitting .297 on the season and has a .751 OPS. Castro led all Marlins hitter with five at-bats on the night.
• Brian Anderson had one hit on the night and walked once. He is curretly batting .284 for the season.
• Garrett Cooper had two hits in three at-bats. Cooper is batting .300 and struck out once.
• Miguel Rojas had two hits on the night, which raised his batting average to .257 for the season.
• Martin Prado did not have a hit in the game, but he did score a run and raised his batting average to .190 this season.
• Catcher J.T. Realmuto may have struck out twice, but he is still batting .305 for the season.

Pitching

• Starter Dan Straily went six innings, gave up five hits and two runs. He walked three and struck out one.
• Brad Ziegler pitched one inning. He gave up a hit and struck out one batter.
• Drew Steckenrider pitched an inning. He walked two and gave up one hit to load the bases before the Marlins backed him up defensively.
• Kyle Barraclough gave up the home run to Mark Reynolds. He pitched one inning, gave up the one hit and the one run.

Five Players

The Washington Nationals have players who have a strong connection to the state of Florida. Starter Gio Gonzalez is from Hialeah. He said it is always special pitching against the team he grew up rooting for, according to Jessica Blaylock of the Marlins television network.

Daniel Murphy and Howie Kendrick are both from Florida. Trea Turner is from Boynton Beach. Michael A. Taylor is from Ft. Lauderdale.

Garrett Cooper Delivers

Returning from the 60-Day disabled list, Garrett Cooper got a single to right in the first inning off Gonzalez. Cooper was activated on Friday ahead of the start of the game. He was acquired, along with lefty Caleb Smith last November from the New York Yankees.

According to MLB.com, Cooper appeared in 11 rehab assignment games — nine for New Orleans and two for Class A Advanced Jupiter. His combined numbers were .333/.421/.455 with one home run and five RBIs.

Cooper suffered his injury on March 30 when he was hit in the right wrist on a pitch by Kyle Hendricks. It was the team’s second game of the season. The Marlins had Cooper in the lineup as the Opening Day right fielder.

To make room on the roster for Cooper’s return, who also replaces Lewis Brinson who was placed on the 10-Day disabled list with inflammation in his hip, the team announced pitcher Dillon Peters was sent back to Triple-A New Orleans.

Cooper finished with two hits in his first game back.

Next: Miami Marlins History: All-Time Top 20 OPS (20-11)

Tomorrow

Wei-Yin Chen starts for the Marlins. Chen has a 2-5 record with a 5.55 ERA. For the Nationals, Max Scherzer takes the mound. Scherzer is 10-5 with a 2.16 ERA.