Marlins and Jeff Brigham Fall to Max Scherzer and the Nationals

The Miami Marlins could not solve the pitching of Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer, fall 9-4 on the road Tuesday night.

It was the same old story for the Miami Marlins. Poor pitching combined with a dominant pitching effort by the opposition led to another road loss on Tuesday night. This time, it was a history-making performance that did Miami in, with a 9-4 loss at Nationals Park.

Marlins starter Jeff Brigham once again could not find any rhythm on the mound, giving up walks and an early home run that sealed the visiting team’s fate. All the while, Max Scherzer became the 17th MLB pitcher since 1900 and sixth since 1990 to reach 300 strikeouts.

I know in stories like these, we are supposed to focus on the team we cover, however, this is a moment that could not be forgotten or buried. The Marlins had no real answers once again as their National League East rivals continued to move forward while the struggling South Florida team took another set backward.

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"“Tuesday night featured yet another game in which a rookie starter issued too many walks and didn’t throw enough strikes,” Joe Frisaro and Ian Quillen wrote for MLB.com. “Jeff Brigham issued four free passes in four innings while allowing a three-run home run to Anthony Rendon. Against the reigning two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, that led to another long night.”"

The good thing is there aren’t many more long nights to be had this season. The bad thing there have been too many for the Marlins, who are now 62-95 this season.

Brigham has not been able to secure a win since being called up with the Sept. 1 roster expansion. His last outing proved he could still be in the mix for a shot at the 2019 rotation, however, Tuesday night’s performance will give the organization more to consider when making roster decisions heading into Spring Training.

"“It started off bad, and probably could have been a lot worse,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “The double plays in there kind of saved [Brigham]. A lot of pitches, a lot of missed [locations] I felt like today.”"

History is not something the Marlins wanted to be a part of, given this franchise has struggled all season. Rookie Austin Dean was the answer to a future trivia question, striking out to reach the magical number. Brigham was able to appreciate the moment and talked about pitching against one of the best in MLB today.

"“I absolutely admire his competitiveness on the mound,” Brigham said. “That’s something I aspire to have every time I’m out there, is to compete at the highest level. There’s no one that competes harder than he does.”"

This was Brigham’s fourth start since being called up on Sept. 1. He has walked four or more batters in three of those starts.