Jesus Luzardo bounced back from what he called his most challenging start as a big leaguer with one of his better outings of the season for the Miami Marlins.
But an all-around meltdown in the seventh inning negated Luzardo’s efforts and paved the way for the Washington Nationals to rally for a 5-4 win over the Marlins on Friday to begin a three-game series at Nationals Park. Miami falls to 59-86 on the season and lost for just the second time against the Nationals (50-94) in 14 games this season. Miami is also 22-35 in games decided by one run this season.
Washington took the lead for good on Ildemaro Vargas’ eighth-inning double to left-center field after the Nationals scored four runs in the seventh.
That seventh-inning rally started when Nationals first baseman Joey Meneses sent a near middle-middle Luzardo curveball to center field, where JJ Bleday missed a chance for a play at the wall and then kicked the ball to right-center field. Meneses didn’t hesitate running around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. A walk to Luke Voit — Luzardo’s first walk of the game — ended Luzardo’s night and brought Tanner Scott to the mound.
Scott struck out Ildemaro Varges before issuing back-to-back walks to Luis Garcia and Riley Adams to load the bases.
A Victor Robles sacrifice fly to center field scored Voit before CJ Abrams hit a shallow line drive to right field that Brian Anderson couldn’t grab on a slide that resulted in a two-out, game-tying, two-run triple.
Prior to that inning, though, Luzardo was steady one start after giving up five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against the New York Mets. He retired the first seven batters he faced in a row and faced the minimum through four innings thanks to a pair of inning-ending double plays in the third and fourth innings.
The only jam he faced came in the fifth when singles from Voit and Garcia put runners on first and second with one out. Luzardo eliminated that threat by getting Adams to fly out to left field and Robles to ground out.
And he had run support thanks to Miami’s four-run second inning.
Nick Fortes led off the frame with a check-swing infield single and Bleday followed with a double to put runners on second and third. Back-to-back RBI groundouts from Bryan De La Cruz and Miguel Rojas scored the two runners to give Miami an early 2-0 edge.
Jordan Groshans then drew a full-count walk before Lewin Diaz sent a first-pitch Josiah Gray fastball 391 feet to right-center field for a two-run home run.
Miami had a chance to tack on runs in the top of the eighth after giving up the lead but two outs on the basepaths stymied the rally attempt. Luke Williams, who pinch-ran for Bleday after a leadoff single, was picked off at first base and Rojas was out going from first to third on a Groshans two-out single to right.
