The Miami Marlins spoiled their homecoming.
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Justin Bour and Martin Prado homered for the second straight game and the Miami Marlins dented the Washington Nationals’ fading playoff hopes with a 6-4 win Thursday night.
As far as the pitching went, the Nats got back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances from Stephen Strasburg (who gave up only one hit Tuesday) and Gio Gonzalez. “The whole place was going bananas and I was like, ‘Holy s–, we did it!’ But until that happened, you don’t realize it. You never get that sense until you actually do it”. Miami 2B Dee Gordon went 8-for-14 (.571) with four runs scored in the series versus New York to improve to 21-for-58 (.362) this month.3. Bour has 12 RBI’s and Prado has 11.
“Obviously we went through a rough patch where kind of a lot of negativity around, but lately we’ve been playing as a team”, said first baseman Justin Bour, who hit his 18th homer Thursday. He will finish this season with a 1.62 ERA in 35 ninth-inning appearances and 29 saves. Shortstop Miguel Rojas led off the inning with a double before scoring on a sacrifice fly hit by Gordon making it a 3-2 ballgame.
Jarred Cosart (2-4) turned in his third straight productive effort since being recalled from the minors.
Fernandez was not involved in the decision as he allowed five hits and two runs while throwing 95 pitches in 5 2/3 innings. Washington left the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate while falling to Miami 6-4. Washington OF Bryce Harper entered Friday as the league leader in on-base average (.467), slugging (.669) and homers (40)… Desmond worked a full count against Marlins reliever Bryan Morris before coming through with a two-run single up the middle.
Wilson Ramos walked to reload the bases, but A.J. Ramos fanned Michael Taylor.
“He was very solid”, Marlins manager Dan Jennings said.
In the sixth, after Harper fouled two balls off his foot and ankle, he singled.
So when manager Matt Williams emerged from the dugout Friday night and headed for a conference with Scherzer, the right-hander shouted him off the mound.
It was the third game in a row at Nationals Park this year that Bour has hit a homer. In fact, Bour said the first major-league game he ever saw was the first one he played in.
Desmond tied it in the second with his 18th homer of the season.
Desmond had tied the game at 3 earlier in the inning with a sacrifice fly to score pinch-runner Trea Turner. “We kept on knocking on the door”. These days, Bour’s father is retired, and the first baseman for the Marlins is putting the hurt on the Nationals, his hometown team. 3B Yunel Escobar was in the lineup after leaving in the eighth inning Wednesday because of a tight hamstring.
Marlins starter Jose Fernandez allowed two runs in 5 2-3 innings in his second start since returning from a biceps strain.
Roark allowed eight hits and six runs in five innings before he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fifth.
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After giving up eight hits, a walk and two earned runs in 4 ⅔ IP in a 2-0 loss last week in Marlins Park, Roark gave up eight hits, two of them home runs, and six runs total in five innings in the series opener in D.C., taking the loss again in what ended up a 6-4 game in Miami’s favor. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
