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Washington Nationals v Miami Marlins

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CJ Abrams,Eddie Rosario,Ildemaro Vargas

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Wilfredo Lee

MIAMI — If there was ever a game for the Washington Nationals to snap out of their offensive doldrums, it was Friday night at LoanDepot Park. The last-place Miami Marlins opted to make this a bullpen game and had turned to a rookie making his MLB debut as their opener.

For seven innings, however, it hardly mattered. The Nationals had mustered just five hits and a run and the offensive anxiety only grew with each passing frame. Finally, in the eighth inning, the dam broke in a 3-1 win that snapped a three-game losing streak.

The rally started with a single from rookie Trey Lipscomb. Jacob Young followed with a sacrifice bunt, a key part of the rookie’s tool kit. Then the visitors capitalized on a pair of mistakes to take the lead.

The first Marlins miscue: Jesse Winker reached on a grounder that kicked off Tim Anderson’s glove. The second: intentionally walking CJ Abrams. Abrams had been intentionally walked just twice in his career, a testament to his speed and opponents’ unwillingness to put him on. That they wanted to avoid his bat was a testament to his production. He made them pay all the same.

Joey Meneses hit a single up the middle to score Lipscomb. Abrams raced around third with his helmet off and<a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1681136430804869120" target=_blank> his alien chain</a> swinging before swimming his right hand around catcher Nick Fortes’s tag with the Nationals’ third run.

“You just try to try to relax, go up to bat looking for a good pitch,” Meneses said through an interpreter.

“Great swing,” Abrams said. “Took a cutter outside up the middle and I didn’t hesitate to score.”

The postgame vibes were joyous. For the first seven innings, such was not the case.

After putting two on with no outs in the third inning, the Nationals (11-14) recorded eight consecutive outs, none of which went any further than the infield dirt. In the sixth, they loaded the bases with no outs, poised to break out against a bullpen that couldn’t find the strike zone. Instead, only Young scored when Meneses hit into a double play.

The offense, sluggish over the season’s first month, was driven into a funk by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who swept Washington at home, allowing the Nationals just four runs in three games. Three Nationals regulars entered Friday with a batting average below .200. During their recent six-game homestand, they had just 11 extra-base hits.

The Nationals didn’t have another Friday, but they put enough runners on for it not to matter.

“The three constants is we’ve got to pitch, we’ve got to play good defense and we’ve got to run the bases well,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “Those three things happen, and we do it consistently, we’re going to score runs. I believe that.”

Right-hander Trevor Williams, who by night’s end saw his ERA (2.70) fall to nearly half of what it was last season (5.55), has yet to allow more than three runs in a game. A heavy mix of his fastball and change-up kept the Marlins (6-21) off-kilter. The lone run he allowed in five innings Friday came as a result of a single, a balk and another single on a flyball down the right field line that Eddie Rosario couldn’t reach.

“I don’t have the most elite fastball, but I need to make it look elite, and the best way to do that is to mix it up,” Williams said. “They put together some good at-bats. ... You tip your hat to them.”

The trio of Derek Law, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan struck out seven Marlins to close out the win.

<b>Note: </b>Right-hander Cade Cavalli told media members before Friday’s game that he expects to begin his minor league rehab assignment in mid-May, and said he is a month and a half away from “being back fully.” The 25-year-old, who is the Nationals’ top pitching prospect, will throw a live batting practice this week for the first time since tearing his ulnar collateral ligament and undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2023. He has been rehabilitating in West Palm Beach and greeted teammates with enthusiasm in the locker room on Friday.

“Feeling very close to normal,” Cavalli said. “The ball is coming out the same it was before the injury.”

The Nationals selected Cavalli in the first round in 2020. Though there is still some soreness, it’s a natural part of the progress. He added that his fastball is up to 96 mph in bullpen sessions — without, he said, having “fully pressed on the gas” — and he added a sinker this offseason. ...

Outfielder Victor Robles sprinted up to 90 percent capacity on Thursday and did some defensive work. The 26-year-old has not played since April 3 after suffering a left hamstring strain. Martinez hopes Robles begins his rehab assignment by the end of this upcoming week.

American University, BA in Journalism

Spencer Nusbaum covers the Washington Nationals for the Washington Post. Previously, he covered high school sports and worked as a news aide in the Post's sports section. He is an American University graduate and has written about the WNBA for The Next.

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Nationals do just enough to slip past Marlins, end skid

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