MLB: Florida 4, Washington 2

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Luis Castillo homered and drove in a pair of runs Tuesday as the Florida Marlins defeated the Washington Nationals, 4-2.

Castillo was 3-for-4 as the Marlins stayed within a game of front-running Houston in the NL wild card race. The Nationals slipped to 2 1/2 games back.

Ismael Valdez (2-1) earned the victory, giving up two runs on three hits in five innings. Todd Jones earned his 35th save with a scoreless ninth.

Brad Wilkerson homered for Washington, which saw a three-game winning streak come to an end. Darrell Rasner (0-1) gave up three runs in just 2 2/3 frames in his major-league debut.