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Washington Nationals 4, Miami Marlins 2

By David Driver, The Sports Xchange
Washington Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth. Photo by Mark Goldman/UPI
Washington Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth. Photo by Mark Goldman/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals OF Jayson Werth had a bloop single with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Sunday to split the two-game series.

It was the first hit of the season in 14 at-bats for Werth, whose one-out hit came against former teammate Edwin Jackson.

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The blooper into short center scored Anthony Rendon, who singled for his third hit of the game, and went to third on a double by Bryce Harper. Daniel Murphy was given an intentional walk to load the bases before Jackson came on to face Werth.

Two batters later Clint Robinson drove in two runs with a sharp liner to left-center off Jackson to make it 4-1.

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The winning pitcher was Joe Ross (1-0), who allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, with five strikeouts. Blake Treinen pitched a perfect eighth for the Nationals and Jonathan Papelbon tossed the ninth for his third save after he gave up a solo homer with one out to Christian Yelich then retired pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich for the final out with a runner on base.

Harper had an RBI double in the first to drive in Rendon, who had singled, to tie the game at 1-1 against Marlins starter Tom Koehler (0-1). It was the 10th RBI in 25 career at-bats for Harper against Koehler.

Giancarlo Stanton had an RBI single in the first to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead off as he drove in Dee Gordon, who led off the game with a triple. Stanton has 60 RBIs in his career against the Nationals, the most of any opponent.

The Marlins have dropped eight of their last 11 games at Nationals Park and 11 of their last 16 and have not had a winning season in Washington since 2011. The Marlins were 26-9 in their first four seasons at Nationals Park and are 11-29 since then.

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Koehler entered the game with a lifetime mark of 3-6 with an ERA of 4.64 against the Nationals.

Ross, in his first career start against the Marlins, was 5-5 with an ERA of 3.64 in 16 games with 13 starts last season for the Nationals. He made his big league debut in June after he was called up from Double-A Harrisburg.

Daniel Murphy and Harper had two hits for the Nationals, while Murphy (hitting .462) reached in his four at-bats with two singles and two walks. Gordon and Martin Prado had two hits for the Marlins.

NOTES: Nationals RF Bryce Harper had his 100th career double in the seventh. ... The Marlins challenged a call in which 2B Daniel Murphy beat out an infield single with two outs in the fifth to load the bases. The Marlins lost the challenge, but LF Jayson Werth grounded out on the next pitch to end the threat. ... Washington 1B Clint Robinson got the start Sunday in place of regular 1B Ryan Zimmerman, as manager Dusty Baker tries to get days off for some of his regulars. Robinson played in 126 games last season in his first full year in the majors and hit 10 homers. ... Washington RHP Max Scherzer, originally slated to start Sunday, will face the Atlanta Braves on Monday at home after Saturday's game was postponed due to cold weather. ... RHP Tom Koehler, the starter for the Marlins, allowed Harper to hit five homers in 24 at-bats going into Sunday's game. ... The game-time temperature was 43 degrees.

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