Marlins blow seven-run lead in loss to Nationals, now have worst record in the NL
Not even a seven-run lead was enough to get the Marlins a victory on Sunday.
The Washington Nationals rallied to defeat the host Marlins 12-9, giving Miami its sixth straight loss.
Miami’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a first-inning grand slam, and the Marlins led 7-0 after three innings.
But Marlins starter Ryan Weathers couldn’t hold the lead, allowing six runs in four-plus innings.
Weathers allowed five hits, three walks and three hit-by-pitches.
“It’s a month in, but it’s still tough,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said of the loss. “Up 7-0, we’re feeling pretty good.
“Ryan is generally a strike-thrower, but he had trouble putting them away. We didn’t play real clean baseball.”
Reliever Anthony Bender (0-2) took the loss, giving up a go-ahead, three-run homer to Nick Senzel in the fifth. Senzel finished with two homers and five RBI.
The Marlins fell behind 10-7 in the sixth as the Nationals executed a double steal that concluded with Ildemaro Vargas swiping home.
Miami cut its deficit to 10-9 in the seventh on Tim Anderson’s run-scoring double and pinch-hitter Jesus Sanchez’s RBI single.
But the Marlins couldn’t get any closer as they fall to 6-23 — the worst record in the National League. It’s also the worst 29-game start in franchise history.
The Marlins went 11-2 against the Nationals last year. But, on Monday night, the Nationals will try for a four-game sweep of this series.
The Marlins have blown leads in 10 losses this year, including all three in this series.
On the positive side, the Marlins banged 12 hits on Sunday, including two by leadoff batter Luis Arraez.
After a slow start, Arraez — who has won two straight batting titles — is batting .308.
“Our guys took good at-bats all day -- some hard-hit outs, too,” Schumaker said.
“Offensively it was a good day, but it was tough on the other side.”
Schumaker also said he changed some things in the Marlins’ routine in an effort to break the slump, but he declined to reveal which adjustments were made.
On Monday, the Marlins will start left-hander Trevor Rogers (0-3, 4.10 ERA).
The Nationals will counter with right-hander Jake Irvin (1-2, 4.55 ERA).
Rogers — once a top prospect — has not won an MLB game since April 14 of last year, when he beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1.
After his next start, he was shut down for the rest of the year due to injury.
For his career, Rogers is 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA against Washington.
Rogers, 26, has actually been a better pitcher on the road in his career (7-13, 3.73 ERA). At home, he is 6-13 with a 4.58 ERA.
