Miami Blows It Open in the Sixth, Drops Washington 6-2
The Marlins needed one inning to turn a one-run deficit into a three-run cushion, and they never looked back. Miami beat Washington 6-2 on Sunday behind a three-run sixth that buried any hope the Nationals had of a comeback.
The game had the feel of a tight one early. Heriberto Hernandez doubled to left in the first to score Ramírez and put Miami up 1-0, but Washington answered in the fourth when Dylan Crews doubled to center to score Lile and knot it at one. Through four innings, this looked like a game either team could take. Then came the fifth, and Xavier Edwards changed everything.
Edwards singled to left, scoring Lopez and Ramírez in one swing to push Miami to a 3-1 lead. That single was the decisive moment of the night — the win probability swung from 65% to 84% on that one play, a 19-point jump that effectively told you where this game was going. Washington answered immediately in the sixth: Jorbit Vivas doubled to center to score Ruiz and cut it to 3-2, and for a moment the Nationals had a pulse. Miami extinguished it in the same inning. Joe Mack doubled to left to score Marsee and move Conine to third, then Otto Lopez added a sacrifice fly to right to score Conine, and just like that it was 5-2. The Nationals had nothing left. Mack added one more in the eighth, grounding into a fielder's choice that scored Marsee to make it 6-2 and close the book.
On the mound, the story of the night was Miami's pitching depth outworking Washington's. Janson Junk went 4.2 innings, allowing just 2 hits and 1 earned run with zero walks — a composed outing that kept Miami in control early. Jack Ralston then threw 2.0 clean innings, giving up 2 hits but nothing on the scoreboard. For Washington, Jackson Kent lasted 4.2 innings but allowed 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, and Trevor Williams couldn't stop the bleeding in relief — 2.1 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 more walks. The walk totals for Washington's pitchers look like the real culprit here; Miami didn't need to do much to capitalize when baserunners kept appearing for free. Crews went 2-for-4 with an RBI and was Washington's most productive bat, but it wasn't nearly enough against a Miami offense that spread the damage across the lineup and made the Nationals pay every time they left the door open.