Harper, Petit Help Nationals Beat Marlins 3-1
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MIAMI (AP) — Bryce Harper doubled in a run and Yusmeiro Petit pitched four innings of relief to help the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 3-1 Wednesday.
Petit (1-0) allowed one run after starter Joe Ross departed in the third inning because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
Harper, who began the night leading the majors with 20 RBIs, hit a two-out double in the third to score Ross from first base for a 2-0 lead.
Michael Taylor homered with two outs in the fifth off Wei-Yin Chen (0-1). The ball wouldn't have cleared the center field fence last year, before the Marlins Park dimensions were shortened.
Washington's Daniel Murphy, who entered leading the majors in hitting, went 2 for 4 and hiked his average to .429.
Five Washington pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his sixth save. It was his first appearance since he blew a save chance Sunday in a loss to the Phillies.
Miami's Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts, the last one for the final out. He has fanned 20 times in 49 at-bats this year and is hitting .229.
The Marlins' only run scored on Derek Dietrich's first homer of the year. They fell to 1-7 at home.
The NL East-leading Nationals won even though they had only seven hits and went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. They improved to 6-2 on the road with one game left in a seven-game trip.
Chen pitched seven innings, a season high for Miami, and allowed three runs.
Ryan Zimmerman put Washington ahead with a two-out, RBI double in the first inning, and Ross had a 2-0 lead when he left after two innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Nationals: OF Ben Revere, who went on the disabled list April 6 due to a right oblique strain, is working out with the team but not yet close to a return. Manager Dusty Baker said he's not sure if Revere will need a rehabilitation stint before he can rejoin the team.
Marlins: LHP Mike Dunn, who went on the DL April 3 with a strained left forearm, is responding to treatment but still not ready to resume throwing, the team said.
UP NEXT
Nationals RHP Max Scherzer (2-0, 3.15) is scheduled to pitch the series finale Thursday against RHP Tom Koehler (0-2, 6.30). In two career starts at Marlins Park, Scherzer has pitched 15 scoreless innings and won twice.
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