Latos, Marlins Limit Nationals To 3 Hits In 2-1 Victory
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Mat Latos and four relievers combined on a three-hitter, and the Miami Marlins beat Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals 2-1 Tuesday night.
Strasburg (2-3) left for a pinch hitter in the third inning after allowing two runs and throwing 64 pitches. His departure might have been due to an injury, because one inning earlier the right-hander grimaced after throwing a pitch and was visited by the team trainer, pitching coach Steve McCatty and manager Matt Williams.
Strasburg stayed in the game, but not for long. He was scheduled to lead off the third and put on a batting helmet, but was told to take a seat in the dugout.
Strasburg gave up four hits, walked two and hit a batter with a pitch in his shortest outing since a two-inning stint against Miami on Aug. 28, 2013.
Latos (1-3) allowed one run and two hits over 6 1-3 innings to earn his first win with Miami. He struck out six and walked five. Obtained in an offseason trade with Cincinnati, the five-year veteran came in with a 6.86 ERA over five starts.
After allowing two walks in the seventh, Latos was replaced by Nick Masset. With runners on first and second and two outs, pinch-hitter Clint Robinson hit a sharp grounder that second baseman Dee Gordon snagged by diving to his right. Throwing from his knees, he retired Robinson at first.
Steve Cishek worked the ninth to earn his third save and secure the Marlins' 10th win in 13 games.
After a single by Wilson Ramos and an infield error put runners on first and second with no outs in the Washington ninth, Cishek retired the next three batters.
Ichiro Suzuki had two hits and scored a run for Miami. The 41-year-old has hit safely in 19 of 20 career games against Washington, including the last 11.
Until the ninth, Washington's only hits were a double by Ramos and a third-inning single by pitcher Doug Fister, batting for Strasburg. Bryce Harper's career-best, 20-game run of reaching base ended with an 0-for-4 performance that included two strikeouts.
Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth was given the night off. He's batting .176 with no homers and dropped a fly ball on Monday.
After the start was delayed 28 minutes by rain, Miami went up 2-0 in the second inning. J.T. Realmuto tripled and scored on an opposite-field single by Suzuki, who came home on a throwing error by Strasburg.
Dan Uggla hit a run-scoring grounder in the bottom half following a walk to Ryan Zimmerman and a double by Ramos.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: OF Christian Yelich (lower back strain) played seven innings in a rehab game Monday — going 1 for 3 with a stolen base — and is slated to play nine innings Wednesday. "He's probably not far off," manager Mike Redmond said.
Nationals: Now that he's gotten past a left knee sprain that landed him on the disabled list, 3B-2B Anthony Rendon has to recover from an oblique strain. He will be shut down for a few days. "There's no real time frame," Williams said.
UP NEXT
Marlins: In the series finale Wednesday afternoon, RHP Tom Koehler hopes for an encore to his last outing against the Nationals: 7 1-3 innings of six-hit ball in an 8-0 win on April 25.
Nationals: Max Scherzer, whose record (1-3) belies his ERA (1.26), seeks to snap a two-game losing streak. Washington totaled one run in those two defeats.
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