The Miami Marlins finally returned to the win column on Tuesday with a decisive 11-2 victory over the Washington Nationals to end an eight game losing streak.
Tom Koehler pitched more like an ace than the fifth starter he is listed as by holding Washington to only one hit across seven innings of work. Koehler struck out three and allowed five hits while holding the Nationals scoreless. Koehler is now 2-1 with a 1.89 E.R.A on the season and thoroughly outpitched Stephen Strasburg in this win. Dan Jennings allowed a run in the eighth though the run was un-earned as it was due in part to a Marcell Ozuna throwing error. Jennings would go on to allow one more run in the ninth on a solo home run.
The Marlins tallied their 11 runs on 14 hits in an explosive display against Strasburg and the Washington bullpen. The scoring started early with Giancarlo Stanton blasting a three-run home run in the first inning. The Marlins’ slugger now has five home runs on the year and also leads Major League Baseball with 21 runs batted in. Stanton added his fifth double later in the game as well in what was 5 RBI day for him. Ozuna had a huge day himself going 4-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Adeiny Hechavarria who was celebrating his birthday on Tuesday added a triple which was his second of the year to go along with two runs scored. Casey McGehee who had a tough road trip went 3-5 with two RBI to lift his average back over .300 on the season. Every starter in the lineup outside of Koehler had at least one hit in this game, with four of the hitters having multi-hit games.
The Marlins will look to make it two wins in a row on Wednesday when Jose Fernandez takes the mound, trying to rebound from a loss in Washington last week.
