The Miami Marlins had an early lead before losing to the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday.
Miami has had difficulty maintaining leads as of late and that was the case once again in this one. The Marlins were up 2-0 when the sixth inning began and were down 4-2 after seven. Washington scored all of its runs on home runs off the bullpen.
Tom Koehler allowed one run in 5.2 innings, but was bailed out multiple times along the way. Koehler walked five and also gave up six hits while recording four strikeouts. The right-hander easily could have given up another couple runs while on the mound.
Bryan Morris was brought in to try and end the sixth inning without allowing a run. Morris was unable to do so however as he would give up a game-tying two-run home run to the first batter he would see.
In the next inning, Kyle Barraclough would give up a two-run home run of his own to Bryce Harper. Barraclough ended up being charged with the loss and now has a 3.00 E.R.A this season.
Dustin McGowan would allow a solo home run of his own in the eighth inning as well to pad Washington's lead.
The Marlins will play a pair of games on Saturday. In the first game, Justin Nicolino will get the ball. Kendry Flores is expected to be promoted from AAA for the second game's starting assignment.
