Miami

Marlins

Bride was the best Marlins’ bat in this game by far. He accounted for three of their seven hard-hit balls and their only extra-base hit. Sneakily, he’s been a steady compiler for those in deep-leagues playing practically every day, often hitting third or fourth in the order, and a .771 OPS in 59 games this season.

It’s hard to figure out how Oller keeps runs off the board. The Nationals put at least one runner on base in every inning after the first and barely swung-and-missed, but just couldn’t break the game open. It’s very hard to trust him against the Braves in his next scheduled start.

This is the last of a string of five straight left-handed starters the Marlins have been matched up against. Sánchez started two of the previous four games and finished hitless both times. For the season, he’s batting just .141/.194/.217 in 99 plate appearances versus southpaws, and he’s setting himself up to be a strict platoon guy if the Marlins return to contention at some point.

Bellozo worked around two baserunners in the first inning, then served up a solo homer to Joey Gallo in the second. Two singles in the fourth brought a second run in to score for the Nationals. He tossed a scoreless fifth and surrendered a solo homer to José Tena in the sixth that would end his day. Bellozo struck out four. The 24-year-old right-hander will take a 3.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 39/19 K/BB ratio across 58 1/3 innings into a start against the Braves in Miami on Friday.

Lopez’s solo shot provided the Marlins’ only offense in this game. That was his fifth long ball of the season and second in a week. Before that last one, he hadn’t homered since May 13th in what was a prolonged power drought.

It might finally be happening for Cabrera. He’s made great strides with his command over the last few months and that has allowed him to comfortably expand his arsenal to five pitches with the inclusion of his two-seamer and slider. With that, he’s become less repetitive and been able to attack hitters more aggressively. He didn’t fall behind in the count once all game against right-handed batters and he could’ve cruised through seven or eight innings if not for his own error in the first that brought two Nationals home. Cabrera is set for a tall task in his next start against the Dodgers at home.

Edwards came off the bench the last two games, going 2-for-2 with a double and a steal last night. We’re not sure what the Marlins are trying to do here with one of their key players, but we’re guessing Edwards isn’t quite 100 percent after returning from back soreness last week. Because if he is 100 percent and they just didn’t start him three games in a row anyway, that would be criminal.

Bride had a sacrifice fly in the third inning and tied the game in the eighth inning with an RBI single. He has a hit in 10 of his last 12 games and is 11-for-39 (.282) with a home run and five RBI in that time. Bride is hitting .259 with a .755 OPS and 27 RBI on the year.

Burger was 16-for-89 (.180) in his last 23 games entering play Thursday. Maybe the three-hit effort will spark another hot streak for the 28-year-old infielder. Burger has provided a good amount of power this year. He’s hitting .244 with 25 home runs and 61 RBI on the season.

McCaughan gave up six hits, walked two and struck out one. Washington scored three time in the first inning on an RBI single by Dylan Crews and a two-run double by Jose Tena. McCaughan isn’t a fantasy option at the moment. He has a 7.06 ERA and 1.81 in 15 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings on the season. The 28-year-old right-hander is set to face the Dodgers at home next week.