The Sports Xchange
Aug 7, 2017
WASHINGTON -- Pinch hitter Adam Lind hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Monday.
Lind hit a grounder up the middle against Jarlin Garcia (0-2) to score Wilmer Difo, who led off with a single, took second on a sacrifice and went to third on a groundout.
It was Lind's 13th pinch hit and 10th RBI as a pinch hitter.
Brandon Kintzler (2-0) issued a one-out walk to Christian Yelich but pitched a scoreless eighth. Sean Doolittle allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to pinch hitter Miguel Rojas but struck out pinch hitter Tyler Moore on the 10th pitch to secure his sixth save.
Nationals starter Max Scherzer did not figure in the decision. He went seven innings and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while fanning nine. He made the start six days after leaving a start in Miami with a sore neck after hitting a home run in the top of the second.
Miami's Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo homer off Scherzer to lead off the sixth to tie the game at 2-2. It was the major-league-leading 37th homer of the year for Stanton, who has 17 homers at Nationals Park in his career to lead all opposing players.
Marlins reliever Odrisamer Despaigne, who took over in the second, gave up one run on four hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Difo was 2-for-3 and has a hit in 23 of his last 26 starts, and Bryce Harper was 2-for-4 with a homer.
Marlins lefty Chris O'Grady, making his sixth major league start, left the game in the second inning with a right oblique strain.
O'Grady was replaced by Despaigne with one out and Ryan Zimmerman on first. Despaigne plunked the first batter he faced, Anthony Rendon, then gave up an RBI single to Matt Wieters.
Harper gave the Nationals a 2-0 lead when he led off the fourth with a long homer to right. It was Harper's 29th homer of the year and his second in five career at-bats against Despaigne.
The Marlins trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by Despaigne, who collected just his third hit in 39 major league at-bats.
NOTES: Washington manager Dusty Baker and Marlins manager Don Mattingly praised 1979 American League MVP Don Baylor, who died Monday at the age of 68. "We signed at the same time. I was supposed to be the next Hank Aaron and he was the next Frank Robinson with the Orioles. We fought for batting titles all the way up in the minors," Baker said. ... Washington RHP A.J. Cole (1-1, 4.91 ERA) will face Miami RHP Vance Worley (1-2, 5.31) on Tuesday. ... Marlins LHP Chris O'Grady, who started Monday, was drafted out of nearby George Mason University by the Los Angeles Angels in 2012. He was teammates at Mason with Miami 1B Justin Bour, who is on the disabled list.