Gio Gonzalez loses no-hitter in ninth inning, Washington Nationals beat Miami Marlins, 1-0...

Gio Gonzalez and Jose Urena got into an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel in the series opener in Miami, Florida’s Marlins Park tonight.

Gonzalez came out on top, throwing a no-hitter through eight before giving up a leadoff single in what ended up a 1-0 win.

Washington got to Urena in the sixth, to end his shutout bid when Brian Goodwin doubled to start the frame and scored on an RBI single by Bryce Harper, 1-0.

Gonzalez kept the Marlins off the board through seven hitless innings, working around three free passes, with the third, a one-out walk to Christian Yelich, snapping a streak of 14-straight batters set down that stretched back to a one-out walk to Tyler Moore in the second.

Gonzalez came back out for the eighth at 87 pitches, and retired two batters before he hit Miguel Rojas, but a fly to center field by Ichiro Suzuki ended the Nationals’ lefty’s eighth hitless inning.

Gonzalez took the mound in the ninth at 103 pitches, with a 1-0 lead, and gave up a leadoff single on a 1-1 curve to Dee Gordon, who lined it to center to break up the no-hit bid.

Sean Doolittle took over on the mound and earned the save with a scoreless inning.

Final Score: 1-0 Nationals

Nationals now 63-41

HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Marlins’ right-hander Jose Urena and Nats’ lefty Gio Gonzalez matched one another through four scoreless in tonight’s series opener in Miami, Urena on 55 pitches, and Gonzalez on 54, and the Fish right-hander needed just nine pitches to get through the fifth, having held the Nationals to just one hit.

• Urena needed just nine pitches to get through the fifth, while Gonzalez retired the side in order in a 13-pitch frame, completing a fifth hitless frame to start the game.

• Brian Goodwin doubled off the lime green center field wall in Marlins Park to start the Nats’ half of the sixth, connecting for his 18th two-base hit of the season, and he took third on a sac bunt by Wilmer Difo to get within 90 feet of scoring the first run of the game, before he came in on an opposite field RBI single by Bryce Harper, 1-0.

• Gonzalez struck out two in a quick, eight-pitch, 1-2-3 sixth that left him at 75 pitches total after six scoreless and hitless innings of work.

• Urena was up to 92 pitches after Matt Wieters flew out to deep right field on a 3-0 fastball to end the top of the seventh.

• Christian Yelich walked with one down in the seventh, snapping a streak of 14 in a row set down by Gonzalez going back to the second, but Yelich was forced out at second on a Marcell Ozuna grounder to the mound, and J.T. Realmuto’s grounded into a force at second on a roller to third to end a seventh hitless inning.

• Tyler Moore’s grounder back to the mound started the eighth, leaving Gonzalez five outs away from a no-hitter. Mike Aviles lined out to Bryce Harper in right. Two down. Miguel Rojas took a 1-2 fastball off the foot, giving the Marlins just their fourth man on base of the game, but Ichiro Suzuki sent a fly to center to end Gonzalez’s eighth hitless inning.

• Jose Urena’s Line: 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 Ks, 102 P, 63 S, 8/5 GO/FO.

• Jarlin Garcia worked a clean top of the ninth for the Marlins to keep it a 1-0 game.

• Gonzalez came back out for the ninth at 103 pitches, and gave up a single to center by Dee Gordon on his 106th pitch. That was it for Gonzalez.

• Gio Gonzalez’s Line: 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks, 1 HBP, 106 P, 67 S, 7/4 GO/FO.

• Sean Doolittle took over on the mound and erased the baserunner on a double play grounder off Giancarlo Stanton’s bat. Christian Yelich reached base on an infield single, but he was stranded when Marcell Ozuna popped out to end the game.

NATIONALS PREGAME NOTES:

• Heading into tonight’s series opener in Miami, the Marlins held a 119-106 advantage over the Nationals in the all-time series between the two teams, though the Nats had a 50-32 record over the last 3 ¹⁄₂ seasons.
• Washington starts the current road trip 33-19 on the road this season (.635 W%), which is the second-best mark in the majors, behind only the Houston Astros (38-15, .717).
• Bryce Harper started the night in an 0 for 12 “slump” at the plate, with no hits in his last three games.
• Washington’s offense put up 10+ runs in 18 games this season before tonight, leading the majors in that category, ahead of the Colorado Rockies (17) and the Houston Astros (16).
• Washington’s offense started the night leading the NL in AVG (.277), SLG (.477), runs scored (574), hits (tied, 1,000), home runs (158), and extra-base hits (390), and the Nationals were ranked second in the NL in OBP (.342).
• Anthony Rendon got the night off, but he started the day leading the NL in fWAR (5.3), which was good for third-best in the majors, behind only the Astros’ Jose Altuve (5.5), and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (5.8).
• In his last four starts against the Fish before tonight’s, Gio Gonzalez had a 1.54 ERA in 23 ¹⁄₃ IP, and he was (7-3), with a 2.19 ERA in 13 career starts vs the Marlins.

Nationals now 63-41