Nationals rally to tie it late, but lose 2-1 to Marlins on walk-off single by J.T. Realmuto...

Gio Gonzalez walked three batters and gave up a run on a sac fly in the fourth, and that was the only run for either team through eight, but the Washington Nationals rallied to tie it at 1-1 on a one-out RBI single by Daniel Murphy in the top of the ninth, before losing to Miami’s Marlins on a walk-off pop fly to short right field by J.T. Realmuto. 2-1 Fish.

Hialeah vs Miami: Hialeah, Florida-born lefty Gio Gonzalez went (6-2) in his first 11 starts this season, with a 2.10 ERA, 28 walks, 63 Ks, and a .228/.305/.336 line against in 64 ¹⁄₃ IP on the mound. He was winless in the next nine outings heading into tonight’s matchup with Miami in Marlins Park, putting up a 6.70 ERA, 25 walks, 36 Ks, and a .302/.388/.485 line against in 43 IP over that stretch.

Gonzalez put together a solid start against the Fish during the last homestand, however, in a five-inning outing in D.C. in which he gave up eight hits, four walks, and two earned runs but received no decision in a 3-2 win.

His second start of the season against the Marlins began with three scoreless innings on 44 pitches, but back-to-back-to-back walks started the fourth, loading the bases with Fish, and Yadiel Rivera hit a sac fly to right field that was deep enough for J.T. Realmuto, who took the first walk of the inning, to tag and score for a 1-0 lead. Gonzalez held it there, however, with two quick outs after the sac fly to limit the damage.

Gonzalez held the Marlins to the one run through six, and came back out for the seventh at 102 pitches and retired the side in order in a 12-pitch frame.

Gio Gonzalez’s Line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 Ks, 114 P, 67 S, 5/4 GO/FO.

Richards vs Nationals: Trevor Richards gave up four hits, two runs and SEVEN walks in 3 ²⁄₃ IP against the Nationals when he faced the Marlins’ NL East rivals in D.C. earlier this month, receiving no decision in what ended up a 10-2 win for Miami. In two starts before facing the Nats again tonight, the right-hander gave up just one earned run in 12 ²⁄₃ IP: six scoreless vs the Philadelphia Phillies, and 6 ²⁄₃ against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he gave up just one run.

Going up against Washington the second time this month, Miami’s rookie righty tossed four scoreless on 63 pitches to start, working around two hits and a walk to keep it 0-0, before a three-walk inning in the home-half of the fourth inning gave him a 1-0 lead to work with.

Richards struck out the side in a 14-pitch fifth inning, which left him with eight Ks total on the night, and he got an inning-ending 5-3 DP after putting two on with one out in the top of the sixth. That was it for the righty.

Trevor Richards’ Line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 Ks, 91 P, 54 S, 6/1 GO/FO.

Fish Dominance: Going into tonight’s game, the Nationals had won three straight, and two in a row over the Marlins in the four-game set in Miami, and overall, Washington’s Nationals had won a total of 16 of their last 17 games against the Fish going back to August 9, 2017, with eight wins in a row in Marlins Park.

BULLPEN ACTION: Adam Conley retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the seventh, but a two-out walk of Mark Reynolds led manager Don Mattingly to go to the bullpen for Brad Ziegler vs Michael A. Taylor, and Ziegler got the third out with just one pitch to keep it 1-0 Marlins.

Drew Steckenrider got the eighth for the Marlins and retired Adam Eaton, Matt Adams, and Trea Turner in order in a 22-pitch frame.

Brandon Kintzler kept it a one-run game with a scoreless bottom of the eighth.

Kyle Barraclough came on for the save opportunity in the top of the ninth... and hit Bryce Harper with a 1-1 slider. Man on! Ryan Zimmerman stepped in next, and got up 3-1 and hit one back up the middle for a single to center. Two on! Juan Soto? Matt Reynolds came on for Zimmerman at first with Soto at the plate, and the 19-year-old rookie got a second shot after Cameron Maybin dropped a pop on a sliding attempt at a catch in foul territory in left.

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Soto grounded into a force at second that moved Harper to third. Daniel Murphy got a shot at driving in the tying run, and drove Harper in with an RBI single to right field, 1-1, and Soto took third on the hit, but was stranded there two outs later. 1-1 after eight and a half.

Ryan Madson came on in the bottom of the ninth and retired the Marlins in order in a nine-pitch frame.

Brett Graves got the tenth for the Fish, and retired the Nationals in order.

Kelvin Herrera gave up a bunt single by Magneuris Sierra in the first at bat of Marlins’ tenth, and Spencer Kieboom interfered with Miguel Rojas on the runner’s way to first on a second consecutive bunt. With two on and no one out, Brian Anderson stepped in, and hit a base-loading blooper to short right, setting J.T. Realmuto up with an opportunity to win it that he cashed in with a walk-off single to right field, dropping one into short right, down the line, with no one there to get it after Davey Martinez brought Bryce Harper in to first base as part of a five-man infield. 2-1 Fish.

Ballgame.

Final Score: 2-1 Marlins

Nationals now 52-52