Washington Nationals win 11th straight over Miami Marlins, 10-4 final in extras in Marlins Park...

Washington’s Nationals beat the Miami Marlins for the 11th straight game, winning their 15th in the last 16 games against the Fish, and the 15th in 18 matchups overall with their NL East rivals this season, tying the Nats’ franchise record (2005-present) for the most wins against one opponent in a single season, but they had to do it after blowing a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning.

Fernando Rodney gave up four hits, a walk, and four earned runs, retiring one batter before he was lifted from what was suddenly a tie game after seven and a half.

It went to extra innings, and Ryan Zimmerman and Victor Robles singled in back-to-back at bats to start the tenth, with Zimmerman taking third on Robles’s hit, before scoring on Brian Dozier’s RBI single to left with one down, 5-4.

Five more runs scored in the inning and the Nationals beat the Fish again, 10-4 final.

Strasburg vs the Fish: Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 of the 25 Marlins’ hitters he faced on August 31st in the nation’s capital, and he retired the final 22 batters that stepped up to face him in what ended up being an eight-inning outing in which he kept Miami off the board.

With the win, the 31-year-old righty improved to (12-0) in his previous 13 starts against the Nationals’ divisional rivals, with a (4-0) record, 1.19 ERA, four walks, 43 Ks, and a seriously stingy .127/.176/.157 line against in 30 ¹⁄₃ IP this season.

Though he’s dominated the Fish as a team, Miguel Rojas has always hit Strasburg well, (11 for 26, .423/.483/.577 with four doubles in the head-to-head-matchup) and he connected for a one-out double in the bottom of the first tonight, sending a ground ball by the third base bag for his 28th double of the season and fifth two-base hit off the Nationals’ starter, though he was stranded at the end of a 13-pitch first.

Strasburg held the Marlins to three hits in four scoreless, and he took the mound in the fifth at 58 pitches overall, and tossed a 10-pitch, 1-2-3 frame, then came back out for the bottom of the sixth and picked up two Ks (for five total) in a 14-pitch inning that left him at 82 total, and he gave up one and two-out walks and a hit-by-pitch in the seventh, loading the bases with two down before Magneuris Sierra lined out to right to end a 27-pitch frame that ended his outing... with his ERA against Miami down to 0.96 in 37 ¹⁄₃ IP on the year.

Stephen Strasburg’s Line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 Ks, 109 P, 68 S, 10/2 GO/FO.

Yamamoto vs D.C.: Marlins’ right-hander Jordan Yamamoto went on the 10-Day Injured List with a forearm strain in late August, in the midst of a seven-start winless streak, over which he was (0-5) with Miami 1-6 in his outings. Yamamoto, 23, was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Christian Yelich deal in January of 2018, and he made his MLB debut in June, but had an 8.13 ERA in 34 ¹⁄₃ IP over his winless streak before he landed on the IL.

Returning to the Marlins’ rotation tonight, Yamamoto tossed a scoreless, 18-pitch first, stranding two batters, but a two-out double by Yan Gomes and RBI single by Stephen Strasburg put the Nationals up 1-0 in the second.

Yamamoto held the Nats to one run through four, but gave up a leadoff double by Trea Turner and a one-out walk to Anthony Rendon in the fifth before Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly decided to go to the bullpen...

Jordan Yamamoto’s Line: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 Ks, 79 P, 47 S, 5/3 GO/FO.

Fish Dominance: With last night’s win, the Nationals improved to 14-3 against the Marlins in 2019, with tonight’s game and tomorrow’s series finale the final two between the divisional rivals in 2019. With a win either game, the Nats would tie the franchise record for the most wins against one opponent in a single season.

Two of the Marlins’ three wins against the Nats were in the first two games of the season, so since then the Nationals were 14-1 since, with wins in 10 in a row.

BULLPEN ACTION: Brian Moran came on with two on and one out and struck Juan Soto out looking. Tyler Kinley took over against Asdrúbal Cabrera and gave up an RBI single that put the Nationals up 2-0 after four and a half.

Kyle Keller tossed a quick, scoreless top of the sixth to keep it a 2-0 game in the Nationals’ favor.

Jeff Brigham worked around a one-out single by Adam Eaton in a scoreless seventh inning.

Tayron Guerrero gave up singles by Asdrúbal Cabrera, Ryan Zimmerman, and Victor Robles in the eighth, with Cabrera’s pinch runner, Michael A. Taylor, scoring on Robles’s hit and the fourth run of the game coming in when Zimmerman scored on a Yan Gomes’ grounder, 4-0.

Fernando Rodney gave up a leadoff double on a low liner to right by Miguel Rojas in the first at bat of the Marlins’ eighth. Adam Eaton booted it to allow Rojas to take third base, and the Marlins’ shortstop scored from there on a double to left by Starlin Castro, 4-1.

A walk to Isan Díaz brought the tying run to the plate in form of Harold Ramirez, who singled to center to load them up with one out. Austin Dean stepped in with Rodney at 23 pitches in the inning, and cleared the bases with a line drive to left field, 4-4.

Hunter Strickland took over with the go-ahead run on second and one out and got two outs to keep it tied.

José Ureña came on in a tie game in the top of the ninth and struck out Trea Turner, who got on when the pitch got away from catcher Jorge Alfaro. Juan Soto walked with two out to get pinch hitter Howie Kendrick up to the plate, but Kendrick sent a fly out to center field to end the threat.

ZIMMERMAN AND SUZUKI T-SHIRTS FROM BREAKING T:

LINK: BREAKING T WITH 2 NEW NATIONALS SHIRTS

Wander Suero took over for the Nationals in the bottom of the ninth and retired the Marlins in order to send it to extras.

Ureña came back out for the tenth and gave up back-to-back singles by Ryan Zimmerman and Victor Robles, with Zimmerman taking third on Robles’s hit in spite of the fact that he stumbled around second base. Yan Gomes K’d swinging in an unproductive at bat, but an RBI single to left put the Nationals back on top, 5-4.

Robles scored on an shift-beating RBI single to left by Adam Eaton off lefty Josh D. Smith, 6-4, and after an intentional walk to Anthony Rendon, and an unintentional walk to Juan Soto, it was 7-4 in the Nationals’ favor, before Kurt Suzuki connected for a base-clearing pinch hit double, 10-4.

Tanner Rainey came on with a six-run lead and retired the Marlins in order to end it.

Ballgame.

Final Score: 10-4 Nationals.

Nationals now 85-68