Washington Nationals 7-3 over Miami Marlins: Kyle Schwarber homers twice; 12 in 13 games now...

Kyle Schwarber did it again. For the fifth time since Davey Martinez moved the slugger into the leadoff spot back on June 8th, Schwarber hit a leadoff home run in the first at bat of the game for the Washington Nationals. Then he homered again in his second at bat. It’s ... getting ridiculous. Schwarber hit his 11th and 12th home runs in the last 13 games and his 20th and 21st on the season. The second was a three-run blast that made it 4-0 Nationals in what was a 7-3 over the Miami Marlins win in the end. Schwar. Bombs.

Ross vs the Fish: Looking to follow up on the eight scoreless he tossed against the Giants at home in D.C. on June 13th, when he gave up five hits and struck out nine, Joe Ross went out against the Mets last weekend and struggled on the mound, or at least struggled against one hitter from the Nationals’ NL East rivals.

Ross gave up six hits, two home runs, and five runs total in that outing, with three of those hits, and both home runs, hit by Mets’ shortstop Francisco Lindor, who drove in all five of the runs the Nats’ starter surrendered.

“Yeah, I just got beat by one guy,” Ross lamented in his post game Zoom call with reporters.

Looking at what was different between the two starts, Ross said it was his command.

“Maybe just command in certain situations,” he said, “runners on, I was behind in the count a little bit a few times, and then putting the pitcher on with a hit batter, not the best way to start an inning, and then giving up a base hit to the pitcher, obviously. But yeah, I feel like I just wasn’t as sharp today.”

Looking to bounce back from that turn in the rotation, Ross took the mound with a 1-0 lead tonight in Miami, courtesy of another leadoff home run by Kyle Schwarber in the top of the first, and the Nats’ right-hander threw 3.0 scoreless on 50 pitches to start, striking out 6 of the first 10 batters he faced, and giving up just one hit and a walk.

Ross erased a leadoff walk in the fourth with a 5-4-3 DP and stranded a two-out single, then he stranded two in the fifth and retired the Marlins in order in the sixth, completing six total on 92 pitches.

He returned to the mound in the bottom of the seventh and gave up a leadoff single, but one out later, he got a 5-4-3 DP to end a nine-pitch frame which ended his outing...

Joe Ross’s Line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 Ks, 101 P, 68 S, 7/3 GO/FO.

Poteet vs the Nats: Cody Poteet, 26, was drafted by the Nationals out of high school, in the 27th Round in 2012, but didn’t sign, instead attending UCLA, and in 2015, the right-hander’s name was called again when the Marlins drafted him in the 4th Round. Called up to make his MLB debut earlier this year, Poteet took the mound tonight with a 3.90 ERA, 12 walks, 26 Ks, and a .188/.274/.396 line against, with five home runs allowed in six starts and 27 ²⁄₃ IP.

Kyle Schwarber made it six home runs allowed when he hit a hanging 2-2 curve out to right field, 398 feet from home, and into the upper deck in an empty-ish Marlins Park for his fifth leadoff home run since June 12th and 20th home run overall on the season.

Schwarber did it again in the second, hitting a 95 MPH 0-2 fastball to center after a single by Josh Harrison and a walk by Victor Robles put two on in front him. Three-run blast, 4-0 Nationals. Schwarber’s 2nd of the night, 12th in the last 13, and 21st overall in 2021. Schwar-bomb. 414 ft. this time.

Poteet got Schwarber swinging for out No. 3 of the Nationals’ third, stranding two runners, but the 21-pitch inning let him at 77 pitches overall in just three innings pitched, so the Fish hit for him in the bottom of the third.

Cody Poteet’s Line: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 6 Ks, 2 HRs, 77 P, 45 S, 1/1 GO/FO.

Schwar-Bomb!: Kyle Schwarber did it again, hitting his 5th home run in his first at bat as the leadoff hitter for the Nationals since Davey Martinez moved him to the top spot earlier in the month.

As the Nats noted on Twitter, he’s now hit more leadoff homers than Trea Turner has, and is behind only one other player in franchise history with the five leadoff blasts:

“Kyle Schwarber (5 in 2021) passed Trea Turner (4 in 2017) for the second-most leadoff home runs in a season in Nationals’ history (Alfonso Soriano, 9 in 2006).”

Schwarber homered again in the second, sending his 12th in the last 13 games and 21st of the season out to center, a three-run shot that gave the Nationals a 5-0 lead.

Bullpen Action: Adam Cimber came on for Miami in the top of the fourth and retired the side in order in an eight-pitch frame, and he came back out another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, retiring all six batters he faced on 18 pitches.

Former Nationals’ starter Ross Detwiler struck out the side in a 13-pitch top of the sixth inning.

Zach Pop walked Trea Turner in the first at bat of the seventh, and Juan Soto followed with an RBI double to right that made it 6-0 in the Nationals’ favor. Soto’s 7th double of 2021.

Soto scored on a throwing error on a double play attempt later in the top of the inning to make it 7-0 after six and a half in Miami.

Pop worked around a two-out walk to Kyle Schwarber for a scoreless eighth.

Justin Miller was first out of the bullpen for the Nationals in the bottom of the eighth, and he gave up a leadoff walk, single, and three-run home run in the first three at bats, with Jazz Chisholm, Jr. hitting the home run to get the Marlins on the board, down 7-3 after eighth in Miami.

Dylan Floro got the top of the ninth for the Fish, and retired the Nats in order.

Wander Suero came on for the Nationals in the bottom of the ninth and worked around a one-out single for a scoreless frame. Ballgame.

Final Score: 7-3 Nationals

Nationals now 36-36