Miami Marlins walk off on Washington Nationals, 8-7 on wild pitch in extras

Erick Fedde wasn’t as good this time out as he was in his previous three starts against Miami this season, but the starter got help from his catcher, Keibert Ruiz, who drove in four runs in what was a 7-4 game in the Washington Nationals’ favor through 6 1/2, in the first of three in loanDepot park, but the visiting Nats’ bullpen gave up the lead in the bottom of the seventh, 7-7, and they went to extras with the Marlins before walked off on a wild pitch...

Fedde vs the Marlins: Though he’s had an up-and-down campaign overall, Erick Fedde has been really good against the Marlins in three starts, with a 1.04 ERA (3 ER in 17 ¹⁄₃ IP) and a .200/.224/.277 line against, with two walks and 22 Ks in those outings. He held the Fish to a total of three hits and one earned runs in five innings pitched last time out against the Nats’ NL East rivals, and the 28-year-old right-hander talked afterwards about wanting to finish up strong this season.

“This is still I think — it’s a lot of new territory for me in the sense of innings,” he said after he got up to a career-high 122 IP on the season. “And luckily at this point I still feel really good, and my body feels really good for — this is hopefully the first time I pitch from pole to pole, with a few hiccups with my oblique and the COVID stuff, but yeah, I think it’s just continuing to do that, and I want to get my innings as high as possible, honestly, just to give myself like a baseline to shoot for year after year, so, yeah, I think I just want keep getting back out there and trying to go deep into games to get that innings up.”

Fedde tossed two scoreless on 38 pitches to start, took the mound in the third with a 3-0 lead, and retired two batters before he fell behind 2-0 to Jazz Chisholm and gave up a 415 foot home run to right that reached the back rows of the upper deck in loanDepot Park, 3-1.

Bryan De La Cruz reached on an error by Alcides Escobar in the next at-bat, and then Jesús Sánchez hit a 2-2 curve out to center for a game-tying, 421-foot, two-run homer to make it 3-3 after three.

It was 6-3 in the Nationals’ favor in the fifth, when Jazz Chisholm got Fedde again, hitting a 3-2 curve out to right-center for a two-out solo shot, 6-4. Second of the game for Chisolm, 17th this season.

Erick Fedde’s Line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 Ks, 3 HRs, 96 P, 58 S, 9/2 GO/FO.

Luzardo vs the Nationals: Jesús Luzardo, a 2016 3rd Round pick by Washington’s Nationals, was dealt to the Oakland Athletics in a 2017 trade which brought both Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to the nation’s capital, then he was subsequently traded to Miami before the 2021 trade deadline this past July.

In nine starts with the Marlins, two of them against the Nationals, the left-hander had put up a 6.75 ERA, a 5.75 FIP, 26 walks, 40 Ks, and a .269/.374/.538 line against in 44 innings before tonight.

In the two starts against the Nats, the Marlins’ lefty gave up 17 hits, three of them homers, three walks, and nine earned runs over nine innings (9.00 ERA), with the Nationals’ hitters putting up a .395/.435/.744 line against him.

Start No. 3 against Miami’s divisional rivals began with a walk to Lane Thomas, and a single by Alcides Escobar, who was forced out at second on a Juan Soto grounder, before a walk to Josh Bell loaded the bases in front of Ryan Zimmerman, who popped out to short right, but then Keibert Ruiz, who fought off an 0-1 fastball inside, at 96 MPH, lined it over the left side of the infield for a two-run single and a 2-0 lead.

Lane Thomas made it a 3-0 game when he hit a 96 MPH 3-2 fastball out to center for a two-out solo shot and his 6th home run of 2021.

It was 3-3 when Luzardo returned to the mound at 73 pitches, and retired the Nats in order, with help from a barehanded catch by Jesús Sánchez at the line in right, in a nine-pitch, 1-2-3 fourth.

A walk to Juan Soto and a ground-rule double by Josh Bell ended Luzardo’s night in the top of the fifth, after he’d thrown 91 pitches overall...

Jesús Luzardo’s Line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 Ks, 91 P, 55 S, 3/4 GO/FO.

EscobarDepot park: Alcides Escobar started the series in Miami 12 for 37 (.324 AVG) in his last eight games, with, the Nationals noted in their pregame notes, three doubles, five RBIs, and three runs scored in the stretch, with hits in 6 of 8, and a .290/.320/.389 line over his last 38 games ... and he picked up three more hits tonight, 15 for 41 in his last nine, though he missed a grounder late that cost the club a run.

Bullpen Action: Zach Pop took over with runners on second and third and no one out in the Nats’ half of the fifth, and he popped Ryan Zimmerman up for the first out of the inning, but Keibert Ruiz came through again, with a two-run single by first base, 5-3, and Luis García hit a double to left field to bring Ruiz in for a 6-3 lead.

It was 6-4 in the Nats’ favor when Pop gave up a single by Alcides Escobar and a walk to Juan Soto in the first two at-bats of the sixth, but Josh Bell lined out to center, and Ryan Zimmerman sent a grounder to short to start an inning-ending 6-4-3 DP.

Alberto Baldonado worked around a one-out single and an error on the hit in a 22-pitch sixth.

Zach Thompson got the ball in the top of the seventh, and walked Carter Kieboom with one out, and Kieboom took second on a single by Luis García, moved to third on a fly to right by Yadiel Hernández, and scored on a wild pitch, 7-4.

Patrick Murphy gave up a single by Nick Fortes and a double by Eddy Alvarez in the first two at-bats of the Marlins’ half of the seventh, and a run scored on a Miguel Rojas’ grounder out to short, 7-5. Alvarez took third on the grounder, and scored on a sac fly to left field by Jazz Chisholm, Jr. 7-6 with Austin Voth on the mound. Bryan De La Cruz walked in the next at-bat and took third on a Jesús Sánchez single, then scored on a ground ball to center by Lewis Brinson that got under Alcides Escobar’s glove, 7-7.

Richard Bleier retired two batters before he gave up a two-out walk to Josh Bell. Anthony Bender took over on the mound against Ryan Zimmerman, and got out No. 3 at second base on a force.

Andres Machado struck out two in an 11-pitch, 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.

Keibert Ruiz singled for his third hit of the night to lead off the ninth, taking a 1-2 sinker from Bender to right field, 3 for 4, but he was stranded three outs later.

Tanner Rainey got the ball in the bottom of the ninth, and struck out the side in a 15-pitch, 1-2-3 frame.

Luis García started at second as the free runner in extras, but he failed to go halfway on a fly to right field by Lane Thomas that fell in for a double, hanging around second instead to try to tag up if it was caught, so he only got to third base when it fell in for a two-base hit.

Alcides Escobar stepped in with runners on second and third against Marlins’ closer Dylan Floro, and grounded out to short for an unproductive out No. 1. Juan Soto got four fingers from the Marlins’ dugout, loading the bases for Josh Bell, who hit a grounder to first base, where Lewin Díaz fielded the ball and threw home for a force, before Nick Fortes threw to first base and off Bell’s back, leading to another running out of the baseline call and an inning-ending DP that no one with the Nationals was happy about.

Sam Clay put Jesús Sánchez on intentionally to start the Marlins’ half of the ninth and Jazz Chisholm, the free runner at second, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch to win it.

Final Score: 8-7 Marlins

Nationals now 61-89