Washington Nationals hammered by Jazz Chisholm, Jr. & Miami Marlins, 12-2 final

Adon vs MIA:

Joan Adon held the Miami Marlins to a run on five hits in 4 ²⁄₃ innings pitched in a May 17th start, in which he threw 84 pitches and K’d just two in what ended up a 5-1 loss on the road in loanDepot park.

The outing was a nice bounce-back appearance for the 23-year-old, who had struggled with his mechanics in his previous start but sorted things out with the help of pitching coach Jim Hickey.

“Hickey cleaned a lot of that up with him during his bullpen session,” Nats’ manager Davey Martinez said after an 8-1 loss to the Fish. “We talked about him staying in his legs, he did that really well today, and you saw the velo spike up.

“I think he was — 23 times he was at 96 or better, so to me that’s a positive and that’s a great sign.”

In three starts before going up against the Nats’ NL East rivals again tonight, Adon was (0-2) between matchups with the Marlins, with a 5.06 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 10 walks, 11 strikeouts, and a .292/.395/.415 line against in 16 IP in those outings.

Adon needed just 12 pitches in a 1-2-3 first tonight, but he labored in the second, giving up back-to-back, one-out singles, and a base-loading, two-out walk which loaded them up in front of catcher Nick Fortes, who hit a 95 MPH fastball to right for an opposite field RBI hit, and a 1-0 Marlins’ lead. Adon fell behind Jazz Chisholm, Jr. 3-0 in the next at-bat, and threw one a little outside, at 96, but pretty much over the middle Chisholm hit 402 ft to center for a grand slam and a 5-0 Miami lead.

Adon walked Jon Berti to start the home-half of the fourth, then barely paid attention to him stealing second base in the next at-bat. Berti took third on a single to right by Miguel Rojas, and scored on a three-run shot by Nick Fortes, who hammered a hanging, first-pitch curve, 8-0 Marlins.

Joan Adon’s Line: 3.0 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks, 2 HRs, 58 P, 34 S, 6/1 GO/FO.

Cabrera vs the Nationals:

Edward Cabrera, 24, and the Marlins’ No. 4 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s list coming into this season, made his 2022 big league debut last week in Colorado’s Coors Field, where he got through six scoreless innings on 94 pitches, holding Rockies’ hitters to a hit and four walks while striking out nine.

“It feels great,” Cabrera said after the outing, as quoted on MLB.com.

“But most important is you can see all the results of all the hard work you put in during the offseason. And again, that’s the most important part: to see those results.”

Cabrera dealt with a biceps issue last year, and again this April, which delayed the start of his 2022 campaign, but he made six starts in the Marlins’ system (posting a 3.90 ERA, 15 walks, and 39 Ks in 27 ²⁄₃ IP before he came back up to the majors after making his debut last season).

Cabrera held the Nationals off the board through four tonight, giving up just one hit and a walk, as the Marlins jumped out to a 5-0 lead, and he came back out for the top of the fifth at 61 pitches, with a 10-0 lead, and retired the side in order, striking out two in a 14-pitch frame, but the Nats finally got to the right-hander in the sixth, with Luis García leading off with a home run to right on a 96 MPH 2-0 fastball that traveled 442 feet before it hit the seats ... but it was 12-1 Marlins by then.

Edward Cabrera’s Line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 Ks, 1 HR, 99 P, 55 S, 8/3 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Andres Machado took over for Joan Adon in the fourth, and gave up a one-out double to right field by Garrett Cooper and a 2-run shot to center by Jorge Soler in back-to-back at-bats, with Soler’s 12th of 2022 putting the Marlins up 10-0.

Machado issued a two-out walk to Nick Fortes in the Marlins’ sixth, and Jazz Chisholm, Jr. followed with his second home run of the game, and 10th of the season, a two-run shot, which made it 12-0 Fish.

It was 12-1 in the home team’s favor when Jordan Weems came on for the Nationals in the bottom of the sixth and struck out two around a two-out single in a scoreless frame.

Richard Bleier took over for the Marlins in the top of the seventh, and stranded two after he gave up a two-out double by Maikel Franco and a single by Luis García.

Weems returned to the mound in the bottom of the seventh and gave up a one-out single and walk before the Nationals went to the pen again for Evan Lee, who struck out two Fish batters around a single. Still 12-1 Marlins.

Lane Thomas doubled off Louis Head to start the Nats’ eighth, and scored on an RBI double by Nelson Cruz, 12-2.

Lee tossed a scoreless eighth to keep it a 10-run game, and the Nationals came up empty in the ninth...

Nationals now 21-36