Josh Bell stayed red hot, Mitchell Parker delivered one of his best outings of the season, and the Washington Nationals held on late to beat the Miami Marlins 7-5 on Tuesday night at loanDepot park.
Bell homered for the fourth time in three games, belting a three-run shot in the first inning that set the tone. The veteran slugger, who went deep twice in Washington’s 15-7 win on Monday, has seven homers and 18 RBI in his last 26 games. His 20th homer of the season came off Miami starter Adam Mazur, a towering drive into the right-field upper deck that quickly put the Nationals ahead.
“Josh has been locked in,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “When he’s swinging like this, he changes the whole dynamic of our lineup.”
Rookie Daylen Lile also homered, while CJ Abrams and James Wood each doubled and singled as part of Washington’s 11-hit night. The Nationals built a 7-1 lead by the fifth inning and looked poised to cruise, but Miami clawed back late.
Parker (8-15) was in command for most of the night. After giving up Joey Wiemer’s solo homer in the second, the left-hander retired 14 straight batters. He worked 7 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
“Parker gave us exactly what we needed,” Martinez said. “He attacked, got ahead, and kept them off balance.”
The Marlins made things tense in the late innings. Agustín Ramírez delivered an RBI single in the eighth, chasing Parker. With the bases loaded, reliever P.J. Poulin came up with a critical strikeout of Jakob Marsee to preserve a 7-2 lead.
Miami struck again in the ninth, when rookie Victor Mesa Jr. ripped a two-run double and later scored on Xavier Edwards’ infield single to cut the deficit to 7-5. But Jose A. Ferrer induced a groundout from Ramírez to end it, securing his eighth save.
Mazur (0-3) struggled again for Miami, lasting just 4 1/3 innings while allowing six runs and eight hits.
The victory gave Washington its fifth straight win over Miami after losing five of the first six meetings between the clubs this season.
Poulin’s strikeout of Marsee with the bases loaded in the eighth preserved Washington’s cushion and prevented a full-scale Marlins rally.
The series concludes Wednesday with Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin (8-11, 5.71 ERA) facing Marlins righty Eury Pérez (6-5, 4.66 ERA).
