Eric Wagaman delivered at the plate and Ryan Weathers looked sharp in his return from the injured list as the Miami Marlins shut out the Washington Nationals 5-0 on Thursday night at loanDepot park.
Weathers (2-1), sidelined since June 7 with a left lat strain, made his first appearance in three months and picked up the win. The left-hander scattered five hits and struck out four across five scoreless innings, showing no signs of rust after a long layoff.
“I felt good out there,” Weathers said. “The defense made plays behind me, and it was great to be back competing.”
The Marlins struck early against Washington starter MacKenzie Gore (5-14), who was also activated from the injured list Thursday after missing time with left shoulder inflammation. In the bottom of the first, Heriberto Hernández drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before Wagaman singled to right to score another.
Wagaman capped off his three-hit, three-RBI night with a two-run double in the eighth, later coming home on Joey Wiemer’s sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 5-0.
Jakob Marsee continued his hot hitting since joining the club in August, doubling and singling to notch his 15th multi-hit game in just over a month.
The Nationals mounted their best scoring chance in the fourth when Daylen Lile and Andrés Chaparro singled to open the frame. But Weathers induced a clutch double-play grounder from Brady House and then retired Paul DeJong to keep the shutout intact.
Miami’s bullpen handled the rest with ease. Tyler Phillips tossed two clean innings before Ronny Henriquez and Michael Petersen each worked a scoreless frame to close it out.
Gore, making his first start since August 30, allowed two runs on four hits in five innings while striking out three.
With the victory, Miami split the four-game series and edged Washington 7-6 in the season series.
The Nationals return to D.C. to open a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, with rookie right-hander Brad Lord (5-8, 4.20 ERA) set to start. The Pirates have yet to name their starter.
The Marlins head home to host the Detroit Tigers, sending RHP Sandy Alcantara (8-12, 5.67 ERA) to the mound in Friday’s opener. He’ll be opposed by Detroit ace LHP Tarik Skubal (13-4, 2.10 ERA).
