The Miami Marlins used a power packed fifth inning and a dominant pitching effort to defeat the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Tuesday night, highlighted by a rare stretch of three consecutive home runs from Joe Mack, Heriberto Hernández, and Otto Lopez.
Miami’s offense erupted in the fifth inning, turning a scoreless game into a commanding 4-0 lead. Mack started the fireworks with a two run homer to center field off Nationals starter Miles Mikolas, marking the first home run of the young catcher’s major league career. Four pitches later, Hernández launched a solo shot, and Lopez immediately followed with another blast, giving the Marlins three straight home runs for just the third time in franchise history.
The feat was Miami’s first back-to-back-to-back homer sequence since August 2023, when the Marlins accomplished it during a victory over the Houston Astros.
While the offense stole the spotlight, Miami’s pitching staff was equally impressive. The Marlins combined to hold Washington hitless through the first five innings. Starter Lake Bachar opened with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out three and walking one before handing the ball to John King. King was flawless, retiring all five batters he faced to earn the victory and improve to 2-1 on the season.
Ryan Gusto, who had been called up from Triple A earlier in the day, took over and carried the no-hit bid into the sixth inning before Nationals catcher Drew Millas broke it up with a leadoff single. Washington finally got on the scoreboard later in the frame when Luis García Jr. drove in a run with a groundout.
The Nationals continued to battle back in the seventh, scoring twice to trim the deficit to 4-3 and bring some life into the home crowd. However, Miami quickly extinguished any hopes of a comeback.
The Marlins added three crucial insurance runs in the ninth inning. Mack contributed again, dropping down a sacrifice bunt that brought home a run and gave him three RBIs on the night. Hernández then delivered the knockout blow, crushing a two-run homer off Mitchell Parker for his second long ball of the game and third in his last two contests.
Hernández finished with a career night, powering the Miami offense with two home runs and three RBIs, while Mack’s milestone first homer helped fuel the decisive fifth inning outburst.
Mikolas absorbed the loss for Washington despite pitching six innings. After opener Richard Lovelady threw two hitless frames, Mikolas surrendered six runs on six hits, with the trio of fifth-inning home runs accounting for much of the damage.
The Nationals also suffered an injury scare when Millas exited the game after sliding headfirst into third base in the sixth inning and suffering a cut on his upper lip.
With the victory, Miami continued its strong play and will look to secure the series sweep on Wednesday afternoon. The Marlins are scheduled to send undefeated right-hander Max Meyer (5-0, 2.97 ERA) to the mound against Nationals left hander Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 4.02 ERA) in the series finale.
