WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper returned to the lineup, but neither his bat nor spot starter A.J. Cole helped the Washington Nationals in their pursuit of home-field advantage opening the playoffs.
Christian Yelich homered and Dee Gordon's infield single in the sixth inning scored the go-ahead run as the Miami Marlins beat the NL East champion Nationals 6-4 on Friday night.
The game began following a 1 hour, 43 minute rain delay. The series opener came a day after a memorial service in Florida for Jose Fernandez. The Marlins ace died in a boating accident Sunday.
Washington entered its final series of the season with a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers for home field advantage in the NL Division Series. Los Angeles played at San Francisco on Friday night.
Harper went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in his return to the Nationals lineup after sitting out the previous four days with a left thumb injury.
"He was rusty," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said of the right fielder. "We've got to get that rust off him before we start the playoffs."
Harper said of his plate appearances, "I felt great. My swing felt great."
Anthony Rendon and Stephen Drew hit back-to-back home runs for Washington in a four-run fourth after Miami scored twice in the top of the inning for a 4-0 lead.
Miami used five relievers including Mike Dunn (6-1). A.J. Ramos pitched the ninth for his 40th save.
Sammy Solis (2-4) allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings for Washington.
The Nationals honored Fernandez with a pregame video montage, by placing his No. 16 behind the pitcher's mound and his jersey in their dugout. A mutual tipping of the caps across the field between players from both teams occurred as well.
"Nice touch by the Nationals," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of the mound gesture. "It seems like everyone has that feel for Jose. The way he carried himself and the fun that he had was really what you loved so much about him, that little kid, and that part is what seems like has taken hold on a lot of people around baseball and a lot of people around the country."
Neither starting pitcher went beyond four innings and both allowed four runs. Two runs off Cole, the first of eight pitchers for Washington, were unearned.
Cole, who lasted three innings, is awaiting appeal of his five-game suspension for throwing behind Pittsburgh's Jung Ho Kang on Sunday.
Miami's Andrew Cashner unraveled in the fourth, allowing five hits and one walk. Jose Loboton's RBI double and Trea Turner's run-scoring single in the fourth tied the game 4-4.
Over the final five innings, the Nationals went 0 for 15 with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
Left fielder Jayson Werth left as a precaution in the seventh inning with back tightness. He anticipates playing Saturday.
"We're playing for home-field advantage, which is important. But once you win the division, there's that exhale and sigh of relief," Werth said. "There's a balance there and you err on the side of caution."
Yelich drove in two runs. Justin Bour had a double and two RBI singles and he scored on the hustling Gordon's single off Oliver Perez.
Rendon became the sixth National with at least 20 home runs this season. The 1965 Milwaukee Braves, 2003 Atlanta Braves and 2016 St. Louis Cardinals, who reached the mark later Friday, are the only other NL teams in history with six 20-plus homers.
HEARTFELT MESSAGE
The Arizona Diamondbacks occupied the visitor's locker room this week before Miami arrived. When the Marlins arrived, they found a touching note on a dry erase board regarding the loss of Fernandez. "Dee Gordon had the most important HR of the year. Good luck fellas. Were (sic) praying for you. RIP. JF 16 -- DBacks."
BABY ON BOARD
Nationals OF Chris Heisey is away from the team as he returned home for the birth of his second child. He is the second player on the team to leave for this reason in recent weeks. "This team is a baby-making team," Baker cracked. Heisey is expected back in Washington on Saturday.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: Mattingly said LHP Adam Conley, who came off the DL on Monday to throw three shutout innings, will be available the last two days of the season. Conley missed more than six weeks with a finger injury.
Nationals: 2B Daniel Murphy (glute muscle), who last began a game on Sept. 17, isn't expected back in the starting lineup until Game 1 of the NLDS.
UP NEXT
Marlins LHP Wei-Yin Chen (5-4, 5.02) is set to face Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (15-10, 2.86), who needs a win to set a career-high.
Miami Marlins
Christian Yelich homered and Dee Gordon's infield single in the sixth inning scored the go-ahead run as the Miami Marlins beat the NL East champion Nationals 6-4 on Friday night.
The game began following a 1 hour, 43 minute rain delay. The series opener came a day after a memorial service in Florida for Jose Fernandez. The Marlins ace died in a boating accident Sunday.
Washington entered its final series of the season with a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers for home field advantage in the NL Division Series. Los Angeles played at San Francisco on Friday night.
Harper went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in his return to the Nationals lineup after sitting out the previous four days with a left thumb injury.
"He was rusty," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said of the right fielder. "We've got to get that rust off him before we start the playoffs."
Harper said of his plate appearances, "I felt great. My swing felt great."
Anthony Rendon and Stephen Drew hit back-to-back home runs for Washington in a four-run fourth after Miami scored twice in the top of the inning for a 4-0 lead.
Miami used five relievers including Mike Dunn (6-1). A.J. Ramos pitched the ninth for his 40th save.
Sammy Solis (2-4) allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings for Washington.
The Nationals honored Fernandez with a pregame video montage, by placing his No. 16 behind the pitcher's mound and his jersey in their dugout. A mutual tipping of the caps across the field between players from both teams occurred as well.
"Nice touch by the Nationals," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of the mound gesture. "It seems like everyone has that feel for Jose. The way he carried himself and the fun that he had was really what you loved so much about him, that little kid, and that part is what seems like has taken hold on a lot of people around baseball and a lot of people around the country."
Neither starting pitcher went beyond four innings and both allowed four runs. Two runs off Cole, the first of eight pitchers for Washington, were unearned.
Cole, who lasted three innings, is awaiting appeal of his five-game suspension for throwing behind Pittsburgh's Jung Ho Kang on Sunday.
Miami's Andrew Cashner unraveled in the fourth, allowing five hits and one walk. Jose Loboton's RBI double and Trea Turner's run-scoring single in the fourth tied the game 4-4.
Over the final five innings, the Nationals went 0 for 15 with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
Left fielder Jayson Werth left as a precaution in the seventh inning with back tightness. He anticipates playing Saturday.
"We're playing for home-field advantage, which is important. But once you win the division, there's that exhale and sigh of relief," Werth said. "There's a balance there and you err on the side of caution."
Yelich drove in two runs. Justin Bour had a double and two RBI singles and he scored on the hustling Gordon's single off Oliver Perez.
Rendon became the sixth National with at least 20 home runs this season. The 1965 Milwaukee Braves, 2003 Atlanta Braves and 2016 St. Louis Cardinals, who reached the mark later Friday, are the only other NL teams in history with six 20-plus homers.
HEARTFELT MESSAGE
The Arizona Diamondbacks occupied the visitor's locker room this week before Miami arrived. When the Marlins arrived, they found a touching note on a dry erase board regarding the loss of Fernandez. "Dee Gordon had the most important HR of the year. Good luck fellas. Were (sic) praying for you. RIP. JF 16 -- DBacks."
BABY ON BOARD
Nationals OF Chris Heisey is away from the team as he returned home for the birth of his second child. He is the second player on the team to leave for this reason in recent weeks. "This team is a baby-making team," Baker cracked. Heisey is expected back in Washington on Saturday.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: Mattingly said LHP Adam Conley, who came off the DL on Monday to throw three shutout innings, will be available the last two days of the season. Conley missed more than six weeks with a finger injury.
Nationals: 2B Daniel Murphy (glute muscle), who last began a game on Sept. 17, isn't expected back in the starting lineup until Game 1 of the NLDS.
UP NEXT
Marlins LHP Wei-Yin Chen (5-4, 5.02) is set to face Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (15-10, 2.86), who needs a win to set a career-high.
7:05PM,EDT,September 30,2016
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Miami - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| A.J. Cole pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Gordon lined out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Dietrich struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Prado grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Andrew Cashner pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Turner walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Werth popped out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Turner stole second. | 0 | 0 |
| Harper struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Rendon lined out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| A.J. Cole pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Yelich doubled to deep center. | 0 | 0 |
| Ozuna singled to left, Yelich to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Bour singled to right center, Yelich scored, Ozuna to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Realmuto flied out to center, Ozuna to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Hechavarría singled to center, Ozuna scored, Bour to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Cashner struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| Gordon grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Andrew Cashner pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Drew flied out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| Robinson singled to right center. | 2 | 0 |
| Espinosa flied out to left. | 2 | 0 |
| Lobatón lined out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| A.J. Cole pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Dietrich safe at second on error by second baseman Drew. | 2 | 0 |
| Prado singled to right center, Dietrich to third. | 2 | 0 |
| Yelich hit sacrifice fly to left, Dietrich scored. | 3 | 0 |
| Prado to second on passed ball by Lobatón. | 3 | 0 |
| Ozuna lined out to right, Prado to third. | 3 | 0 |
| Bour singled to center, Prado scored. | 4 | 0 |
| Realmuto flied out to right. | 4 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Andrew Cashner pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Revere hit for Cole. | 4 | 0 |
| Revere lined out to right. | 4 | 0 |
| Turner tripled to deep center. | 4 | 0 |
| Werth struck out swinging. | 4 | 0 |
| Harper struck out looking. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Mat Latos pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Latos relieved Cole. | 4 | 0 |
| Hechavarría grounded out to pitcher. | 4 | 0 |
| Cashner struck out looking. | 4 | 0 |
| Gordon struck out swinging. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Andrew Cashner pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Rendon homered to left center (410 feet). | 4 | 1 |
| Drew homered to center (416 feet). | 4 | 2 |
| Robinson singled to right center. | 4 | 2 |
| Espinosa popped out to shortstop. | 4 | 2 |
| Lobatón doubled to deep center, Robinson scored. | 4 | 3 |
| Difo hit for Latos. | 4 | 3 |
| Lobatón to third on wild pitch by Cashner. | 4 | 3 |
| Difo walked. | 4 | 3 |
| Turner singled to right, Lobatón scored, Difo thrown out at third. | 4 | 4 |
| Turner stole second. | 4 | 4 |
| Werth flied out to center. | 4 | 4 |
| 4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Sammy Solis pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Solis relieved Latos. | 4 | 4 |
| Dietrich struck out looking. | 4 | 4 |
| Prado fouled out to right. | 4 | 4 |
| Yelich safe at first on error by first baseman Robinson. | 4 | 4 |
| Ozuna struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Mike Dunn pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Dunn relieved Cashner. | 4 | 4 |
| Harper struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| Rendon fouled out to first. | 4 | 4 |
| Drew flied out to center. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Sammy Solis pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Bour doubled to deep center. | 4 | 4 |
| Realmuto flied out to right, Bour to third. | 4 | 4 |
| Hechavarría walked. | 4 | 4 |
| Francoeur hit for Dunn. | 4 | 4 |
| Gott relieved Solis. | 4 | 4 |
| Francoeur popped out to second. | 4 | 4 |
| Pérez relieved Gott. | 4 | 4 |
| Gordon reached on infield single to shortstop, Bour scored, Hechavarría to second. | 5 | 4 |
| Dietrich struck out swinging. | 5 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Brian Ellington pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Ellington relieved Dunn. | 5 | 4 |
| Robinson struck out swinging. | 5 | 4 |
| Espinosa flied out to left. | 5 | 4 |
| Lobatón grounded out to second. | 5 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Rafael Martin pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Martin relieved Pérez. | 5 | 4 |
| Prado lined out to first. | 5 | 4 |
| Burnett relieved Martin. | 5 | 4 |
| Yelich homered to right center (434 feet). | 6 | 4 |
| Ozuna grounded out to second. | 6 | 4 |
| Bour flied out to right. | 6 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Fernando Rodney pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Rodney relieved Ellington. | 6 | 4 |
| Goodwin hit for Burnett. | 6 | 4 |
| Goodwin struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| Turner grounded out to shortstop. | 6 | 4 |
| Taylor hit for Werth. | 6 | 4 |
| Taylor struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Blake Treinen pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Treinen relieved Burnett. | 6 | 4 |
| Goodwin in left field. | 6 | 4 |
| Realmuto lined out to center. | 6 | 4 |
| Hechavarría grounded out to third. | 6 | 4 |
| Johnson hit for Rodney. | 6 | 4 |
| Johnson singled to left. | 6 | 4 |
| Gordon grounded out to second. | 6 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| David Phelps pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Hood in left field. | 6 | 4 |
| Rojas at first base. | 6 | 4 |
| Phelps relieved Rodney. | 6 | 4 |
| Harper struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| Rendon struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| Drew struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Miami - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Blake Treinen pitching for Washington | MIA | WSH |
| Rojas hit a ground rule double to deep left. | 6 | 4 |
| Prado grounded out to second, Rojas to third. | 6 | 4 |
| Yelich intentionally walked. | 6 | 4 |
| Ozuna singled to center, Rojas scored, Yelich to second. | 7 | 4 |
| Hood grounded out to shortstop, Yelich to third, Ozuna to second. | 7 | 4 |
| Realmuto intentionally walked. | 7 | 4 |
| Hechavarría grounded into fielder's choice to second, Realmuto out at second. | 7 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| A.J. Ramos pitching for Miami | MIA | WSH |
| Ramos relieved Phelps. | 7 | 4 |
| Robinson walked. | 7 | 4 |
| Espinosa struck out swinging. | 7 | 4 |
| Lobatón struck out swinging. | 7 | 4 |
| Robinson to second on fielder's indifference. | 7 | 4 |
| Goodwin struck out looking. | 7 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
Miami Marlins
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon 2B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .264 | .302 | .332 |
| Dietrich LF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | .281 | .377 | .429 |
Rojas 1B
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .245 | .279 | .323 |
| Prado 3B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .304 | .358 | .416 |
| Yelich CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 14 | .294 | .372 | .478 |
| Ozuna RF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | .266 | .321 | .452 |
| Bour 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .266 | .346 | .482 |
Hood LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .176 | .176 | .235 |
| Realmuto C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | .303 | .343 | .428 |
| Hechavarría SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | .238 | .285 | .313 |
| Cashner P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | .176 | .243 | .176 |
Dunn P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-Francoeur PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .258 | .302 | .384 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
Rodney P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
b-Johnson PH
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .223 | .283 | .332 |
Phelps P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 | .182 | .182 |
Ramos P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 40 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 141 | |||
| a-popped out to second for M Dunn in the 6th b-singled to left for F Rodney in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Yelich (38, Cole); Bour (12, Solis); Rojas (12, Treinen) HR: Yelich (21, 7th inning off Burnett 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: Bour 2 (51), Hechavarría (38), Yelich 2 (97), Gordon (14), Ozuna (76) SF: Yelich 2-out RBI: Bour, Gordon Marlins RISP: 7-17 (Hechavarría 1-2, Ozuna 2-3, Dietrich 0-1, Francoeur 0-1, Cashner 0-1, Gordon 1-2, Bour 2-2, Prado 1-2, Realmuto 0-2, Hood 0-1) Team LOB: 10 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING Outfield Assist: Ozuna (Difo at 3rd base). | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| The start of the game was delayed 1:46 due to rain. |
Game Information
| Stadium | Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. |
| Attendance | 30857 |
| Game Time | 3:08 |
| Weather | 63 degrees, drizzle |
| Wind | 13 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Brian O'Nora, First Base - Jeff Kellogg, Second Base - John Tumpane, Third Base - Alan Porter |
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