Hernandez Hits 2 Home Runs, Leads Marlins Over Nationals

Heriberto Hernandez hit two home runs to lead the Miami Marlins to a 7-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. 

Hernandez’s first home run of the game was a part of a string of three straight homers in the fifth inning, giving the Marlins a 4-0 lead. Among the string of home runs was Joe Mack’s first career dinger. Otto Lopez was also involved in his third straight homer train. 

Hernandez’s second home run of the night was a solo shot in the ninth inning, after a sacrifice bunt by Mack led to a run scored. 

Hernandez made the Opening Day roster but was later sent down after a slow start to the season. Since being called back up on May 7, Hernandez is batting .307 with a 1.009 OPS, five home runs, and 14 RBI. 

Hernandez told the Marlins Radio Network through the team interpreter that he is “thankful that I am able to help the team.”

“Just being part of a back-to-back-to-back, I think it’s the first time this year that we did that,” Hernandez said. “Just being a part of it overall is amazing.”

The win secured the Marlins (28-34) their second road series win. The Marlins entered the series with a season-high five-game losing streak. 

“We've got to continue fighting,” Hernandez said. “We can not let our heads down. There’s almost like a hundred games ahead of us, and I think we can win more games than last year.”

Before the four-run barrage in the fifth inning, both teams went scoreless through the first four innings. Lake Bachar and John King combined to throw 4.1 hitless innings before handing the ball to Ryan Gusto, who was making his second appearance with the Marlins. 

The Nationals tagged Gusto for three runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Washington led off with back-to-back singles, leading to a run scored on a groundout to put the Nationals on the board. 

Three straight singles led to two more runs in the seventh inning. The first was an RBI base hit by Dylan Crews, and the second came on a groundout. 

On the day he was called up from Triple-A Jacksonville, Gusto went two innings with three runs allowed on five hits with three strikeouts. Michael Peterson, Anthony Bender, and Calvin Faucher combined for the final three innings with no runs allowed and five strikeouts. 

Richard Lovelady pitched the two hitless innings for the Nationals to start the game. The opener strategy didn’t pay off for Washington, as Miles Mikolas gave up six runs on six hits in six innings. 

The Nationals (31-31) dropped back down to .500 and are 12-19 at home this season. The Philadelphia Phillies (15-16) are the only other team with a record of .500 or higher and a losing record at home. Mitchell Parker allowed the home run to Hernandez in the ninth inning. 

The Marlins will turn to their best starting pitcher, Max Meyer (5-0, 2.97 ERA), to earn the sweep against the Nationals and Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 4.02 ERA). 

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