A three-run eighth inning cemented the road loss and series after the Washington Nationals fell, 5-2, against the Miami Marlins.
The Washington Nationals climbed out of an early deficit, but late inning magic from the Miami Marlins ended in a 3-2 loss to close out the series.
The series loss marked the Nationals' first on the road since facing the Philadelphia Phillies back on March 30 through April 1.
After two combined hits between the teams through the first two innings, Miami added a pair in the third inning after Cavalli allowed a leadoff walk before a single into centerfield put a runner in scoring position. That mattered because Cavalli would then give up an RBI single to open the game's scoring before an error by Nasim Nunez led to a missed double play and a second Marlins run.
The Nationals would answer back the following inning after Luis Garcia knocked a leadoff triple to set up Brady House up with the RBI grounder, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Daylen Lile then kept it going with a two out double into left center, but it didn't materialize into anything after Jacob Young lined out into center.
Yet the tying run came the following inning after Jorbit Vivas opened the fifth with a single into right before Nasim Nunez drew a walk, putting a pair of runners on board. A grounder from James Wood allowed both Nunez and Vivas to advance to second and third before a Luis Garcia Jr. double drove in Vivas to make it a 2-2 game.
Cavalli would start to slip in the sixth inning after hitting the first two batters, including three of his last four. After Brady House fielded a grounder and opted to throw the base runner out at first, House saved the scoring opportunity after fielding the grounder and getting to Drew Millas well before the runner reached home base.
Blake Butera would then turn to PJ Poulin to end Cavalli's day with a grounder ending the scoring threat.
With the game still tied at two and Gus Varland on the mound, the Marlins would threaten in the bottom of the eighth after consecutive batters walked with one out. After a brief visit to the mound from pitching coach Simon Matthews, the Marlins executed a double steal to put two runners in scoring position. Exactly one pitch later, a blooper into center field drove in the game-winning run.
The Marlins executed a second double steal, this time leading to a two-run RBI single to push the game out of reach with Washington trailing, 5-2. Butera then turned to Paxton Schultz to replace Varland.
Washington will enjoy an off day on Monday before resuming the road trip with the first matchup against the Cincinnati Reds set to begin on Tuesday, May 12 for a three game series.
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