The Nationals continued their recent slide on Tuesday night, falling to the Florida Marlins 2-11.
Washington has now lost three straight and seven of their first 10 games after the All-Star break. They now find themselves back in last place in the NL East.
“I see us as too good to have any extended losing streaks. I keep waiting for everything to gel a little bit,” Nats’ Manager Davey Johnson said.
Well, that gelling will have to wait at least one more day.
Following a one-out triple by Marlins’ second baseman Omar Infante in the first inning, first baseman Greg Dobbs grounded out to short to put Florida up by one.
The Marlins picked up three more runs in the top of the third inning, the big blow coming off the bat of Logan Morrison, who hit a two-run homer, his 16th of the season.
Dobbs continued his strong game in the top of the fifth with his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to the Nationals’ bullpen in right to put the Marlins up 0-5.
The Nats picked up their first hit and first run at the same time as left fielder Laynce Nix hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to break up a no-hitter from Marlins’ starter Ricky Nolasco. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, they cut the Marlins’ lead to 2-5 when first baseman Michael Morse doubled home Ryan Zimmerman.
Dobbs picked up RBI No. 3 in the top of the seventh to make the score 2-6. He finished the night with five.
Marlins’ catcher John Buck added a solo shot in the top of the ninth, his 11th this year. Florida scored five times in the inning and essentially ruined any chance the Nationals had of coming back.
Nationals’ reliever Henry Rodriguez gave up most of the damage in the inning as he continues to struggle. After giving up a run in his last appearance against the Dodgers July 23, Manager Davey Johnson tried to get him back on track in a lower leverage situation. Clearly, it did not work.
“I thought it was a good time to get that bad taste out of his mouth,” Johnson said. “My Ouija board isn’t working to good right now. That wasn’t what I had in mind.”
While no would confuse the current Nationals roster with Murderers Row, Johnson knows that the team is not playing the way they are capable of, and the losing is taking its toll.
“It’s not sitting well with me. I have a high boiling point and I’m getting closer to it,” he said.
