MIAMI -- Perhaps not four or five, but Nathaniel Lowe had one at-bat in him. And, when the opportunity presented itself, Lowe delivered.
His go-ahead pinch-hit double in the eighth inning cleared the bases and sent the Nationals to a 7-4 series-opening win over the Marlins on Friday night at loanDepot park.
Shortly before the first pitch, Lowe was a late scratch because of illness. Josh Bell originally was scheduled to be the designated hitter until he replaced Lowe at first base.
¡°He¡¯s sick, but I talked to him before the game and I said, ¡®Look if we have an opportunity to use you and pinch-hit, can you do it?¡¯ manager Dave Martinez said. ¡°He looked at me and said, ¡®I can.¡¯ And I said, ¡®I¡¯ll check back with you.¡¯ When I saw what was going on, I said, ¡®Hey, we have an opportunity here -- bases loaded. I want you to hit.¡¯¡±
Keibert Ruiz walked, Luis Garc¨ªa Jr. singled and Alex Call drew a two-out walk to set up Lowe¡¯s appearance. Lowe capped the 10-pitch at-bat against reliever Anthony Bender with the extra-base hit.
¡°Each pitch, we were yelling in the dugout, ¡®Keep going. Keep going,¡¯¡± Bell said. ¡°It was cool to see him come through.¡±
James Wood homered for the fourth time in the past four games and Bell went deep as the Nationals continued the winning trend established in the recently completed homestand, when they won three-game series against the reigning World Series champion Dodgers and Diamondbacks.
The Nats also were without CJ Abrams after the third inning. Abrams left because of a hip flexor strain and will be re-evaluated on Saturday, according to Martinez.
Washington padded the lead in the ninth when Wood hit a solo blast and Alex Call added an RBI triple that scored Bell from first. Wood¡¯s drive over the left-center field wall had an exit velocity of 110.5 mph, according to Statcast.
Lucas Sims pitched the seventh for the win and Jos¨¦ Ferrer followed with a scoreless eighth. Kyle Finnegan closed for his fifth save.
After two dominant outings in which he allowed one run over 12 1/3 innings to begin the season, Nationals starter Mitchell Parker gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks in six innings. The left-hander walked two, struck out three and hit a batter.
Miami¡¯s Kyle Stowers doubled and tripled for the first extra-base hits Parker allowed this season.
Parker seemed headed to another early-season solid outing through the first four innings and his ERA lowered to 0.56 before everything unraveled in a four-run fifth. He plunked Liam Hicks to lead off the inning then allowed Javier Sanoja to reach on a bunt single. When Graham Pauley attempted to advance the baserunners, Parker retrieved the bunt and threw errantly to first to load the bases.
Xavier Edwards followed with a two-run single and Stowers¡¯ two-RBI double capped the outburst.
¡°The entire outing I felt went really well,¡± Parker said. ¡°Obviously, things happened, but luckily, we came out with the win. It was a great team win.¡±
Bell pulled the Nationals within 4-2 after his two-run homer in the sixth. He drilled the first pitch from Miami starter Edward Cabrera into the seats in right-center for his second homer of the season.
¡°I don¡¯t know if he thought I was taking because I chased the first couple of at-bats,¡± Bell said. ¡°He gave me a pitch to hit and I took advantage.¡±
Bell also helped the Nationals defensively. He raced to the netting and snatched a popup hit by Jonah Bride in the sixth.
¡°It signalizes the importance of staying ready,¡± Bell said. ¡°Taking ground balls and getting extra work early.¡±