Marlins finally defeat Nats, capped off by rare Xavier Edwards homer

[Kevin Barral]

MIAMI, FL—It was a tough start to September for the Miami Marlins, mainly because they couldn't figure out how to beat the last-place Washington Nationals. In five head-to-head meetings so far this month, the Nats had won all five, and it looked as if that trend would continue on Wednesday after the Fish fell behind 3-0. This time, however, the offense came to life and the bullpen did its job perfectly to flip the game around for an 8-3 victory. It's the first time since August 1 against the New York Yankees that the Marlins have come back from a deficit of three runs or more to win.

The Marlins were being shut out by Jake Irvin until a four-run bottom of the sixth inning. With both Maximo Acosta and Xavier Edwards on, Jakob Marsee drove Acosta in on an RBI single, making it a 3-1 game. Otto Lopez reached first on an RBI fielder's choice and Marsee avoided the tag at second base to produce another run. Agustín Ramírez, whose birthday was on Wednesday, tied the game with an RBI single. Eric Wagaman followed with a go-ahead RBI single himself.

"Sometimes it's just more exit placement than exit velocity," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough about the sixth-inning rally. "It was nice to see us pass the baton and just keep moving along like we did and then to go to tack on as well late once we had the lead."

Marsee finished with a four-hit game, his second of the season. Through 39 career games, he's now slashing .336/.404/.573/.977 with five home runs, 27 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He ranks top 10 among all qualified MLB hitters in batting average since being called up at the beginning of August.

"I think it's a lot of just what we've seen since he's debuted," said McCullough. "He's hitting the ball to all fields and putting himself in good counts, swinging at the right pitches and always ready to hit. I think we continue to learn about Marsee in a short time up here (that) this guy really wants to win, and you see how he attacks every facet on the bases, defensively and in the batter's box. He's a really terrific competitor and we've just seen him from the offensive side continue to roll out one good at-bat after another."

Otto Lopez gave the Marlins a two-run cushion in the bottom of the seventh inning with an RBI single, driving in Xavier Edwards. Lopez's 72 RBI put him just behind Kyle Stowers (73) for the team lead. Lopez is almost certain to finish first in that category with Stowers unlikely to return this season.

In the bottom of the eighth, Edwards hit his third home run of the season. It was his first career home run at loanDepot park. Earlier on this homestand, the Marlins gave their leadoff hitter back-to-back days off hoping that the mental reset would help snap him out of an extended slump.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Edwards about Wednesday's performance. "Just to show that some of the work I've been putting in hopefully is paying off."

Between his previous two starts, Eury Pérez allowed a combined 12 earned runs in 4 ⅔ innings pitched. He bounced back by going 5 ⅔ innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, no walks and struck out seven. He generated 15 total whiffs, most notably seven with his four-seam fastball, which was averaging 98.0 mph and topped out at 99.8 mph.

With the win, the Marlins move to 67-78 and aim for a series split on Thursday. Fully recovered from a left lat strain, Ryan Weathers will be activated off the 60-day IL and make his first start since 6/7. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.

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[Leo Armbrister]

While the losses to the Nats have been disappointing they have exceeded my wildest expectations for the year. I thought they would lose over 100 games. Also they have some good young players. Our pitching staff has been decimated. Hopefully we can get some of those pitchers healthy for next year. So I am optimistic for 2026. I believe we can continue to get better.