Burger’s two HRs, Cueto’s return cap Marlins victory
Jake Burger hit two of Miami’s four home runs, Johnny Cueto struck out four in his return from a viral infection and the Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 11-5 Saturday to win a third consecutive game and keep pace in the NL wild-card race.
Jesús Sánchez and Bryan De La Cruz each hit a three-run home run off Washington starter Trevor Williams (6-9), who has given up a league-leading 33 this season. Burger’s two gave him 30 homers this season and five since arriving in a trade Aug. 1 from the Chicago White Sox.
Cueto (1-3) allowed two solo home runs in five-plus innings, including one to Lane Thomas in the sixth that ended his afternoon after allowing three earned runs on 77 pitches. That was in line with manager Skip Schumaker’s expectation that the 37-year-old would be monitored and limited in his first start since Aug. 15.
His teammates provided plenty of run support thanks to more Miami power hitting. Home runs have accounted for 68.9% of the Marlins’ offense — 31 of 45 runs — since Aug. 18.
De La Cruz and NL-batting leader Luis Arraez each went 4 for 5. Arraez, making a rare start at first base, picked up his first fourhit game since July 15 to raise his average to .355.
Late Friday
Diamondbacks 4, Orioles 2: Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit two-run homers, Zach Davies had a quality start and Arizona beat Baltimore in Phoenix.
The Diamondbacks got a muchneeded win in their first game back home after a three-game sweep at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Arizona is locked in a tight race for NL wild-card position with six teams vying for three spots.
The Orioles have dropped two straight.
The Diamondbacks jumped ahead 2-1 in the first on a two-run homer by Gurriel, which was his 21st long ball of the year. They extended that advantage to 4-1 in the sixth when Walker lofted a high-arching, no-doubter down the left-field line for his 29th homer.
Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn had two hits and two RBIs, including a run-scoring double in the eighth that cut the Diamondbacks’ lead to 4-2. Davies (2-5) provided a second straight impressive start since returning from the injured list on Aug. 26. The right-hander gave up one run on four hits over six innings, striking out six and walking one.
Paul Sewald handled the ninth for his 29th save in 34 chances.
Baltimore’s Cole Irvin (1-4) gave up four runs on eight hits over 5 innings. The lefty struck out four and walked one.
Marlins 8, Nationals 5: Garrett Hampson hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run rally in the 11th inning, and Miami defeated Washington.
The Marlins (68-67) moved over .500 with their second straight win over the Nationals. Miami entered the game three games back of San Francisco in the race for the NL’s third and final wild-card spot.
CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas and Travis Blankenhorn hit solo homers for Washington, which has lost three in a row for the first time since a five-game skid July 3-7.