Nats snap Marlins’ win streak
MIAMI — The odds have seemed against Marlins pitcher Tom Koehler for most of the season.
When he’s pitched well, often times the team has lacked run support. On Wednesday, he wasn’t perfect by any means but his string of unfortunate luck continued. He just happened to lineup opposite to Major League Baseball’ s leader in strikeouts and an opponent desperately trying to avoid a sweep.
It was a terrible mix for Koehler and the Marlins in an 8-3 loss to the Washington Nationals. They struggled most of the way against Nationals starter Max Scherzer, who struck out eight to bring his season total to 275.
Koehler lasted just four innings, allowing three unearned runs that were just a pitch and fielding error from never occurring.
“It’s a tough matchup for Tom,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You start looking at the matchups and their numbers on him. It’s a team that’s hitting well and not just one guy or two.”
After two scoreless innings, Koehler ran into trouble in the third. He opened by walking Danny Espinosa, who later moved to second on a fielder’s choice. That led to Koehler’s failed pick-off attempt that got away from Dee Gordon. Centerfielder Christian Yelich then misplayed the ball while trying to scoop it up, allowing Espinosa to score on the second error of the sequence.
At that moment was the start of yet another close but not quite performance by Koehler, an all too familiar scene for the Marlins.
“I’ve played with guys who didn’t really pitch that well butwe got a ton of runs for him,” Mattingly said. “Every time that he seemed to pitch, we got seven or eight
runs and didn’t really pitch that great … [Koehler] probably deserves a better record.”
By the fourth inning, it was evident Koehler was going to fall to 9-12 on the season. His plight became even more heartbreaking when he gave up a three-run homer to Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman. In typical Koehler fashion, the blast came with two outs.
“I tried to throw a [Zimmerman] a curve ball there,” Koehler said. “I just didn’t get it down enough. I had it in the right spot. Hewas able to just catch it.”
Koehler was pulled following the inning after allowing just two hits and striking out three. It was his fourth straight losing start, a stretch in which he’s only given up15 earned runs.
“We’ve probably given up a couple of his leads,” Mattingly said. “He could have had some more wins but I think that’s why when you hear guys talk about the analytics, a win is not that important. I think there’s a little more to being able to win a game … but there is some luck to it.”
The four-run cushion was more than enough for Scherzer, who helped the Nationals snap a four-game losing streak. He improved to 18-7 after allowing four hits and three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.
“It’s tough to fall behind guys like that,” Yelich said. “When they get a lead, they know how to put the game away.”
The Nationals added one run in the fifth and seventh inning, including a home run by Park Vista graduate Trea Turner, before the Marlins answered. In the bottom half, Yelich hit a solo shot for his 20th home run of the season. Derek Dietrich then hit a two-run homer, bringing the Marlins to within 6-3.
The National ended any rally hopes by adding two runs in the eighth.