Nats rally from 9-run deficit
NATIONALS 14, MARLINS 12
WASHINGTON» Trea Turner hit two homers, including his first career grand slam, and drove in eight runs to help the Washington Nationals rally from a ninerun deficit and defeat the Miami Marlins 14-12 in a wild slugfest Thursday night to end a fivegame losing streak.
The Nationals, who dropped 17 of their previous 22, have won 12 consecutive games against Miami dating to last season — their longest winning streak against any team since the franchise moved to Washington in 2005.
The victory came a day after the Nationals called a playersonly meeting Wednesday after Washington was swept by Boston and slipped under .500 for the first time since May 2.
But things didn’t start smoothly.
Miami scored an unearned run in the first, and capped a six-run second on Martin Prado’s three-run homer off the left-field foul pole. The Marlins made it 9-0 on Justin Bour’s two-run homer in the fourth off Jeremy Hellickson.
Despite the huge deficit, Washington was far from out of it.
Turner led off the fourth with a solo shot off Marlins starter Pablo Lopez, who surrendered four more runs in the fifth — including two on Juan Soto’s double. Adam Conley (2-1) then allowed four of the first five hitters he faced to reach in the sixth before Turner smacked a two-out fastball with the bases loaded into Miami’s bullpen to give the Nationals a stunning 10-9 lead.
It was Turner’s third career multi-homer game.
Turner added a two-run single in Washington’s four-run seventh. His eight RBIs tied for the most ever by a leadoff hitter, according to STATS LLC.
Shawn Kelley (1-0) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win. Sean Doolittle earned his 22nd save in 23 opportunities.
Matt Adams had four hits for Washington in his first game since a stint on the disabled list for a broken left index finger.