Nationals Park sat at a steamy 90 degrees by the finish, up from 82 at first pitch, and for 8 innings the heat produced almost nothing offensively. Washington scratched across a run in the 5th and another in the 8th and that was it — a 2-0 lead that looked like plenty against a Marlins lineup that had gone quiet in the finale.
Then the 9th happened. Miami sent runners across the plate 6 times in the top of the inning, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead in one swing of momentum, and Washington had nothing left to answer with in the bottom half. It was the kind of finish that turns a quiet Sunday matinee into the only inning anyone remembers.
The result flips this set back Miami's way, 1-2 in the head-to-head after dropping the first 2, and pushes the Marlins to 69-68 on the year. Washington falls to 65-74, still building around Cavalli and the arms working their way back off the 60-day IL rather than chasing anything in the standings.
Both clubs will keep piecing things together the rest of the way — Miami answering what Edwards' hand injury costs it, Washington waiting on Wood and a healthier rotation. For one Sunday at least, it was Miami's bullpen luck and 9th-inning power that decided things.