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Fernandez pins down Nats, wins 5th straight
- Updated: May 22, 2016
MIAMI — Facing the the first-place Nationals has brought out the best in Marlins ace Jose Fernandez. The 23-year-old right-hander struck out nine in six innings, and backed by Justin Bour’s two-run home run and Ichiro Suzuki’s four-hits, Miami held on for a 3-2 win on Saturday night at Marlins Park.
“I think this team has a big heart, and I love the way that we play,” Fernandez said. “I love the passion that we play. For me, that’s all I can ask for.”
The Marlins secured the victory the hard way with closer A.J. Ramos, after allowing a run on Wilson Ramos’ pinch-hit single, escaping a bases-loaded jam with none out. Pinch-hitter Jayson Werth tapped into a double play and Ramos locked up his 13th save on Jose Lobaton’s grounder to first.
“We were thinking winning the game at that point,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We were going for broke right there.”
Fernandez improved to 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA against Washington this season and is 6-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his career against his division rival. The Marlins were able to snap their three-game slide, and end the Nats’ three-game win streak by getting to Joe Ross for three runs in 5 2/3 innings.
“That was a good one,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Jose, obviously, set the tone for us. He was really good. Their guy was good, too. He’s kind of tough. You’ve got to stay with him, and get him as the game goes later on, because he’s got really good stuff.”
With Giancarlo Stanton mired in an 0-for-19 slump, the second longest drought of his career, the Marlins have been seeking production elsewhere. Marcell Ozuna and Bour stepped up on Saturday. Ozuna had three hits and scored on Bour’s go-ahead two-run blast in the sixth inning. Stanton’s longest hitless slump is 31 at-bats in 2010.
The Nationals claimed the lead off Fernandez on Clint Robinson’s two-out RBI single in the fourth. Fernandez’s lone walk, to Chris Heisey, ended up costing him, as Heisey scored the first run.
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