Instant Analysis: Marlins 7, Nats 3

Miles Mikolas and Mitchell Parker combined to give up four homers as the Nationals fell to 1-4 this season against Miami

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

Just when it looked like the Nationals might mount a comeback and overcome the oversized Marlins hurdle that has blocked their path this season, they again failed to execute late and dropped yet another game to Miami. They’re now 1-4 against their division rivals this season despite going 15-8 against everyone else they’ve faced over the last month.

In a game started by relievers on both sides, neither team managed a hit through the first four innings. Then the Marlins broke through in the fifth, in a big way, with three straight home runs off Miles Mikolas.

The Nationals finally notched their first hit in the sixth when Drew Millas lined a leadoff single to right. Millas would eventually have to leave the game after cutting his upper lip on a hard slide into third base, but pinch-runner Keibert Ruiz came in to score on Luis García Jr.’s RBI groundout.

The Nats kept the pressure on the Marlins bullpen with three straight singles to open the seventh, taking advantage of a throwing error and then Ruiz’s RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 4-3. Unable to get the tying runner home from third in both the seventh and eighth innings, though, they soon found themselves trailing by a wide margin again after Mikolas and Mitchell Parker combined to allow three runs in the top of the ninth.

HITTING LOWLIGHT: The fact they had zero hits through five innings speaks for itself. But when they did finally give themselves an opportunity to rally late, they couldn’t finish the job. They took five at-bats with a runner on third in those two innings alone and went 0-for-5, with Jorbit Vivas and Ruiz hitting into groundouts, Curtis Mead popping out and José Tena and CJ Abrams each striking out.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT/LOWLIGHT: On the one hand, Mikolas was throwing as hard as he has in years. His fastball topped out at 97 (his hardest single pitch since 2022), and his average velocity across the board was up 2 mph. On the other hand, that three-batter sequence in the top of the fifth was an unmitigated disaster. Mikolas left three pitches over the plate to Mack, Hernandez and Lopez and paid the price. No matter the velocity, he couldn’t get away with that kind of missed location. To his credit, he pitched well outside of that lone sequence, retiring the first seven batters he faced and 10-of-11 from the fifth through the eighth. But on a night when the offense was struggling to hit, the Nats couldn’t afford even a brief slip-up from their pitching staff.

NOTABLE: The Marlins have hit 13.2 percent of their 2026 home runs (7-of-53) over the last two nights.

UP NEXT: Andrew Alvarez will make his first MLB start of the season in Wednesday’s 1:05 p.m. series finale. Right-hander Max Meyer (5-0, 2.97 ERA) starts for Miami. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM