WASHINGTON (AP) — Down to their final strike Sunday, the Miami Marlins got another big home run to keep alive a winning streak that started with one.
Jesús Sánchez hit a two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning to avoid a loss and provide enough cushion when the Washington Nationals tied it, and the Marlins got to reliever Carl Edwards Jr. in the 10th to win 7-4 and extend their streak to four in a row.
Four days after Avisaíl García’s homer beat St. Louis, the Marlins moved three games shy of .500 thanks to Sánchez’s 11th of the season coming at the most opportune time.
“Huge,” manager Don Mattingly said. “The game don’t move on without that.”
The Marlins have won 11 of 12 against the Nationals and can start dreaming about taking a shot at an NL wild-card spot despite being 26-39 against everyone else.
“Winning games is a lot of fun, and we know right now in July it’s kind of crunch time,” reliever Anthony Bass said. “We want to put the pressure on the front office to let them know that we want to make a run here (to) the postseason, and July’s kind of the month to do it.”
The loss came at potentially a high cost for the Nationals, who lost star outfielder Juan Soto to a left calf injury. Soto flexed and pointed to his left leg after making a throw in right field in the third and was taken out after being involved in a rundown in the fourth.
“We’ll re-evaluate him and see what’s going on,” manager Dave Martinez said.
Soto, the face of the franchise the organization is attempting to sign to a long-term contract, Soto had his hitting streak snapped at eight games after getting walked twice. He left the ballpark Sunday evening to get an MRI.
“Oh yeah, it’s terrifying, obviously,” said Nationals first baseman…