MIAMI _ The Washington Nationals aren't enjoying the kind of banner season folks thought they would, sputtering along in third place with a .500 record when most figured they'd be ruling the roost in the National League East.
You'd never know it when they play the Marlins, though.
For the seventh time in eight meetings this season, the Nationals hung a loss on the Marlins, who frittered away an early 3-0 lead on Thursday in an eventual 10-3 defeat.
The bad news for the Marlins: they still have 11 games remaining against Washington.
The Marlins figured to have caught a break _ at least on paper _ when scheduled starter Stephen Strasburg was placed on the disabled list earlier in the day and replaced on the mound by journeyman lefty Tommy Milone.
And for one inning, anyhow, it looked like it would play out in Miami's favor. The Marlins produced three runs on four hits in the first off Milone, who had spent the entire season at Triple-A Syracuse.
But then Milone did his best Strasburg imitation, whiffing six batters over the next four scoreless innings, as the Nationals began to chip away.
Dan Straily gave up solo homers in the fourth to Trea Turner and Juan Soto and a game-tying double in the sixth to Ryan Zimmerman. The Nationals added three more runs in the seventh off Adam Conley and four more in the ninth off Ben Meyer.
The Marlins mustered only four hits over the final seven innings, the same number they recorded in the first inning alone.
