MIAMI _ The Miami Marlins haven't taken for granted the position they're in right now. They are in the midst of a playoff race with less than two weeks to go in the regular season and are in that spot despite an early setback due to the club's COVID-19 outbreak at the start of the season, 160 roster moves and 18 prospects making their MLB debuts over the course of the first 50 games of this 60-game season.
They've bounced back after nearly every challenge thrown their way this season and knew they needed to get back on track quickly following their latest setback. After winning five of seven games in a pivotal series with the Philadelphia Phillies to open a 15-game, 11-day homestand, the Marlins dropped two of three against the Boston Red Sox and opened Friday's doubleheader against the Nationals with a 5-0 shutout loss.
But three big swings from Brian Anderson in the nightcap paved the way for Miami to split the doubleheader with a 14-3 win.
Anderson hit three homers in the game, a solo shot in the second and a pair of three-run shots in the fifth and sixth. He joins Mike Lowell and Cody Ross as the only players in Marlins history to hit three home runs in a game. His seven RBIs also tie the club's single-game record
The Marlins remain two games above .500 at 26-24 and are still in second place in the National League East with 10 games to go. They hold a half-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies, who won a doubleheader over the Toronto Blue Jays, and are three-and-a-half games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the division.
"It's just a mentality this year," said designated hitter Garrett Cooper, one of the 18 players who tested positive for COVID-19 after the first weekend of the series. "Come in. Do your job. ... It's just the daily ups and downs. We have a great group. We talk about it every day in our group chat that we have a chance to do something special and a chance to win every day. That's what we're coming in to do."
Miami showed that resiliency in Friday's finale.
After erasing a two-run deficit with solo home runs from Corey Dickerson in the first and Anderson in the second, the Marlins tacked on four runs in the third and chased Nationals starter Wil Crowe in the process.
The Marlins loaded the bases with one out on back-to-back groundball singles from Dickerson and Starling Marte and a Cooper walk. A four-pitch walk to Jesus Aguilar pushed home the go-ahead run and force Washington to go to its bullpen. Three more runs scored in the frame on a Miguel Rojas bases-loaded fielder's choice that would have been an inning-ending out at home plate had Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki held onto and a Lewis Brinson two-run single.
Anderson added his second home run, this time a three-run shot, in the fifth to start a four-run inning.
Castano, making yet another spot start on a doubleheader day, threw 4 1/3 innings and held the Nationals to three runs. He gave up two runs early in the first before settling down to keep Washington scoreless over the second, third and fourth. Marlins manager Don Mattingly pulled him after giving up a one-out triple to Victor Robles in the fifth. Robles eventually scored when Juan Soto hit an RBI single against Yimi Garcia, who finished the inning.
Brad Boxberger and Nick Vincent handled the sixth and seventh innings, respectively.
