WASHINGTON _ This is not how the Miami Marlins envisioned their grand offseason plan playing out on the field.
The Marlins dropped their season opener to the Washington Nationals, 4-2, on Monday at Nationals Park after they couldn't overcome a blown lead by the bullpen. David Phelps allowed three runs on two home runs in two innings, and Junichi Tazawa allowed a tack-on run in the eighth.
The homers off Phelps came from Bryce Harper (sixth inning) and pinch-hitter Adam Lind (seventh inning). The latter was the big blow, a two-run shot with two outs. It came minutes after a single from Matt Wieters kept the frame alive and brought Lind to the plate in place of pitcher Stephen Strasburg.
Tazawa allowed all three batters he faced to reach base in the eighth. Brad Ziegler entered and induced a double play to end the inning.
The first half of the game developed about as the Marlins would hope and expect: five shutout innings from starter and marquee offseason addition Edinson Volquez, plus RBI hits from Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna.
Volquez scattered four hits and on walk while working into and out of trouble. He struck out six batters, including four in a row in the first and second innings.
He twice put the first two runners on and evaded further trouble. After Trea Turner and Adam Eaton reached to open the game, Volquez struck out the heart of the Nationals' order _ Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman _ swinging. And in the fourth, an eight-pitch at-bat by Stephen Drew ended in a double play, helping Volquez escape that two-on, no-out jam.
Volquez threw 85 pitches before manager Don Mattingly lifted him for Phelps.
The Marlins took a two-run lead in the fourth when Stanton doubled to center to score J.T. Realmuto, who had also doubled. Ozuna followed with a single to score Stanton.
Volquez went 2 for 2 at the plate, the first multi-hit game of his career.
