WASHINGTON — Pablo Lopez threw seven shutout innings and Garrett Cooper finally got the run-scoring hit the Miami Marlins were looking for in the 10th inning, but it was all for naught.
Kyle Schwarber took the second pitch he saw off Marlins closer Yimi Garcia and sent it 454 feet to center field for a walk-off, two-run home run to lift the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 win over the Marlins to begin a three-game series at Nationals Park. Miami falls to 11-14 and into fifth place in the National League East. Washington is 10-12.
Lopez needed just 79 pitches to record the 21 outs, primarily using his changeup that has become one of his more successful pitches as of late. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and the infield behind him recorded inning-ending double plays in the third, sixth and seventh innings.
Anthony Bass and Dylan Floro threw scoreless eighth and ninth innings.
The offense, meanwhile, failed to produce until extra innings. The Marlins went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base before Cooper’s go-ahead single that ultimately wasn’t enough.
Lopez finishes his first month of the season with a 2.34 ERA while striking out 34 batters over 34 2/3 innings. He has allowed just one earned run over his last three starts.
MONTE’S BACK
Outfielder prospect Monte Harrison is back on the Marlins’ active roster.
How long he stays up will likely be determined by how quickly a couple other players return from injury.
The Marlins recalled Harrison, the No. 14 overall prospect in their minor-league system according to MLB Pipeline, prior to Friday’s series opener with the Nationals. Miami optioned left-handed pitcher Daniel Castano to make room for Harrison.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Harrison will primarily be used in a bench role but didn’t rule out the possibility of him getting occasional starts. The Marlins have been dealing with injuries during the past couple weeks, with center fielder Starling Marte (fractured left rib), third baseman Brian Anderson (left oblique strain), catcher Jorge Alfaro (left hamstring strain) and second baseman Jazz Chisholm (left hamstring strain) on the injured list.
Cooper and Corey Dickerson also left Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers with injuries, but both are OK. Cooper is starting in right field on Friday. Dickerson, sitting against left-handed pitcher Jon Lester, is expected to be available off the bench.
With Harrison on the roster, the Marlins now have a five-man bench.
“We’ll see where everything goes,” Mattingly said, “but for right now, it’s a bench role with a combination of guys but that doesn’t mean there’s not starts in there also.”
Harrison hit just .170 with 26 strikeouts in 51 plate appearances in 2020, his first big-league experience. Mattingly said he has received “good reports” on Harrison’s production at the alternate training site in Jacksonville.
“He’s continuing to work on his swing,” Mattingly said. “He’s keeping that path shorter. His strikeout rate went way down. Monte’s been good, and this isn’t just (batting practice) games. These are actual games against other teams and everything.”
Castano has a 4.73 ERA over three starts, giving up seven earned runs on 14 hits and five walks over 13 1/3 innings while striking out five. The Marlins have an off day Monday after their three-game set with the Nationals, so they don’t need a fifth starting pitcher until their April 8 game against the Milwaukee Brewers at loanDepot park.
THIS AND THAT
—Anderson is expected to take batting practice on the field Friday. He is eligible to come off the injured list on Saturday.
—Right-handed pitcher Elieser Hernandez threw a bullpen session in Milwaukee on Wednesday with “no reports of anything happening between then and now,” Mattingly said, adding he anticipates Hernandez will throw another bullpen session this weekend.
