After Four Scoreless Innings, Three Straight Bombs Blew Up the Nationals' Night and Their Series Is Cooked

Alright, Seattle, you gotta hear about this wild one. We're talking absolute mayhem in Washington D.C. where the Miami Marlins are about to pull off a clean sweep against the Nationals. How'd they get here? Well, Tuesday night was a quiet snooze-fest until the fifth inning, and then BAM! It was a fireworks show that completely wrecked the Nats' plans. Miami, who rolled into town on a five-game losing streak, is now set to snag their second series sweep in two weeks, and it's all thanks to an absolutely bananas power surge that left Washington scratching their heads.

The Bombshell Fifth That Changed Everything

Seriously, you couldn't make this up. The Marlins were completely stifled, held hitless through the first four innings. But then, after a walk, it was like someone flipped a switch to "nuclear." Joe Mack stepped up and smashed his first big-league long ball. You can imagine the energy, right? But wait, there's more. Heriberto Hernandez, who's been on an absolute tear, followed that up with another bomb. And then, just to rub salt in the wound, Otto Lopez went yard too! That's right, back-to-back-to-back home runs, turning a scoreless struggle into a 7-3 Marlins lead in the blink of an eye. Manager Clayton McCullough was hyped, and honestly, who wouldn't be? Mack's first, then Bert and Otto immediately after, that's a huge boost! Hernandez alone had two dingers in that game, his first multi-homer performance, and he's already racked up three long balls in this series. Lopez, by the way, finished 2-for-5 and is leading the majors with 80 hits. The Nationals' pitcher, Miles Mikolas, had been steadily lowering his ERA, but those three consecutive homers absolutely crushed his night, giving up six runs on six hits in six-plus innings. He even admitted, "Once I start to float up to that thigh, belt area with those fastballs, big-league hitters are going to hit that." Tell me about it, buddy!

Pitching Duel or Disaster? And Washington's Woes

Now, looking ahead to Wednesday's finale, the Marlins are sending right-hander Max Meyer to the mound. He's got a solid 5-0 record with a 2.97 ERA, but his last start was a bit rough. After two straight scoreless outings against the Braves and Mets, where he tossed 13 shutout innings, the Mets hit him up for six runs (five earned) in six innings. So, which Meyer shows up? He also lost his only career start against Washington back in 2024, giving up five runs. For the Nats, left-hander Andrew Alvarez is making his first start of the season, stepping up after several relief appearances. His manager, Blake Butera, said Alvarez "wasn't as sharp today" in his last outing against the Padres, struggling to get swing-and-miss with two strikes. Interestingly, Alvarez won his lone career start against the Marlins, throwing five shutout, one-hit innings in his MLB debut in 2025. It's a real wildcard pitching matchup! Meanwhile, the Nationals' offense continues to struggle in key moments, going a pathetic 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday. Even worse, they were 0-for-5 with a runner on third in the seventh and eighth innings! CJ Abrams is a bright spot, extending his reached-safely streak to 21 of his last 22 games, batting .304 in that span. But he can't do it all himself. Can Miami complete the sweep and bury the Nats? Or will the Nationals find a way to break through against Meyer and avoid the embarrassment? We're watching to see if Alvarez can recapture his debut magic against the Marlins or if Meyer bounces back strong. This one's gonna be a showdown, no doubt.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.