Marlins Take the Nationals Series 2-1 on Mother’s Day Weekend
Marsee Hits a Three-Run Bomb in the Eighth, Morel Walks It Off on Sunday, and the Marlins Take the Nationals Series 2-1 on Mother’s Day Weekend.
Foster Griffin falls twice on the mound avoiding line drives in Game 1, the Marlins rally from four runs down in Game 2 behind a Jakob Marsee three-run home run, and Sandy Alcántara closes it out on Mother’s Day with Calvin Faucher getting the win. A divisional rival walked into loanDepot park with a winning record and left with a series loss.
May 10, 2026 · By Wilson Alvarez · Series Recap · Business of Baseball · MiamiBusiness.com
TL;DR · 30-SECOND SUMMARY
The Miami Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 2 games to 1 in a three-game home series at loanDepot park, May 8-10. Game 1 was a 3-2 loss where Foster Griffin, the Nationals starter with a Tommy John surgery history, was spotted twice falling on the mound to avoid line drives rather than fielding them. Game 2 was an 8-7 thriller where the Marlins came back from four runs down as Jakob Marsee hit a three-run home run in the eighth, Xavier Edwards tied it earlier with a solo shot, and Kyle Stowers hit a home run near the cycle. Game 3 was a Mother’s Day 5-2 win where Christopher Morel singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth and Calvin Faucher closed it. The Marlins improve to 20-22 overall and take a divisional series in a homestand that desperately needed a win.
THE STATEMENT
The Marlins are 270-259 all time against the Washington Nationals, a 51% winning percentage across 529 games, and they came into this series having won 5 consecutive games against their NL East neighbor. Washington came in at 19-21, third in the division, a team rebuilding with young talent and a rotation that starts with Foster Griffin — the 30-year-old left-hander who survived Tommy John surgery, went to Japan, came back, and is now having the best season of his career. The Marlins won Game 1 despite Griffin’s dominance, lost it 3-2, then won the next two. The divisional edge holds. The homestand needed this.
Wilson Alvarez · MiamiBusiness.com · Press Box, loanDepot park · Nationals Series, May 8-10, 2026
| Team | W | L | Division | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Marlins | 18 | 21 | NL East · 4th | 3-6 on homestand entering series · needed wins badly |
| Washington Nationals | 19 | 21 | NL East · 3rd | Division rival · Foster Griffin (3-0, 2.67 ERA) starting Gm 1 |
Historical H2H: Marlins lead all time 270-259 (51%) across 529 games. Miami’s longest winning streak over Washington is 10 games (September 2008 to July 2009). Washington’s longest streak over Miami is 14 games (August 2017 to July 2018). The Marlins entered this series on a 5-game winning streak against the Nationals, having gone 5-1 against them in 2025. This was a divisional series Miami needed to hold ground in.
| GAME | DATE | SCORE | W / L / SV | KEY STORY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Fri May 8 | WSH 3-2 | W: Griffin · L: Snelling · SV: Poulin | Griffin 7 IP 9 K · Jacob Young HR 2 RBI · Edwards solo HR · Lopez 3-for-4 |
| Game 2 | Sat May 9 | MIA 8-7 | W: Nardi · L: Parker · SV: King | Marsee 🏅 3-run HR 8th · Edwards HR · Stowers HR · 4-run comeback |
| Game 3 | Sun May 10 | MIA 5-2 | W: Faucher · L: Varland · SV: Ekness | Morel go-ahead single 8th · Alcántara strong · 11,848 fans Mother’s Day |
🏅 TRES “0” FIVE HITS HONOR · NATIONALS SERIES
Game 1: Otto Lopez · 3-for-4 · 1 double · 1 run scored. In a 3-2 loss where the Marlins managed only 5 hits as a team, Lopez accounted for 3 of them and was the only Marlin who made Foster Griffin work consistently. Honor earned in a losing game.
Game 2: Jakob Marsee · The box score shows 1-for-4 but the one hit was a three-run home run in the eighth inning that turned a 4-4 game into a 7-4 lead. Also: Kyle Stowers went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI and was one triple shy of the cycle. DUAL AWARD: Stowers 3-for-4 and Marsee for the series-changing home run. Both earn the Tres “0” Five Hits Honor in Game 2.
Game 3: No Marlins batter reached 3 hits. Honor not earned. The game was won by timely hitting, not volume.
| Player | G | AB | H | AVG | HR | RBI | R | KEY MOMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Stowers LF | 2 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 🏅 Gm 2 Tres “0” Five · HR · near cycle · 3-for-4 Gm 2 |
| Jakob Marsee CF | 2 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 🏅 Gm 2 Tres “0” Five · 3-run HR in 8th turned the series |
| Otto Lopez SS | 2 | 7 | 4 | .571 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 🏅 Gm 1 Tres “0” Five · 3-for-4 Gm 1 · 12-game hit streak extended |
| Xavier Edwards 2B | 3 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Solo HR Gm 1 · HR Gm 2 tied game 4-4 in 7th |
| Christopher Morel LF | 2 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Go-ahead single Gm 3 8th inning · won the series |
| Joe Mack C | 2 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 doubles Gm 2 · key late production |
| Leo Jiménez 2B | 2 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Sacrifice fly Gm 2 · RBI Gm 3 |
| Pitcher | Gm | IP | H | ER | K | BB | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robby Snelling SP | 1 | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | LOSS · 86 pitches · Jacob Young HR vs him |
| Anthony Bender RP | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Clean 6th inning |
| Tyler Phillips RP | 1 | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2.1 scoreless innings · held the game |
| John King RP | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Bridged to end of game |
| Janson Junk SP | 2 | 6.0 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | No Decision · 6 K · gave offense time to come back |
| Michael Petersen RP | 2 | 1.2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | WSH 3-run 9th · King came on for save |
| Andrew Nardi RP | 2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | WIN (3-2) |
| John King RP | 2 | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SAVE (1) · first career save |
| Sandy Alcántara SP | 3 | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | No Decision · held WSH to 2 runs through 6 · bounce-back |
| Calvin Faucher RP | 3 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | WIN (4-2) · 2 perfect innings |
| Josh Ekness RP | 3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SAVE (1) |
| SERIES TOTALS | 27.0 | 22 | 12 | 16 | 10 | Series won 2-1 · bullpen held in Gm 2 & 3 |
GAME 1 · FRIDAY MAY 8 · WSH 3-2 · LOSS · WILSON ALVAREZ IN THE PRESS BOX
Foster Griffin Strikes Out Nine and Falls Twice on the Mound. The Marlins Lose by One. The Story Is the Pitcher Who Would Not Field.
FROM THE PRESS BOX · WILSON ALVAREZ · GAME 1 OBSERVATION
Washington Nationals pitcher Foster Griffin, #22, was hit by two line drives in Game 1 — and twice, from the press box on the sixth floor of loanDepot park, Wilson Alvarez watched Griffin fall on the mound and get up rather than attempt to field either ball. The pattern was clear and it was noted. For a pitcher who survived season-ending Tommy John surgery, the instinct to protect the arm above the play is completely understandable. But from a press box perspective, the reaction was reactive, not proactive — and it happened twice in the same game. The mound is where pitchers are most exposed. Griffin has survived the surgery and come back stronger. The self-preservation instinct on those two line drives tells a story about what his arm has meant to him, and what it cost to get it back.
Away from that detail, Foster Griffin was outstanding. The Washington Nationals left-hander went seven innings, struck out nine, walked one, allowed four hits and only one earned run — a solo home run by Xavier Edwards in the first inning. His 2.67 ERA entering this start was not a mirage. The Marlins managed five hits across nine innings and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. PJ Poulin closed the ninth for the save.
Otto Lopez went 3-for-4 with a double, scored a run, and extended his hitting streak to 12 games, the longest active streak in all of Major League Baseball after Jacob Wilson of the Athletics went hitless that same night. Lopez was the only Marlin who consistently made Griffin work. For that he earns the Tres “0” Five Hits Honor in Game 1. Jacob Young hit a home run and drove in two for Washington. Robby Snelling, the Marlins starter, went five innings and gave up three earned runs. The bullpen held Washington scoreless over the final four innings but the damage was already done. Final: Washington 3, Miami 2.
GAME 2 · SATURDAY MAY 9 · MIA 8-7 · WIN · ATTENDANCE: 20,185
Down Four. Edwards Ties It in the Seventh. Marsee Breaks It Open in the Eighth. The Marlins’ Biggest Comeback of the Season.
20,185 fans showed up to loanDepot park on a Saturday afternoon and watched the Marlins complete their biggest comeback win of the 2026 season. Washington led 4-0 after three innings. The Marlins looked like a team still digesting Friday’s loss. Then Kyle Stowers hit a two-run home run in the fourth to make it 4-2 and something shifted. Joe Mack doubled twice, Owen Caissie added a sacrifice fly, and by the seventh inning Xavier Edwards hit a 422-foot solo home run to tie the game at 4-4. The stadium found a voice it had not used all series.
In the eighth inning, Jakob Marsee found a hanging slider from Washington reliever Mitchell Parker and sent it to the visiting bullpen in right field for a three-run home run. Marlins 7, Nationals 4. Leo Jiménez added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4. Washington scored three in the ninth off Michael Petersen to make it 8-7 and suddenly the Marlins were nervous. John King came in for the final out of the inning and earned his first career save. Andrew Nardi got the win. The comeback was complete. Manager Clayton McCullough said: “Some really good at-bats. Some slug. Come back in a game we were down to start with. Offensively this is probably one of our best performances on this homestand and in a while.” That is a factual statement from a man who watched his team fall behind by four runs and then produce twelve hits.
GAME 3 · SUNDAY MAY 10 · MIA 5-2 · WIN · MOTHER’S DAY · ATTENDANCE: 11,848
Alcántara Bounces Back. Morel Singles in the Go-Ahead Run. Faucher Gets the Win on Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day baseball at loanDepot park. 11,848 fans. A 90-degree afternoon. Sandy Alcántara on the mound six days after the Orioles tagged him for seven runs. The question was not whether the Marlins could take the series. It was whether Alcántara could look like himself again. The answer through six innings was yes: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 3 BB. Not the Maddux version of Sandy. But a pitcher who held a divisional rival to two runs on a day when the team needed him to compete, and that is exactly what he did.
The Marlins scored two in the third on Liam Hicks’ single and Leo Jiménez’s RBI. Washington tied it with single runs in the fourth and fifth. Then in the eighth inning, Christopher Morel hit a go-ahead single to center that scored Esteury Ruiz and put Miami up 3-2. Heriberto Hernández singled to bring in Morel and make it 4-2. A Nationals error added the fifth run. Calvin Faucher pitched two perfect innings after Alcántara departed and earned the win. Josh Ekness closed it for the save. Series taken. Homestand improving. Mother’s Day belonged to the Fish.
Jakob Marsee · Center Field
GAME 2 LINE: 1-for-4 · 1 HR (3-run) · 3 RBI · THE SWING THAT TURNED THE SERIES
One hit. Three RBI. A hanging slider. A visiting bullpen in right field. The Marlins were down four runs when Marsee came to the plate in the eighth inning of Game 2 and the series was teetering. His three-run home run gave Miami a three-run lead and flipped the energy of the entire homestand. Co-star: Kyle Stowers, who went 3-for-4 in Game 2 with a home run, 2 RBI, and was one triple shy of the cycle.
Dave Winfield · New York Yankees and San Diego Padres · 1973 to 1995 · 12× All-Star · Hall of Fame 2001
Dave Winfield was known throughout his career for delivering the hit that mattered in the inning that decided the game. He was not always the player with the most hits in the box score. He was the player who made the one swing count when the count mattered most. In Game 6 of the 1992 World Series as a 41-year-old Toronto Blue Jay, Winfield hit a go-ahead two-run double in the eleventh inning that helped deliver the championship. The principle: when the game is on the line and the team needs one swing, the right player delivers it regardless of what came before or after in the box score. Jakob Marsee went 1-for-4 in Game 2. The one hit was a three-run home run in the eighth that won the game and took the series. Winfield would understand exactly what that one swing meant.
THE BIG PICTURE
A Divisional Series Win, a 20-22 Record, and a Homestand That Ended Better Than It Started
“You don’t always win. But every time you play, you can choose how hard you compete.”
Dave Winfield · New York Yankees and San Diego Padres · 1973 to 1995 · 12× All-Star · Hall of Fame 2001
The Marlins at 20-22 are two games under .500 and sitting fourth in the NL East. This is not where anyone imagined them after that 5-1 opening homestand. The homestand that just concluded — which started with series losses to the Phillies and Orioles — ended with a split against the Orioles and a series win over the Nationals. That is not the homestand of a team playing dominant baseball. But it is the homestand of a team that finds a way to take the series when they have to.
The press box note from Game 1 will stay with this series recap: Foster Griffin, #22, twice fell on the mound to avoid line drives rather than field them. From the sixth floor of loanDepot park, watching a pitcher who rebuilt his career through Tommy John surgery choose to protect his arm over fielding his position, there was nothing wrong with the decision. But it was a window into what survival looks like — and it made the baseball in this building feel like more than a game. Every pitcher on that mound has a story. Griffin’s story is one of the more remarkable ones in the National League right now. The Marlins lost to him on Friday. They won the series anyway. Follow the full season at MiamiBusiness.com. Call 305-386-6165 or write to info@miamibusiness.com. The game is always bigger than the score. In Miami, the story is always worth telling.
FROM THE PRESS BOX · WILSON ALVAREZ · MiamiBusiness.com
“I watched Foster Griffin fall on the mound twice in Game 1 to protect an arm that cost him a year of his life. I understand it completely. Then I watched the Marlins lose by one run and come back Saturday with 12 hits and a Marsee three-run homer that sent 20,000 people home happy. Then Sunday, Mother’s Day, Sandy Alcántara took the mound and gave us six innings after his worst start of the year. Calvin Faucher closed it. The series was ours. This team is not where it wants to be in the standings. But it has not stopped competing. That counts in this press box.”
Wilson Alvarez · MiamiBusiness.com · Press Box, loanDepot park · Nationals Series, May 8-10, 2026
Interested in this topic?
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
