Nats slug 5 homers, split doubleheader with Marlins

Asdrubal Cabrera drove in four runs, Kurt Suzuki had three RBIs, and Ben Braymer earned his first major league victory as the Washington Nationals beat the host Miami Marlins 15-0 on Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader.

Asdrubal Cabrera drove in four runs, Kurt Suzuki had three RBIs, and Ben Braymer earned his first major league victory as the Washington Nationals beat the host Miami Marlins 15-0 on Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader. Washington banged out 18 hits, including homers, in order, by Trea Turner, Suzuki, Michael A. Taylor, Cabrera and Victor Robles.

Miami had just two hits after winning the opener 2-1. Sunday's second game started out as a battle between rookie left-handers: Braymer and Miami's Braxton Garrett.

Braymer, making his first major league start and only his third appearance, allowed one hit, three walks and no runs in five innings. Braymer (1-0) struck out four. Garrett (1-1), making his second career major league start, allowed the first five batters to reach -- including one on an error -- and never recovered. He lasted 2 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, three walks and five runs, four earned.

Turner homered on the game's first pitch to quickly spark Washington's offense. After Turner's homer, Juan Soto walked, Cabrera reached on second baseman Jon Berti's fielding error, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Suzuki then capped Washington's three-run, opening-inning rally with a two-run double to right on a pitch in which Garrett actually jammed Suzuki with a fastball.

The Nationals stretched their lead to 6-0 in the third. Suzuki led off with his homer. After Carter Kieboom singled, Taylor -- who grew up less than an hour from Marlins Park in Fort Lauderdale -- hammered a two-run homer on a 429-foot blast to left. It was the longest homer of the game. Washington made it 7-0 in the fourth on an RBI single from Josh Harrison, and the rout was on by the fifth when Cabrera's three-run homer landed in the upper deck in right field, 413 feet away.

Miami remains in second place in the National League East by one game over the Philadelphia Phillies, who lost on Sunday. Second-place teams are guaranteed playoff berths this year. Washington, which snapped a three-game losing streak, is in last place in the NL East in the year following its World Series title. The Nationals are guaranteed their first losing record since 2011.

--Field Level Media

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