Nats fall to Marlins 5-1 to split series

MIAMI - When Bryce Harper launched his latest in a torrid string of home runs in the top of the first inning this afternoon, the Nationals had every reason to be optimistic about the early tone of their series finale against the Marlins.

But when Max Scherzer took the mound for the bottom of the first and promptly served up a towering, three-run shot to Marcell Ozuna, the entire complexion of this game changed in a hurry. And it never tilted back in the Nationals' favor.

Behind that quick-strike home run off Scherzer and some quality pitching of their own, the Marlins cruised to a 5-1 victory to salvage a series split and send the Nationals home on a sour note.

Scherzer labored from the get-go, giving up a pair of first-inning singles in front of Ozuna, who launched his three-run homer to left on a 1-1 fastball over the inside corner.

That actually was one of only a few pitches Scherzer appeared to throw where he wanted to all afternoon. The right-hander was behind in the count throughout, missing his target at times by two feet. He not only gave up five runs on eight hits in five innings, he also walked two batters, hit another and uncorked a wild pitch in an uncharacteristic performance.

Harper's first inning homer (incredibly, his sixth career shot in 27 at-bats against right-hander Tom Koehler) set an upbeat tone offensively, but the Nationals did next-to-nothing after that. Wilson Ramos' second-inning infield single - it could have been ruled an error on shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who bounced his throw to first - represented the Nationals' only other hit in the game.

Harper wound up delivering the game's only run for the Nats, who are coming to rely on their young slugger perhaps a bit too much. The 23-year-old now is tied with Rockies rookie Trevor Story with eight homers this season, while leading the majors with 22 RBIs. Nobody else on the team has more than two homers or eight RBIs to date.