The Tuesday schedule will now include a day game after Cleveland and Cincinnati were washed out last night. The clubs will match up for a day/night doubleheader that kicks off in the early afternoon.
1. Marlins snap losing streak
When you’ve lost 12 games in a row, Jhoan Duran isn’t who you want to see on the mound in the ninth inning. Miami was unfazed by the All-Star closer. Five straight Marlins reached base to erase a two-run deficit in the ninth inning on Monday. Outfielder Griffin Conine ended the game with a walk-off single. It was Miami’s first win since July 9. The club tumbled from the final NL Wild Card spot, but only sits two games behind the Pirates and Diamondbacks. The issue is that the Nationals, Cardinals, and Padres are also ahead of the Marlins in the tightly packed NL.
2. Pirates walk off D-Backs
Pittsburgh and Arizona are now tied for the last playoff bid in the National League after Brandon Lowe sent the fans home happy on Monday. The second baseman scored the game-tying run in the eighth inning, then singled in Billy Cook in the bottom of the 10th inning for the win. The Diamondbacks have now dropped three straight games after losing a series to the Nationals over the weekend. The club is embarking on a critical stretch that includes the Guardians, Padres, and Dodgers after the series in Pittsburgh.
3. Scherzer returns to Washington
Veteran righty Max Scherzer returned to a familiar mound on Monday. He faced off against the Nationals after missing six weeks with a back injury. Scherzer needed 75 pitches to get eight outs, but was able to limit the damage to one earned run. D.C. fans gave him an ovation when he took the mound and when he was pulled in the third inning. Scherzer won a World Series with the team in 2019. At 42 years old, the outing could be his last in Washington. “It’s special,” Scherzer said (h/t Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). “I’ve got a lot of great memories here in D.C., so the fans, I wanted to show them respect as well because they were cheering the whole time, even when I was warming up. Very appreciative of the fans here.”
