Jupiter, Florida — March 10th, 2026 — The Miami Marlins held a 3-2 lead over the Nationals after seven innings, but the Nats battled back to win 7-5.

A pitcher’s duel was brewing today in Jupiter, Florida, for six innings. The Nationals decided to make a rally in the eighth inning and added an insurance run in the ninth to generate their third straight win. Starting pitcher Foster Griffin was stellar across three innings. The Nats were active on the basepaths, stealing three bases, but also getting caught twice. Today’s game was also an example of poor defensive play, with the Nats committing three errors. The 7-5 victory by the Nats had a bit of everything you want to see in a baseball team, and some things you don’t.

Daylen Lile got the scoring started with a home run to center field in the top of the second inning. Brady House followed him with a homer of his own. Lile has yet to catch fire this spring, but House has shown lots of promise. The third baseman is hitting .429 with three home runs so far this spring. Brenner Cox led off the top of the seventh inning with a hit-by-pitch and proceeded to steal second base. Brady House was next up to bat and hit a double to score Cox.

The rally in the eighth inning was sparked by non-starters for the Nats. Johnathon Thomas hit a home run to left field to lead off the inning. Joey Weimer followed Thomas with a single to left field. Yohandy Morales reached base after Weimer, and a wild pitch by Michael Peterson advanced them up a base. Randall Diaz hit a line drive single to drive both Morales and Weimer in to score. The Nats added a run in the ninth from a Brenner Cox sacrifice fly.

Foster Griffin pitched three innings while striking out four Marlins’ batters. If Griffin can produce outings like these throughout the regular season, the Nats could either extend him or look to trade him to a contending team. Jake Eder followed Griffin and was subpar, pitching 2.2 innings while walking three batters and two runs. Eder was a victim of poor defensive play that led to a run. Clayton Beeter struck out three batters in his lone inning of work. Trevor Gott allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on two walks and two hits. Zach Penrod closed the bottom of the ninth and struck out two batters.

Dylan Crews committed his second error of the spring in the bottom of the third inning on a line drive single to center field. Crews’ play has been concerning so far; he’s hitting just .125 and has two errors in just seven games played. Drew Millas committed catcher's interference in the bottom of the fourth inning, which led to a run for the Marlins. It wasn’t a great day for Millas, who struck out three times in three at-bats. Luis Garcia Jr. also committed a throwing error, but that isn’t all too surprising for Nats’ fans.

The eighth inning gave the Nationals the lead, and they didn’t give it back to the Marlins. Although Trevor Gott tried his best to give up the lead in the bottom of the eighth, he prevailed. A home run by Johnathon Thomas sparked a rally from the Nats offense that produced three runs. The Nats took a 6-3 advantage and ended up with the final score of 7-5.

Player of the Game: Brady House(2-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI)

The Nats have an afternoon affair with the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon. At 1:05 EST, Opening Day starter Cade Cavalli will take the ball for Washington, and Dustin May will pitch for St. Louis. Cavalli has been sharp this spring and looks to build more confidence as his first Opening Day start grows closer.