Washington Nationals vs Miami Marlins

Miami struck first in the top of the second when Heriberto Hernández launched a solo home run to left off Kent, giving the Marlins a 1-0 lead. It was Hernández's third homer of the season and the only blemish on Kent's night.

Washington answered immediately and decisively. Eury Pérez (7-10) carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third but never recorded another out after the first batter. The Nationals sent nine men to the plate and scored five times, the biggest blow coming from Brady House — a three-run home run estimated at 474 feet (later adjusted to 445 feet) off a 99 mph Pérez fastball, according to MLB Statcast data reported by Federal Baseball.

Dylan Crews added a two-run double, and Daylen Lile chipped in an RBI triple during the third-inning rally.

Washington poured on four more in the seventh. Harry Ford led off with a solo home run, his fifth of the season, and the Nationals tacked on three additional runs via walks and productive outs.

Miami scored its second run in the top of the eighth when Javier Sanoja doubled and came home on a single by Xavier Edwards, but the comeback never materialised.

The third inning was the game. After Pérez retired CJ Abrams on a grounder to open the frame, the wheels came off. Abimelec Ortiz reached base, and Crews followed with a game-tying double. Lile's triple put Washington ahead, and House's three-run blast — which the Marlins left fielder didn't move a muscle on — made it 5-1. Kent had all the support he would need.

Jackson Kent (WSH) — W (1-2): Kent, 23, earned his first major league win in his fourth career start. He worked seven innings, allowing one run on five hits, walking four and striking out five. He threw 106 pitches and induced 12 ground-ball outs, using a sinker-curveball mix that kept Marlins bats off balance. "He was pounding the zone with his fastball and sinker before trying to get guys to expand with his secondary pitches," noted Federal Baseball's Sam Sallick. Manager Blake Butera said after the game that going into the seventh would be "a good learning experience" for the rookie, and Kent rewarded the faith.

Brady House (WSH): The 23-year-old infielder went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer — his 10th of the season. The blast came on a 99 mph heater from Pérez. "The left fielder did not move a muscle and Eury Perez just threw his arm up in disgust," wrote Sam Sallick of Federal Baseball. Originally measured at 474 feet — which would have been the longest in MLB this season — Statcast later adjusted it to 445 feet.

Heriberto Hernández (MIA): The lone bright spot for Miami, Hernández went 1-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and a run scored.

Eury Pérez (MIA) — L (7-10): Pérez lasted just 2+ innings, allowing five runs on four hits with three walks. He did not survive the third-inning explosion.

The box score tells two different stories. Nationals Park saw only 12 combined hits (7 for Washington, 5 for Miami) — a modest total for a game that finished 9-2. But the Nationals made theirs count: three of their seven hits went for extra bases (Crews 2B, Lile 3B, House HR), and they went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Marlins, by contrast, went 1-for-6 with RISP and left 13 men on base despite only striking out six times collectively. Washington's 14 runners left on base underscore how many traffic jams Pérez and the Marlins bullpen created — but the Nationals' timely hitting in the third and seventh proved decisive.

The win moves Washington to 62-73 and breaks a four-game slide that included a dispiriting loss to Colorado earlier in the week. The Marlins fall to 68-66 and remain in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, sitting 3.5 games back of the third and final spot entering play. They have lost two of their last three after a three-game winning streak.

Next fixtures:

• Washington Nationals: vs Miami Marlins (29 August, 6:45 PM ET)
• Miami Marlins: @ Washington Nationals (29 August, 6:45 PM ET)

Jackson Kent's emergence as a legitimate rotation option gives a Nationals team already eliminated from contention something genuine to build toward in September. For the Marlins, this was a flat start to a critical road series against a division opponent they had swept a week earlier. Eury Pérez's early exit — and the defence behind him — will need to be sharper if Miami hopes to stay in the Wild Card picture.