Kendrick homers, drives in 3 as Nats beat Marlins again, 9-6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Howie Kendrick hit his eighth homer, drove in three runs and finished with three hits as the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 9-6 on Sunday.

Brian Dozier doubled in two during Washington’s four-run rally with two outs in Caleb Smith’s third and final inning, his shortest outing of the year.

The Nationals have won the first three games against NL-worst Miami in a four-game series that wraps Monday. They entered on a five-game losing streak.

Erick Fedde (1-0) worked five scoreless innings in his second start in place of injured Anibal Sanchez for his first win since Sept. 11 last year.

Juan Soto drew a key walk during the third-inning rally against Smith (3-2). Soto added a sacrifice fly off reliever Wei-Yin Chen during a four-run sixth that followed a 24-minute rain delay, and extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an eighth-inning single.

Kendrick hit a solo homer in the second to open the scoring.

It was still a 1-0 game when Soto fought back from an 0-2 hole against Smith to load the bases with a walk. Kendrick followed with a two-run single, and Dozier’s double off the out-of-town scoreboard knocked in two more.

The rally came after Fedde escaped a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the top half, striking out Walker on a 2-2 curveball.

Fedde also encountered some trouble in the fifth, walking Harold Ramirez with his 82nd pitch to put runners on first and second. After a mound conference, Brian Anderson flied out to end the inning.

Michael A. Taylor had an RBI double in the sixth and Anthony Rendon added a two-run triple. Soto’s sacrifice fly made it 9-0.

Neil Walker hit an eighth-inning homer off Javy Guerra to make it 9-2 and added an RBI single off Wander Suero in the ninth after Anderson’s three-run double chased James Bourque from his big league debut.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: OF Garrett Cooper was held out of the starting lineup. “It’s just a day for Coop,” manager Don Mattingly said. “He looked a little beat up yesterday.” Cooper had played in 11 consecutive games after coming off the injured list (calf) on April 30.

Nationals: Manager Dave Martinez said he’d like to see RHP Trevor Rosenthal (viral infection) throw on back-to-back days before making a return to the majors. Rosenthal is scheduled to pitch Monday for Double-A Harrisburg after throwing a scoreless inning Saturday.

UP NEXT

Marlins: RHP Jose Urena (2-6, 4.30 ERA) starts Monday’s series finale. He has won three consecutive starts against Washington and has a 2.80 ERA over 45 innings during his last seven outings.

Nationals: Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (2-5, 3.41) makes his final start of a frustrating month. He has a 2.53 ERA in five outings this month, but has won only one of his three decisions.