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Marlins take advantage of Nationals errors in 6-3 series-opening win

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Marlins take advantage of Nationals errors in 6-3 series-opening win
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Sport

Marlins take advantage of Nationals errors in 6-3 series-opening win

2024-09-13 09:35 Last Updated At:09:41

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jake Burger had three hits, Jonah Bride and Connor Norby had two RBIs apiece and the Miami Marlins scored three unearned runs off three errors in a 6-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Thursday night in the opener of a three-game series.

Bride had a game-tying single in the eighth inning and Otto Lopez put the Marlins ahead when his fielder's choice grounder was mishandled two batters later as Miami snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 2-9 against the Nationals this season.

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Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker throws through during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker throws through during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams steals third base during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams steals third base during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers chases down a two-run RBI double by Washington Nationals' Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers chases down a two-run RBI double by Washington Nationals' Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' Jose Tena watches his two-run RBI double go to left field during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' Jose Tena watches his two-run RBI double go to left field during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' James Wood, foreground, rounds third base to score on a double by teammate Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' James Wood, foreground, rounds third base to score on a double by teammate Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins staring pitcher Darren McCaughan throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins staring pitcher Darren McCaughan throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington, which has dropped three of its last four, lost its 81st game, assuring its fifth straight season without a winning record since its 2019 World Series title.

The Marlins trailed 3-2 entering the eighth but tied it against Derek Law (7-4) on pinch hitter Xavier Edwards’ double, Norby’s walk and Bride’s RBI single to center. After Burger singled to load the bases with nobody out, Lopez bounced a grounder to shortstop CJ Abrams, who flipped the ball to second baseman Luis García Jr. for a force out. Garcia tried to complete a double play, but his throw bounced away from first baseman Joey Gallo, allowing Bride to score an insurance run.

Norby added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Anthony Bender (5-2) struck out Dylan Crews to finish the seventh. Jesús Tinoco worked two scoreless innings for his first save since Sept. 14, 2019, and the second of his career.

The Marlins scored twice in the third after Abrams’ errant throw on a fielder’s choice grounder put two runners in scoring position with none out. Norby followed with an RBI groundout and Bride added a sacrifice fly.

Nationals starter Mitchell Parker didn’t permit another runner to reach second base in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed two unearned runs on three hits and no walks while striking out five. The rookie has a 1.10 ERA in three starts against Miami.

Washington pounced in the first inning against Miami right-hander Darren McCaughan. Abrams ripped a leadoff double, stole third and scored when Crews hit a sharp single off the drawn-in shortstop Lopez. James Wood walked, and two batters later José Tena poked a two-run double to left.

McCaughan allowed three runs and six hits in five innings as he matched the longest outing of his career.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: Miami placed RHP John McMillon (elbow tightness) on the 15-day injured list, selected the contract of RHP Jeff Lindgren from Triple-A Jacksonville and designated LHP Jonathan Bermúdez for assignment. RHP Michael Petersen, who was claimed off waivers Wednesday from the Los Angeles Dodgers, was added to the active roster. … LHP Braxton Garrett (forearm flexor strain) pitched three scoreless innings in a rehabilitation appearance for Triple-A Jacksonville.

UP NEXT

Miami RHP Edward Cabrera (4-6, 4.88 ERA), who has won back-to-back starts for the first time since June 2023, faces Washington LHP DJ Herz (3-7, 3.82), who struck out 13 in six scoreless innings June 15 in his first outing against the Marlins.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker throws through during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker throws through during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams steals third base during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams steals third base during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers chases down a two-run RBI double by Washington Nationals' Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers chases down a two-run RBI double by Washington Nationals' Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' Jose Tena watches his two-run RBI double go to left field during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' Jose Tena watches his two-run RBI double go to left field during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' James Wood, foreground, rounds third base to score on a double by teammate Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' James Wood, foreground, rounds third base to score on a double by teammate Jose Tena during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins staring pitcher Darren McCaughan throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Marlins staring pitcher Darren McCaughan throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Next Article

MLB will air local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins next season

2024-10-09 06:18 Last Updated At:06:20

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday it will produce and distribute local broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins next year. All three teams had contracts with Diamond Sports Group that expired at the end of the regular season.

The Texas Rangers, whose deal also expired last month, also announced they will no longer be partnering with Diamond. They are assessing their options for next season.

The addition of the Guardians, Brewers and Twins means MLB will be handling the production and distribution of at least six teams going into 2025.

MLB took over broadcasts of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2023 season and the Colorado Rockies this year.

Rick Schlesinger, the president of business operations for the Brewers, said he expects more teams could be partnering with MLB by the opening of next season.

“This has been a long process. It’s a very deliberative process," he said. "We’ve done this through a lot of work, a lot of analysis. I think this is going to be a huge game changer for us, for our content.”

By taking over the broadcasts, MLB expects to increase the market reach of its teams by at least 2 million households in each market. The Diamondbacks went from being available in 930,000 households on a regional sports network to 5.6 million homes through a combination of being on local cable systems, satellite and direct-to-consumer streaming.

“With the media landscape continuing to evolve, Major League Baseball is committed to serving our fans by ensuring they can see their favorite clubs, removing blackouts where we can, and ultimately growing the reach of our games,” Noah Garden, MLB deputy commissioner for business and media, said in a statement.

The Twins took a public relations hit in Minnesota for cutting their 2024 player payroll coming off a division title and their first postseason series win in 22 years, in light of the reduced rights fee coming from Diamond. They will lose the rights fee altogether with this MLB-produced model, but team president Dave St. Peter said this announcement would not have an effect on player spending for the upcoming season.

“We’ve spent a tremendous amount of time with Major League Baseball trying to better understand this marketplace, trying to better understand what a model like this will ultimately provide to the team. We also have studied closely what’s happened in San Diego, in Arizona and in Colorado. We’ve gotten comfortable in those economics. They are where they are," St. Peter said.

"We do expect that there will be a reduction in local revenue coming to the Twins in 2025. I think that’s a fact. That said, over the long haul we have tremendous confidence in our content and believe, while maybe we’ll take a dip for ’25, that over time the viewership and those economics related to that viewership will increase.”

Cleveland games were available on approximately 1.45 million households on its regional sports network. That reach is expected to increase 235% to 4.86 million households. Minnesota's will go up 307% from 1.08 million homes to 4.4 million.

Schlesinger said the Brewers had 800,000 households that could receive games this past season, but he also expects to see significant growth with the new model.

“From a fan perspective, it’s great because you’re going to have total access and no blackouts," he said. “There’s a lot of staffing, a lot of infrastructure, a lot of decisions have to be made, a lot of people to be hired, a lot of sponsors to contact. This is the right time to do this. It’s a good jumping point, platform to make sure when the calendar turns to 2025, we’re already fully immersed in this and that we know when the first game starts, that we’re ready to go and the product’s going to be outstanding.”

MLB could be taking over more teams as Diamond Sports Group continues to go through bankruptcy proceedings. The nation's largest owner of regional sports networks could be down to doing only Atlanta Braves games in 2025.

The operator of the Bally Sports regional networks presented its reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston last week. As part of the reorganization, Diamond plans to void the contracts of the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays and to attempt to rework the deals of the five franchises that are partial owners of their regional sports networks — the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Peter said he expects more teams to sign onto the model in the future.

“Starting to build that direct-to-consumer foundation, which clearly is the future of the way our games will be distributed — it’s time to get on with that and we’re excited about that,” St. Peters said. “Our ownership understands the consequences of that, but I think over time there’s way more upside than short-term downside.”

A final hearing on Diamond's reorganization plan is scheduled for Nov. 14. Diamond also has the rights to 13 NBA and eight NHL teams.

Diamond Sports Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Co. for nearly $10 billion in 2019. Disney was required by the Department of Justice to sell the networks for its acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets to be approved.

AP sports writers Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and Steve Megargee in Milwaukee contributed to this story.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - A fan takes photos during the seventh inning of a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - A fan takes photos during the seventh inning of a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

The Cleveland Guardians hold a baseball workout in Cleveland, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in preparation for the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The Cleveland Guardians hold a baseball workout in Cleveland, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in preparation for the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Bally reporter, Hanna Yates, broadcasts her pregame with fans standing behind her waiting for autographs before the start of a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

Bally reporter, Hanna Yates, broadcasts her pregame with fans standing behind her waiting for autographs before the start of a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

MLB will air local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins beginning next season

MLB will air local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins beginning next season

MLB will air local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins beginning next season

MLB will air local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins beginning next season

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