Kyle Schwarber clubbed two homers and drove in four runs, leading the Washington Nationals to a 7-3 win over the host Miami Marlins on Thursday night.
Schwarber hit a homer to lead off the game and added a three-run shot in his second at-bat.
Thursday was just the 13th time that Schwarber hit leadoff for Washington, and he has delivered 12 home runs in those games. Yet, he is already tied for third in franchise history with five leadoff homers. He is also the first player in franchise history with eight homers in a five-game span.
The reigning National League Player of the Week, Schwarber has 21 homers for the season. He is one of just four players in major league history with at least eight homers and 15 RBIs in a five-game stretch.
Schwarber's hot hitting and strong work from starting pitcher Joe Ross (4-7) allowed the Nationals to win their fifth straight game, making them the hottest team in the NL since June 13, with a 10-1 record.
Ross lasted seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks. He struck out eight, one short of his season high.
Miami has lost four straight games and eight out of 10. The Marlins couldn't get a runner past first base until the fifth inning, and they have now scored just five runs over their past four games.
Marlins rookie Cody Poteet (2-3) took the loss, allowing six hits, four walks and five runs in three innings. He struck out six batters, including the red-hot Schwarber.
Poteet went 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and one homer allowed in his first three starts. In his four starts since then, he is 0-3 with a 9.88 ERA and six homers allowed.
Schwarber gave Washington a 4-0 lead with his shot down the right field line to start the game -- a homer measured at 398 feet -- and his 414-foot blast to center in the second.
That gave the seven-year veteran his 12th multi-homer game. Four of those have come since June 13.
The Nationals added on in the second inning as Trea Turner singled and scored from first when Juan Soto scorched an opposite-field double that rolled to the wall in left-center.
Washington made it 7-0 in the seventh, an inning that included Soto again driving in Turner with a double.
Miami got on the board in the eighth as Jon Berti walked, Luis Marte singled, and rookie Jazz Chisholm Jr. lofted a three-run homer that traveled 414 feet to right-center.
-Field Level Media
