In the immortal words of that creepy little lady in Poltergeist, Jason Marquis and the Nationals have "exorcised the demons", at least for one day. Washington's 8-4 victory over the Florida Marlins Sunday afternoon ended an eight game winning streak at Nats Park for the Fish.
A six running first inning outburst, combined with yet another stellar pitching performance from veteran Jason Marquis (5-1, 3.54), were the keys to victory. In his six and two-thirds innings of work Marquis allowed six hits, one walk and two earned runs, striking out two Marlins batters. It is win number five for the Washington right hander, tying him for the National League lead.
Future Hall of Famer Pudge Rodriguez led a 11-hit attack for the Nationals, going two for three at the plate with three runs batted in. Roger Bernadina was two for four and continues to excel in place of the injured Rick Ankiel.
Rookie Cole Kimball made his second big league appearance for Washington in the ninth, up four runs. The youngster was again impressive, showing good hustle to cover first base on a ball hit to Adam LaRoche and striking out Emilio Bonifacio to end the ballgame.
For the Marlins, stud outfielder Mike Stanton of the Marlins continued to crush the ball against the Nationals in D.C., going two for two with two doubles on the day, raising his average at Nats Park to a cool .500 (17 for 34).
With the victory, Washington inches closer to .500, now just two games below at 19-21. A quick two game home set against the Pittsburgh Pirates could be the magic elixir that gets Washington rolling and actually above that elusive .500 mark.