MIAMI — Bryce Harper doubled in a run and Yusmeiro Petit pitched four innings of relief to help the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins, 3-1, on Wednesday.
Petit allowed one run after starter Joe Ross departed in the third inning because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
Harper hit a two-out double in the third to score Ross from first base for a 2-0 lead.
Michael Taylor hit a home run with two outs in the fifth off Wei-Yin Chen. The ball wouldn’t have cleared the center field fence last year, before the Marlins Park dimensions were shortened.
Washington’s Daniel Murphy, who entered leading the majors in hitting, went 2-for-4 and hiked his average to .429.
Five Washington pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his sixth save. It was his first appearance since he blew a save chance Sunday in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, the last one for the final out. He has fanned 20 times in 49 at-bats this year and is hitting .229.
The Marlins’ only run scored on Derek Dietrich’s first home run of the year. They fell to 1-7 at home.
The National League East-leading Nationals won even though they had only seven hits and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. They improved to 6-2 on the road with one game left in a seven-game trip.
Chen pitched seven innings, a season high for Miami, and allowed three runs.
Ryan Zimmerman put Washington ahead with a two-out, RBI double in the first inning, and Ross had a 2-0 lead when he left after two innings.
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