Bryce Harper broke out the big lumbar in a big way Wednesday afternoon, hitting three home runs and driving in five in lifting the Washington Nationals to a 7-5 win over the Miami Marlins.
Harper hit his three bombs (6, 7, 8) all by the fifth inning -- in three at bats -- and his third reached the upper deck and put the Nationals up 5-2.
Harper hit a solo shot in the bottom of the second, a two-run shot in the third, and another solo bomb in the fifth, all off Marlins starter Tom Koehler. He drove in his fifth run in the seventh on an RBI groundout.
The Nationals scored their other two runs on Yunel Escoabr's third-inning sacrifice fly and seventh-inning RBI single. Escobar preceded Harper in the batting order.
Miami scored twice in the top of the second on RBI singles from Ichiro Suzuki and Adeiny Echavarria. Down 7-2 as they opened the eighth, Miami got three more on Giancarlo Stanton's three-run home run (7) with Dee Gordon and Martin Prado aboard. Miami, though, would score no more.
Max Scherzer (W: 1-2, 2.11 ERA) pitched 7+ innings, allowing all five Miami runs before departing with no outs in the eighth after serving up Stanton's home run. He allowed 10 hits and struck out 10. Tanner Roark took over in the eighth, and Drew Storen (S: 8) closed it out with two strikeouts in the ninth.
Koehler (L:2-3, 5.18) pitched six innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. He also served up all three of Harper's home runs.
On Thursday, the Marlins head out west and begin a four-game weekend series with the San Francisco Giants. The Nationals get Thursday off and then host the Altlanta Braves three times over the weekend.