Marquis pitches six gutty innings in Nats victory over Padres

When Nats starter Jason Marquis showed signs of fatigue in the sixth inning, he found another gear and fought through to finish a quality start. Jason and the Washington Nationals defeated the San Diego Padres 2-1 on Friday night, evening the four-game series at one apiece. In a battle of the two worst hitting teams in the majors, a combined three runs on eight hits was anything but surprising. After facing the minimum without a hit through four, Marquis allowed a double and hit a batter to start the 5th inning. His clutch pitching stranded both runners to maintain a 2-0 Washington advantage. He faced more trouble in the 6th by not being able to locate pitches. He fell behind to Chris Denorfia and allowed a double, threw a first pitch ball before a Jason Bartlett single, and walked Brad Hawpe and Ryan Ludwick. In a game that was now 2-1 and a struggling Nats bullpen, manager Jim Riggleman had no choice but to leave his start in. The New Yorker battled back against Anthony Rizzo and ...