With a full moon hovering over the ballpark, Sean West played with fire all night long and eventually was burned on the grand slam. Marlins made a serious run in the 9th but ultimately Bonifacio struck out with the tying run at third grounded out to the pitcher with the tying run at third.

They did it again. I can’t imagine how disheartened the Nationals fans must feel right now.

Jeremy Hermida.

The Fish needed a comeback to win the game, but thanks to 6 scoreless innings from the bullpen and a Cody Ross game-tying home run in the top of the 9th, the Marlins beat the Nationals 3-2 and have now started the season 9-1, the best start in franchise history.

5-1 win over the Braves improves the Marlins to a league-leading 6-1 record.

Congrats to Josh on a great start. Sunday’s game played a big role in this decision.

It wasn’t as dominating as the first two games, but the Marlins beat the Nats 6-4 for only the second 3-0 start in franchise history (the other happened in 1997).

For only the third time in team history, the Fish are 2-0 after beating ex-mate Scott Olsen and the Nats 8-3.

It’s the best day of the year and we’re going to cover the Marlins first game of the season versus the Washington Nationals.

Pitchers: Ricky Nolasco starts for the Fish against John Lannan for the Nats.

Marlins Lineup: 1. Emilio Bonifacio (3B) , 2. John Baker (C), 3. Hanley Ramirez (SS), 4. J. Cantu (1B), 5. D. Uggla (2B), 6. J. Hermida (LF), 7. C. Ross (RF), 8. C. Maybin (CF), 9. Ricky Nolasco (P)

4:11 PM: Chicago is singing the national anthem.

4:18 PM: Here we go! First pitch is an out. Ground ball to Uggla.

4:25 PM: Bonifacio gets the first hit of the season.

4:26 PM: Bonifacio steels second. Exactly what the Marlins wanted from him.

4:27 PM: Baker drives in Bonifacio. 1-0 Marlins.

4:28 PM: Hanley bunts. That’s not something you would expect from a number 3 hitter.

4:30 PM: Cantu drives in Baker. 2-0 Marlins.

5:02 PM: Hanley doubles in Bonifacio. Emilio is really giving the Fish the kind of speed they needed so badly. Two hits, two steals, two runs.

5:05 PM: Cantu hits a 2-run home run. 5-0 Fish!

5:08 PM: Hermida adds a solo shot. It’s now 6-0 Marlins.

5:16 PM: Dunn doubles in Guzman so the Nats are on the board.

5:21 PM: Nats score again. Ricky was on a roll until this inning. Wiley out to the mound. Bonifacio makes a nice catch to end the inning. 6-2 Fish.

5:30 PM: Inside the park home run for Bonifacio! Speed kills. Wow! Nice curtain call from the crows. Emilio is 3-3 with his first career HR. 8-2 Marlins.

6:00 PM: Adam Dunn’s 3-run shot has made it an 8-5 lead. Bonifacio’s bad stab at a ball put the Fish in a bad situation. Nolasco is out of the game.

6:16 PM: Hanley Ramirez grand slam! First of his career. 12-5 Fish. Another curtain call from the crowd.

6:26 PM: Kiko is in.

7:05 PM: So we’ve reached the top of the ninth and Logan Kensing is in to close this one out.

7:13 PM: Ballgame! The Marlins win on opening day, beating the Nats 12-6 in front of over 34,000 fans. The fish used some small ball and some big bats. Big debut for Emilio Bonifacio who went 4-5 with 4 runs, 2 RBIs
and 3 stolen bases.

Ricky Nolasco made a strong case to be the Marlins’ opening day starter by throwing a no-hitter against Detroit. Dan Meyer and Leo Nunez each pitched a scoreless inning. Box score.