MIAMI — Jonathan Papelbon’s debut with the Washington Nationals was just as they envisioned.
It was perfect, just like his season so far.
Max Scherzer scattered three hits over seven innings, Papelbon got his first save for Washington with a flawless ninth inning and the Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 1-0 on Thursday.
“To be honest, very nervous,” Papelbon said when asked he how felt entering his Washington debut. “I can’t really explain it. You come here to a team and expect to win and expect to do your job. That’s all that’s expected of me. I’m glad it’s out of the way.”
Backed by Ryan Zimmerman’s second-inning homer off Dan Haren, Scherzer (11-8) struck out six and lowered his ERA to 2.22.
Former closer Drew Storen pitched a perfect eighth, striking out two in his new setup role.
Acquired Tuesday from Philadelphia, Papelbon retired Ichiro Suzuki on a comebacker, got Christian Yelich to line out and struck out pinch-hitter Michael Morse for his 18th save in 18 chances this season.
CARDINALS 9, ROCKIES 8: Matt Carpenter hit a pair of home runs and Greg Garcia’s bases-loaded walk capped a three-run rally in the ninth inning as St. Louis won at home over Colorado.
PADRES 8, METS 7: Justin Upton hit a three-run homer through a driving rain with two outs in the ninth inning, and San Diego stunned host New York, overcoming a six-run deficit during a game delayed nearly four hours by two storms.
PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 1: Domonic Brown homered and Aaron Harang snapped his losing streak at eight starts, leading Philadelphia to a victory at home.
Carlos Ruiz had two RBI and every Phillies starter had at least one hit.
REDS 15, PIRATES 5: Brandon Phillips hit a pair of three-run homers and drove in a career-high seven runs, powering the Reds to a victory that kept Pittsburgh winless in Cincinnati this season.
CUBS 5, BREWERS 2: Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning, and Chicago won at Milwaukee.
The Cubs won for the third time in four games since they were swept in a weekend series against lowly Philadelphia.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 5, ROYALS 2: Dioner Navarro hit a two-run home run, Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson added solo shots and Toronto won at home.
The Blue Jays have homered in 12 consecutive games since the All-Star break, their longest streak of the season.
TIGERS 9, ORIOLES 8: Yoenis Cespedes homered and drove in three runs, and Detroit won at Baltimore after shifting into rebuilding mode by trading two of the team’s best pitchers.
Mired in fourth place in the AL Central, Detroit dealt starter David Price to Toronto and closer Joakim Soria to Pittsburgh the day before the non-waiver trade deadline.
RANGERS 7, YANKEES 6: Josh Hamilton singled in Leonys Martin with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, and the Rangers won at home.
TWINS 9, MARINERS 5: Eddie Rosario finished a single shy of the cycle and drove in three runs to help Minnesota snap a four-game skid with a victory at Minneapolis over Seattle.
ASTROS 3, ANGELS 0: Jason Castro hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give host Houston a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels.
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