Marlins' J.T. Realmuto: Homer short of cycle Wednesday

Realmuto went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple in Wednesday's 4-0 loss to the Nationals.

Analysis:

He was the only Marlin to have much success against Stephen Strasburg, but Strasburg had the last laugh in the ninth inning when he got Realmuto to ground out with a runner on first base to help preserve his shutout. The performance snapped a 5-for-41 skid (.122) over his last 10 games, and it's perhaps not a coincidence that Realmuto's bat perked up on a day when he was getting a partial rest by playing first base instead of catcher. With Miami still in the NL wild-card picture, though, manager Don Mattingly can't afford to take one of his young stars out of the lineup completely too often.