Burger breaks out for 3 hits: 'He's a professional hitter'

WASHINGTON -- Jake Burger has made plenty of hard contact of late, with no luck. But according to Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, “it was a matter of time before he got hot again.”

Burger was the first to get a hit for the Marlins on Thursday night. By the end of Miami’s 6-3 win over Washington at Nationals Park, he would rack up two more hits, providing momentum as the Marlins’ offense broke out for an eighth-inning comeback.

“He's a good hitter; he was so hot for a while that he had to cool off," Schumaker said. "It's just baseball, so he cooled off for a few weeks. I think he's hit the ball hard, just no love. It was good to see him get a couple of hits today. ... He broke out today at the right time.”

The first baseman struck out in his first plate appearance, but it was the only mistake he made. He knocked three singles for his first multihit game since Aug. 29 at Colorado, when he went 2-for-5 and scored two runs.

“Tonight was just one of those nights where [you] just slow the game down, get a good pitch to hit, and do something with it," Burger said. "That's kind of been the mindset the last few days and it's more of the process over the results.”

Burger had a strong start to the second half of the season, batting .287 in July and .282 in August. He cooled down at the beginning of September, though, with four hits over eight games.

But Burger remained steadfast with the process -- and it brought results. His singles in the third and sixth innings were the Marlins’ lone hits until right fielder David Hensley hit a one-out single in the seventh inning.

The Marlins took the lead shortly thereafter, building on the momentum that Burger generated. In the eighth inning, pinch-hitter Xavier Edwards swatted a leadoff double, then Connor Norby walked. Designated hitter Jonah Bride kept the offense going with a single into centerfield, driving in Edwards to tie the game, 3-3.

His bat still hot, Burger knocked his third hit of the night to load the bases, giving Miami maximum opportunity to take the lead -- which the Marlins capitalized on. Otto Lopez grounded into a fielder’s choice, with Burger out at second base, but two runs scored in the process.

"He’s a power guy,” Nationals reliever Derek Law said of Burger. “Honestly, the pitch that I threw probably should have been over the fence. But it was a great swing on his part. It was a 2-0 slider, again it was like a hanger middle-middle. But 2-0, I’m thinking maybe he’s not going to swing or if I make a decent slider pitch here, it could be a groundout.

“He put a good swing on it. He’s a professional hitter, he’s a Major League hitter. I think all these guys are challenging outs, it doesn’t matter who it is. I know everybody says it’s the Marlins, but they’re still big league hitters.”

The Marlins were not finished, though. They had insurance to add. Griffin Conine opened the ninth inning with a single, then cruised into second base on Nick Fortes’ sacrifice bunt. Edwards got on base once more with another single, setting the stage for Conine to score on Norby’s sac fly.

“There wasn’t a massive home run that we look back on, but guys moving the ball forward, not striking out, and put in the ball in play, that’s our style of baseball,” Burger said.

Burger leads the Marlins with seven three-hit nights this season. And despite his homerless streak, which he extended to a season-high 18 games on Thursday, his bat is getting hotter and hotter. Burger isn't worried. He knows it’s only a matter of time before he hits one out of the park.

“With how I’ve been barrel on the ball lately it’s bound to happen,” Burger said. “So a couple of 109 [exit velocities] tonight, 110 [exit velocity] yesterday. [I’m going to] keep working, and who knows what this looks like at the end of the year.”