MIAMI – Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera oozes frontline potential. His inability to throw strikes, however, has held him back from reaching his ceiling.

For the first time in his young Major League career, Cabrera went at least five innings without issuing a walk in Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Nationals at loanDepot park. Miami has won three in a row to move over .500 for the first time since May 3.

“That's the work we've been doing: working on attacking the zone,” Cabrera said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “This is a very important part of my game, and that's what we've been working [on]. [I’m] very proud of not [allowing] a walk today.”

Entering Wednesday, Cabrera hadn’t been able to command the strike zone. He had walked 30 batters -- third most in the Majors -- and his 7.6 BB/9 walk rate was second to Royals right-handed starter Brad Keller (8.3 BB/9) for pitchers with at least 30 innings.

In his last start against the D-backs on May 10, Cabrera struck out five batters in three scoreless innings before being chased in the fourth after walking four batters, balking in a run and giving up an RBI hit.

On Wednesday, the only thing stopping Cabrera was a developing blister on his right middle finger. Manager Skip Schumaker said the club decided to pull him as a precaution after 79 pitches because Cabrera has a history of blisters, most recently two starts ago in Chicago. It tends to resurface due to the grip of his slider and curveball.

“First start this season with no walks, 60 percent ground-ball rate, first-pitch strikes,” Schumaker said. “[I] thought his changeup was excellent today [with] good depth, good run. Sometimes it looks like a two-seamer to me. Today, it looked like a changeup. It was really good. … He was really effective today pounding the strike zone, and that's why he had the stat line he did.”

“He's nasty,” said Luis Arraez, who reached 500 career hits with his double in the eighth. “Edward, he's nasty. He throws 97 [mph]. He’s got a changeup at 94 [mph]. And if he can control the zone, and he throws a lot more strikes, he'll be fine. But he's nasty.”

Here is a breakdown of Cabrera’s changeup on Wednesday compared to this season:

• 1,757 rpm vs. 1,698 rpm
• 93.6 mph vs. 92.5 (entered the game with the second-fastest changeup in MLB)
• 22 inches of vertical break vs. 24 inches
• 16 inches of horizontal break vs. 17 inches

With three lefty bats and three switch-hitters in Washington’s lineup, that was the game plan for Cabrera: attack with a changeup inside, a curveball outside, a fastball up and an occasional sinker.

“I think the big thing today was [that] Cabrera's changeup was really good and, uncharacteristically, we struck out a lot,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He was good. We [tried] to get the ball up a little bit, but he had a lot of run on his changeup. He really did. So for some of our left-handed hitters, it was tough for them to hit the ball.”

The 25-year-old Cabrera predominantly turned to his changeup (34%) and curveball (29%), then his four-seamer (16%), sinker (10%) and slider (10%). According to Schumaker, the curve is a reset pitch of sorts to get him back into counts.

Cabrera’s lone blemish across five innings was a two-run homer to former Marlin Corey Dickerson on a 96.7 mph sinker in the second. He permitted four other hits and struck out six batters.

“I still think if he wants to get where he wants to get to, it's the fastball command still, because the offspeed is so good,” Schumaker said. “To your point, the curveball was there, the changeup was there. He gets the fastball there consistently, this guy's going to be insane.

"Top of the rotation, he has that kind of stuff. You ask any opposing team or a guy that faced him, it's just like, he's not fun to face when he throws in the zone, and he did tonight, and he had really good success.”