WASHINGTON -- Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara continues to pitch well, mixing his high 90’s mph fastball and sinker and keeping opponents off the scoreboard. All he required on Tuesday was a bit of run support and two key outfield assists.

"From what I've seen he's been really good,” said Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings before the Marlins’ 5-2 win at Nationals Park. “On his start day he's very locked in. He doesn't say a whole lot even to me. I don't think it bothers him. All he can control is going out there and doing his thing."

Alcantara (2-0) again did his job Tuesday against the Nationals, allowing just one run on six hits and three walks over six innings. He has surrendered five earned runs in four starts to open the season. But in his previous three starts the Marlins were outscored 11-9, including a 2-0 setback April 20 against the Cardinals in which Alcantara tossed eight scoreless innings.

On Tuesday night Alcantara had some runs to back him, courtesy of birthday boy Joey Wendle.

Wendle celebrated his 32nd birthday with a first-pitch three-run shot in the fourth inning off of Nats starter Josiah Gray well over the right-center-field wall. It was his first homer with the Marlins, and his first blast since Sept. 20, 2021, against the Blue Jays as a member of the Rays.

"Really good curveball tonight from [Gray], and it's pretty much all I saw that first at-bat,” Wendle said. “I was thinking, especially with runners in scoring position, [that] I would get one. Thankfully, [I] got one up in the zone that I was able to handle. [Gray] made a mistake and I was able to hit it."

"It’s just a part of pitching,” Gray said postgame. “Once the ball leaves your hand, you really can’t do much about it. I wanted to get a slider down there knowing his approach, things like that. Just left it up, and he’s a good hitter. He’s a guy that’s going to hurt you with extra-base damage if you miss, and I missed. And that’s what he did -- 3-0 ballgame."

It was the Marlins’ first three-run homer of the season. The blast broke a scoreless tie, and provided the margin necessary for Alcantara to secure the win. Wendle became the 10th Marlins player to hit a home run on his birthday.

"He did a great job,” Alcantara said of Wendle’s long ball. “When he hit that homer, I say, 'Oh, now I got [runs].' I got to lock it in. I get a little in trouble in the fourth. I think I [lost] a little bit of my focus, but after that I was keeping in the game, [kept] attacking."

Wendle has helped his new team on defense at third base, and he’s spent the last three games subbing for Miguel Rojas (upper respiratory issue) at shortstop. But his biggest impact has been in the batter’s box. He leads the Marlins in hitting with a .362 average, which marks the best start to his career.

"[I’m] just trying to put together good at-bats,” Wendle said. “I feel a little bit more comfortable. A little bit more in control up there. For me the key is just swinging at strikes. The more I can do that, the more success I'm going to have.

“I'd be lying if I said I hadn't found my share of holes at this point in the season as well -- had some bloops and broken-bat hits, some seeing-eye singles. When the sample size is so small, this certainly helps."

The seven-year veteran has at least one base hit in 12 of his last 14 games. Tuesday’s win was his third straight game with at least two base hits.

“He comes to play every day,” manager Don Mattingly said. “[He] plays hard, works hard. Plays different positions. [He’s] given us good at-bats. If he's not playing, he's [into] the game. There's nothing really not to like about Joey Wendle."

In addition to assistance from Wendle’s bat, Alcantara got big help from his outfielders, who made two huge throws to prevent a Nats rally in the fourth inning.

The Nats got on the board in the bottom of the inning thanks to a leadoff walk to Juan Soto and three singles in a row. But a pair of bizarre baserunning decisions turned into outs thanks to back-to-back on-target throws home to Stallings from outfielders Jesús Sánchez and Avisaíl García.

Josh Bell and Yadiel Hernandez were thrown out in those consecutive plays to end the frame and keep Miami up 3-1.

The Nationals challenged the Hernandez tag at the plate, which was the inning-ending out, and the call on the field was upheld. Five of the six Nats batters to step to the plate that inning reached base (two walks and three hits), but only one run scored.

"That defense in that inning obviously changed the game a little bit," said Mattingly.

Alcantara appreciated his outfielders coming up big to save runs: “Especially when you have those [plays at] the plate, like Sanchy threw him out, and García too. I feel so happy for them because they are working so hard behind me."

It was the first time two base runners were thrown out by Marlins outfielders on back-to-back plays in the same inning since 1996. The last time it happened in a Major League game was in 2009, by the Orioles.