WASHINGTON (AP) — The Nationals just can’t sustain any momentum in their attempt to get back into the National League playoff chase.Saturday night’s loss to the Marlins was a microcosm of their recent struggles.Isaac Galloway hit a two-run single in the 10th inning Steven Wright Jersey , JT Riddle homered and drove in four runs and Miami beat Washington 7-5.Following two singles and a fielder’s-choice grounder, the Nationals intentionally walked Riddle to load the bases with two outs in the 10th. Galloway delivered with a hit to center off Koda Glover (0-2). The Marlins ended a streak of 12 consecutive road losses and six in a row overall.Both teams scored in the ninth. Riddle’s drive into the right-field stands off Nationals reliever Justin Miller put Miami up 5-4. Washington’s Adam Eaton tied it with a homer off Drew Steckenrider leading off the bottom of the inning.The Nationals trailed 1-0 after Derek Dietrich’s second-inning homer and were down 4-2 in the sixth. They came back each time before the Marlins finally finished them off.Trea Turner homered and drove in three runs for the Nationals, who wasted a chance to pick up a game on the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.Washington won six of seven to move four games above .500 on Aug. 7, but has since lost eight of 12.“If you give those guys more chances and don’t capitalize on your chances, then you’re not going to put yourself in a good spot to win,” Turner said. “That’s kind of been the problem lately.”With two runners on in the sixth, the Marlins benefited from second baseman Daniel Murphy’s fielding error that loaded the bases with one out. Two batters later, Riddle lined a two-run, two-out single over a leaping Murphy.“It felt good, honestly. It’s been a while,” said Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who was ejected from Friday’s 8-2 loss.Washington rebounded in the seventh with two runs. Video review determined that Tayron Guerrero hit Matt Wieters with a pitch, loading the bases. Guerrero’s next offering was a wild pitch Tyler Thornburg Jersey , scoring Murphy. Turner’s bloop single to center drove in the tying run, but Juan Soto hit into a double play to end the threat.Riddle had two hits in Friday’s loss. His RBI double in the fifth scored Miami’s second run, and Riddle put the Marlins up 4-2 in the sixth with a two-run single.The shortstop, who entered the series with a .211 batting average and five homers, isn’t the usual candidate for an intentional walk.“I can’t remember,” he said of his last free pass. “I might have had one last year.”Nationals manager Dave Martinez, dealing with a shorthanded bullpen beset by injuries and the decisions to unload Brandon Kintzler and Shawn Kelley, called for the intentional pass with Riddle up in the 10th. Glover could not keep the game tied.“It’s not easy,” Martinez said of handling his current bullpen, “but I’m confident in those guys.”Steckenrider (4-2) blew the save but finished the ninth to pick up the win. Brett Graves recorded the final three outs for his first career save.Miami starter Wei-Yin Chen allowed two runs — both on Turner’s homer in the third — and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.The Nationals recalled Jefry Rodriguez from Triple-A Syracuse for Saturday’s start while placing Jeremy Hellickson on the disabled list with a cervical nerve impingement. Rodriguez allowed four runs, two earned, in five innings.TRAINER’S ROOMMarlins: INF/OF Garrett Cooper (right wrist sprain) played for the second straight day for Single-A Jupiter on Saturday. Cooper went 1 for 3 in five innings at first base. … RHP Kyle Barraclough (lower back stiffness) threw a live session on Saturday.Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg, on the DL retroactive to July 22 with a cervical nerve impingement http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-jackie-bradley-jr-jersey , threw more than 40 pitches in a bullpen session Saturday. He is expected to make a start somewhere on Tuesday. “We’ll talk to him (Sunday),” Martinez said. “We don’t know if it’s Tuesday here, or Tuesday in a rehab stint.” … Reliever Kelvin Herrera (right rotator cuff impingement) tossed 15 pitches in a simulated game earlier Saturday.UP NEXTMarlins: Jose Urena (3-12, 4.74 ERA) starts while appealing his six-game suspension for intentionally hitting Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. with a pitch in Thursday’s loss at Atlanta.Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (7-9, 4.12) has a 2.25 ERA in two starts against Miami this season. CHICAGO (AP) — At one point during Anthony Rizzo’s tough start, the big first baseman visited Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon in his office.Rizzo and Maddon talked hitting, and Maddon wrote down what he thought Rizzo’s numbers would look like by the end of the season. Fast forward to the last days of August, and Rizzo’s statistics are beginning to approach his usual numbers — where Maddon thought they would go eventually.Only Rizzo might have to just trust his manager on that one.“I wrote the numbers down a couple months ago. I just have to remember where I put them,” a grinning Maddon said.At the end of perhaps his most challenging season in Chicago, the 64-year-old Maddon remains as comfortable with himself as the day he took over four years ago, when he boldly talked about the playoffs at a bar in the shadow in the Wrigley Field.Maddon’s personality — his steady hand, and perhaps more importantly, his subtle changes over the years — is a major reason why the Cubs just keep winning through the kind of adversity that knocks some contenders out of the playoff race.Playing without 2016 NL MVP Kris Bryant Roger Clemens Jersey , closer Brandon Morrow and shortstop Addison Russell due to injuries, Chicago had won six in a row heading into Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets, running the NL’s best record to 77-53. Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood, who were expected to help solidify the rotation after signing big free-agent deals, struggled all summer, but nothing has derailed the Cubs so far.Credit Javier Baez for turning into one of baseball’s biggest stars. Credit rookies David Bote and Randy Rosario for their unexpected contributions, and Steve Cishek and Pedro Strop for their consistent performances all year out of the bullpen.And credit Maddon, who is working with a largely new coaching staff compared to last year, and still has the Cubs on track for their third straight division title and fourth consecutive playoff appearance.“Every year, it’s kind of just let us be ourselves,” outfielder Kyle Schwarber said. “I think that he has full trust in us and I think that says a lot. We back him up, too. I think that’s kind of how, it’s a give and take. He gives us the rein and we always have his back at the end of the day.”Chicago’s latest win streak coincides with Maddon’s annual “American Legion Week http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-andrew-benintendi-jersey ,” where he has his players come in later than usual — harkening back to when they were kids and hit the field when they arrived for the game. The Cubs still have themed road trips — dress like the flamboyant Strop was a big hit this year — but Maddon has largely stayed away from anything like his more famous stunts.No petting zoos. No magicians. No Mariachi bands. The Cubs are no longer the wide-eyed group of kids Maddon had in 2015. They have grown up, and their manager has tweaked his style to fit his playoff-tested group that ended the team’s infamous World Series championship drought.“If you pick your spots more separately or not so close together, I think they have a greater impact, so I just think, I’m ashamed to say I might be maturing a bit,” Maddon deadpanned. “That would be awful. But if that’s true, I would really be disappointed in myself.”While that whole maturity thing is still in question, Maddon has made a couple decisions this year that helped keep the Cubs on top of the NL.The three-time manager of the year has smartly picked his spots for Ben Zobrist, and the 37-year-old utilityman has responded with a more typical performance after struggling last season. Rizzo’s resurgence was jump-started by a productive stint in the leadoff slot. He has let Baez be Baez, shrugging off the occasional baserunning blunder while the infielder repeatedly turns in electric plays in the field and at the plate.The bullpen, a disaster in the playoffs last year, has been one of NL’s best, helping the Cubs to a major league-best 41 come-from-behind wins.“I think Joe does a good job of not hammering the little things Luis Tiant Jersey , even when we’re not playing well,” left-hander Jon Lester said after Monday night’s 7-4 victory over the Mets. “I think a lot of teams and organizations, when they don’t play well, they run to the early (batting practices) … and maybe you’ll see a (pitchers’ fielding practice) thrown in there, whatever, but Joe goes the other way.”Maddon’s deft touch will be tested when Bryant and Russell come off the DL, creating a logjam in the infield after the Cubs acquired second baseman Daniel Murphy last week in a trade with Washington. Of course, Maddon knows it’s a problem many other teams would welcome.And if anyone wants to talk it over, his door is always open.“It’s been a really interesting year,” Maddon said. “A lot of great conversations. When they have issues, they come and talk to me about them. It’s been really good.”