WASHINGTON -- Giancarlo Stanton helped make a name for himself early in his career as a hitting star at Nationals Park, where his 15 homers are the most of any visiting player.

Late Saturday night he showed off his defensive ability, running toward the right-field line and making a diving catch on a liner off the bat of Wilson Ramos to end the last of the seventh. The catch certainly saved two runs for the Marlins, who held on to win 7-1 and split the day-night doubleheader as Marcell Ozuna and Martin Prado, who is hitting .381, each had three hits in game two.

"With the Nats as a whole, their pitching staff is one that is respected," said Marlins first baseman Justin Bour, a local product from George Mason University who hit a homer in the third off Tanner Roark. "You have to bring your 'A' game all of the time. It was big for us to put runs on the board after a loss like that. We came out and did what we didn’t to do in the second game."

In the first game right-hander Stephen Strasburg improved to 6-0 and center Michael A. Taylor had two hits, two walks and scored twice in a 6-4 win over the Marlins as a steady rain fell late in the game.

It was the sixth game in a row decided by one or two runs for the Nationals and the first outing for Strasburg, who did not have his best stuff, since he signed a seven-year contract extension Tuesday.

"It felt a little different," said Strasburg, who gave up three runs in six innings. "I am just excited for the next one. You just have to keep pushing. I tried to expand the zone" with a changeup.

Washington reliever Shawn Kelley retired five batters without allowing a hit and has not been scored on in 17 appearances for manager Dusty Baker. "I used a lot of fastballs. It was a little wet and I tried to focus in and use good pitches," Kelley said. "There is a winning atmosphere here. We are getting the outs Dusty wants us to get. We all feed off each other."

The other good news for the Nationals was that the club picked up the option for general manager Mike Rizzo, through 2018, prior to the second game.

"You like to have your general manager longer than your contract," said Baker, who is signed through the 2017 season. "I think everyone is happy."

The Marlins certainly were as Ozuna now has a hit in his last 14 games as he tripled to right and scored in the second, had a two-run double in the fifth and singled in the ninth in game two. He was hitting .218 before embarking on the longest active streak in the league.

"He is hitting the ball up the middle, he is hitting it down the right-field line," said Don Mattingly, the Marlins manager. "He is taking his walks. He loves to play; he is always smiling."

Jose Urena (1-0) picked up his second career win as he went three innings out of the bullpen and allowed one run on two hits after starter Kendry Flores had to leave after three innings.

"My body was OK. I said 'OK, I can go," Urena said.

The loser was Roark (2-3), whose ERA jumped from 2.03 to 3.10 as he threw 114 pitches in just five innings in his team's most lopsided loss of the season.

Flores made his first major league start of the season and second of his career. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fourth with a right shoulder strain and is listed as day-to-day after allowing one hit and three walks in three scoreless innings.

"I thank God for the opportunity," Flores, who may be headed to the disabled list, said through a translator. "I was able to go out and do good work for three innings. It is unfortunate" with the injury.

Roark, the Washington starter, had not allowed an earned run in four of his first seven starts this season. But he gave up seven runs in five innings and Sammy Solis came on in the sixth.

"Our guys have had pretty good at-bats against him," Mattingly said of Roark. "Today was big. We have Jose (Fernandez pitching) tomorrow. It gives us a decent chance to come in and split" Sunday in the four-game series.

NOTES: The Washington Nationals announced Saturday that the team picked up the option on general manager Mike Rizzo's contract, binding him to the club through the 2018 campaign. "We are pleased with the job Mike has done over the past nine years," owner Ted Lerner said in a statement. "He and the baseball operations team have worked tirelessly to help build this organization into one of Major League Baseball's elite clubs. We are fortunate to have him." ... Washington RF Bryce Harper dropped the appeal of his one-game suspension and sat out the second game of the day-night doubleheader Saturday against the Marlins. Harper was ejected in the ninth inning of the Nationals' game on Monday by home plate umpire Brian Knight after teammate Danny Espinosa struck out. ... OF Chris Heisey, with three pinch-homers this year, started in right field in the second game in place of Harper. The National League MVP last year, Harper is hitting .273 with 11 homers, 29 RBIs and an on-base average of .461. Earlier in the day, OF Matt den Dekker was brought up from Triple-A Syracuse to serve as the 26th man for the Nationals. For the second game, den Dekker started in left field.