MIAMI -- When the Marlins put left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on the mound in the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s game, Nationals manager Dave Martinez felt comfortable leaving Matt Adams at the plate because of how the lefty slugger has been hitting recently, especially against southpaws.

After Chen struck out Juan Soto, Adams knocked a go-ahead three-run shot to help lift the Nationals to a 7-5 win at Marlins Park. 

“Our offense has been amazing this last month, or even longer,” said left-hander Patrick Corbin, who went seven innings and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout for the win. “One run to them is nothing. We're one swing away, and Adams came up with a big swing there. Our lineup's tough. Their guy did a great job. I think it was the second start of his career, he looked pretty good. We just got to him there in the sixth.”

In his career, Adams has tallied 15 homers against left-handers, with two this season. Entering 2019, he was 76-for-366 (.208) against southpaws. Adams already has four extra-base hits against them this season -- equaling last year’s total -- and boasts a .276 batting average in 29 at-bats.

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“He's been doing really well,” Martinez said about Adams facing left-handers. “He got a ball up in the strike zone and he's not missing balls that he should be hitting against lefties, and that's key. He's been getting the ball up against them.”

Since Ryan Zimmerman went on the injured list on April 28, Adams has played an important role in the veteran’s absence, particularly of late. It remains to be seen if Adams will retain a full-time role at first base upon Zimmerman's eventual return. Given Adams' uptick in results against southpaws, consistently starting Adams against lefties is a conceivable option.

“I’m hitting the ball better against them, getting good at-bats and making them come to me instead of chasing the offspeed stuff off the plate or the fastball in,” said Adams, whose homer came on a 3-1 slider. “It's a comfort thing. The more chances I get to face them, the better I’ll feel.”

The Nats only notched one hit through the first five innings against righty Zac Gallen in his second career start. Gallen struck out eight batters, including four in a row between the fourth and fifth.

It wasn’t until the sixth, when faced with tackling the top of the lineup for the third time, that Gallen faltered. Washington opened with three straight singles, and Anthony Rendon’s RBI knock knotted the game at 1, chasing Gallen. A batter later, Adams connected on the game-changing blast.

In his last 16 starts dating to May 29, Adams has a .274 batting average with seven homers, three doubles and 18 RBIs.

“He's been awesome. He really has,” Martinez said. “Between him, Howie [Kendrick] and even [Gerardo] Parra, with the three playing first base, they've all been really good and they've accepted their roles. They all get the chance to play and when they get the chance to play, they do well.”