Bullpen implodes
Marlins give up 11 runs in seventh inning
BOSTON — There was a time not long ago when the bullpen for the Marlins wasn’t half bad.
On Wednesday, it was brutally bad.
In one of the single-worst innings in Marlins history, a bloodbath of a seventh at Fenway Park in which the Red Sox sent 15 men to the plate, four Marlins relievers combined to allow 11 runs on 12 hits, turning what was a 5-3 Marlins lead into an eventual 14-6 loss.
It was the second-most runs ever surrendered by the Marlins in a single inning, falling runs shy of the mark set here on June 27, 2003, when the Marlins gave up 14 runs to the Red Sox in the first inning. That Marlins team went on to win the World Series. This lastplace Marlins team just needs the season to end. Quickly.
The Red Sox on Wednesday polished off a four-game series sweep of the Marlins in grand style, erupting in a big seventh inning that had the Fenway faithful in a frenzy.
Four Marlins relievers — Drew Rucinski, Adam Conley, Drew Steckenrider and Javy Guerra — endured the worst single-inning beating any Marthree
lins bullpen ever has. The dozen hits the four pitchers allowed fell one hit short of the Marlins’ single-inning record of 13, which also occurred in the ’03 game against the Red Sox.
All of it came after Marlins starter Trevor Richards had turned in a decent outing and the Red Sox lost their starter, David Price, to an injury when he was struck in his left, throwing wrist by an Austin Dean line drive in the third.
But the Marlins’ two-run lead disintegrated in a flash and only an inning-ending double play ground ball prevented their nightmare of a seventh inning from turning out even worse.
The second half has been a disaster for the Marlins’ bullpen. Wednesday’s meltdown came one day after Tayron Guerrero came in from the bullpen and blew an eighth-inning lead by giving up three runs in an 8-7 loss.
The Marlins’ bullpen posted a 4.82 ERA prior to the All-Star break. Their ERA since the break: 5.82, a figure that does not include Wednesday’s flameout.