Marlins vs. Phillies
Miami’s 2-1 victory means rematch today.
MIAMI — Through the first five innings of an eventual 2-1 win over the Phillies in 10 innings on Tuesday night, the Marlins bats fell quiet. They whispered through groundouts. They murmured through flyouts. Strikeouts rendered them silent.
Miami could not muster a baserunner against Philadelphia right-hander Zach Eflin. Fifteen Marlins came to the plate. Fifteen sat back down. Eflin was perfect.
But the Marlins bats awoke just enough in the final innings to squeeze by the Phillies for Miami’s fourth straight win and sixth in the last seven games. It also clinched the third consecutive series win for the Marlins after they dropped the first seven of the season.
Yadiel Rivera laced a single to center field in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Cameron Maybin. It was Rivera’s first RBI of the season and first career walk-off hit.
After just hooking a potential home run foul, Cameron Maybin legged out a one-out triple to the gap in left-center field. Yacksel Rios intentionally walked Miguel Rojas, setting up Rivera’s heroics.
Rivera’s hit came after Jarlin Garcia continued his remarkable start to the season by throwing six innings of one-run ball. He allowed five hits and a walk while striking out three. His ERA this season now sits at a paltry 1.09.
In his four starts this season, Garcia has
surrendered just 10 hits, the fewest for any Marlins pitcher in franchise history across their first four starts. The Phillies knocked Garcia for a run in the fifth inning, when Rhys Hoskins doubled home Jorge Alfaro to put Philadelphia up 1-0.
As Garcia dealt, so did Eflin in his first majorleague start of the season.
Eight days before Tuesday night’s game, Eflin suited up for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Norfolk, Va. He gave up 10 hits and six runs. He owned a career 5.85 ERA in 22 majorleague appearances. That didn’t matter Tuesday night.
Eflin mostly used an array of 95-mph fastballs and diving sliders to keep Marlins hitters off balance. He waded into a three-ball count just once and struck out four Marlins.
Miguel Rojas was the first batter to solve Eflin, dumping a double down the right-field line to ruin Eflin’s perfect game bid. The ball fell between a trio of Phillies, giving Miami its first baserunner of the night and some hope of soiling the shutout bid as well.
Lewis Brinson stepped into the box. Though he went 0-for-2 in the box score, he still had an eventful night.
On defense, he chased down a deep fly ball in the left-center field gap in the fourth inning. He also misjudged a line drive in the fifth, needing a leap to snag Cesar Hernandez’s hard-hit ball.
In addition to his play in center field, he had a nightmare of a bottom of the sixth inning. After Rojas’s double, Brinson tried moving him to third with a sacrifice bunt.
But Brinson’s bunt barely rolled past home plate and hung Rojas in a rundown between second and third. The rundown didn’t last long enough for Brinson to advance to second base. The Marlins lost both an out and a base.
With Justin Bour at the plate — pinch-hitting for the second night in a row — Brinson survived six pickoff attempts before succumbing to the seventh. Philadelphia challenged the play after Brinson was initially ruled safe. First baseman Carlos Santana’s glove tagged Brinson on the arm just before he touched first base.
Four pitches later, Bour stroked a home run to right-center field that tied the game. It would have given Miami a 2-1 lead had Brinson not gotten picked off. Instead, it simply kept Miami alive.
The pickoff was the last play Brinson made Tuesday night, lifted in the top of the seventh inning as part of a double switch.