Marlins bail out shaky Yamamoto, cruise
MIAMI — As the Miami Marlins have trudged through another losing season this year, there have been few bright spots for the team to latch onto. But one unmistakably impressive player has been rookie pitcher Jordan Yamamoto.
Going into Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres, he had gone 3-0 and posted a remarkably impressive 1.24 ERA through his first five starts.
Yamamoto had one of the roughest game of his young career on Tuesday night, at one point allowing three runs and three hits in a single inning. But it didn’t matter too much for the Marlins, as their offense exploded for a 12-7 win at Marlins Park.
It didn’t even take an inning for the Marlins to seize control of the game. After Yamamoto made quick work of the Padres in the top of the first, Brian Anderson blasted a 440-foot home run beyond left field with two runners on base, instantly giving Miami a 3-0 lead not even 20 minutes after the first pitch.
But in the very next inning, the Marlins failed to maintain their lead. Yamamoto allowed the first three batters he faced to get on base, and a single from Ian Kinsler drove in Hunter Renfroe to give the Padres their first run.
Anderson then committed an error on a routine throw back to home plate, giving Josh Naylor an opportunity to score and cut the lead to 3-2. Francisco Mejia tied the game up moments later off a groundout by Manuel Margot.
The Marlins, however managed to keep the scoring going in the next inning, when Harold Ramirez fired the ball deep into right field. The Padres’ Naylor made a jump to try to save the play but the ball was just beyond the reach of his glove, earning a single for Ramirez and driving in Cesar Puello and Yadiel Rivera.
Garrett Cooper drove in two more runs off a single to right field of his own a couple minutes later, and the Marlins were suddenly back in control with a 7-3 lead.
After that, the teams stalemated for much of the game. But Miami in the second inning of Tuesday night’s win over the San Diego Padres. finally broke free in the bottom of the sixth, when Miguel Rojas singled to center field, driving in Rivera to put the Marlins up by five. After that, Starlin Castro turned his team’s big lead into a blowout.
With the bases loaded, he hammered the ball deep into right
field, driving in all three runners and making it to third base. With just three innings to go, Miami held a nine-run lead.
Despite a strong ninth inning from the Padres, the Marlins went on to get the win.
Miami and San Diego will face off again tomorrow at 7:10 p.m.