MIAMI — It took all of five pitches for Zach Thompson’s fourth inning to begin to unravel. The Miami Marlins’ rookie righty gave up back-to-back doubles to the first two batters he faced and ultimately would be on the hook for four runs total in the frame.
The Marlins couldn’t recover, losing 6-0 to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday to begin a three-game series at loanDepot park. Miami drops to 53-76 on the season and 0-5 against the Reds after being swept in a four-game series in Cincinnati last week.
The Marlins entered Friday with the 12th-best ERA in baseball (3.96) with the majority of damage against them coming in three innings — the second (4.22 ERA, the 19th-highest mark in baseball), the fourth (5.41, 24th in baseball) and the eighth (5.04, 24th in baseball).
The Reds hit Thompson hard in the fourth on Friday. Joey Votto swung at the first pitch Thompson offered, a 77.4 mph curveball just above the heart of the plate, and sent it to left field for a double. Mike Moustakas followed by lacing an 0-2 cutter to right field for a double of his own.
After recording a pair of groundouts, the Marlins intentionally walked Max Schrock to put runners on the corners with two outs for pitcher Wade Miley. Miley bounced a cutter down the third-base line and into left field for an RBI double to extend the Reds’ lead to 3-0. The Reds (71-59) tacked on two more runs in the frame on a Miguel Rojas throwing error.
Tyler Naquin hit a solo home run in the first inning to open scoring, and Mike Moustakas hit a solo home run in the eighth off Paul Campbell.
Friday was Thompson’s second consecutive start against the Reds. He allowed two earned runs on three hits in five innings when he last faced them. In 13 starts this season, Thompson has a 3.16 ERA with 52 strikeouts over 62 2/3 innings. He has pitched beyond the fifth inning in just four of those 13 starts.
Miami’s offense, meanwhile, went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, stranded seven runners on base, grounded into two double plays and was shut out for the 12th time this season.
Some individual notables:
— Jorge Alfaro turned a hard-hit ground ball up the middle and into center field into a double in the fourth inning. Alfaro is on a five-game hit streak and has hits in six of his last seven games.
— Bryan De La Cruz also hit a double, his coming in the seventh inning on a sharp line drive to left field. The rookie outfielder has hits in 19 of his first 25 starts.
— Rookie relief pitcher Sean Guenther threw a pair of scoreless innings. It was the first time he did not allow a run since throwing a scoreless inning in his MLB debut on Aug. 4. Guenther allowed eight runs over seven innings in the four appearances in between.
— Jesus Aguilar reached base twice with a single and a walk.
