MIAMI _ Jordan Yamamoto's MLB career, which began just last month with the Miami Marlins, opened with 14 scoreless innings. But it has also included command issues.
Those control problems popped up again Saturday, and it was enough to ruin Yamamoto's eighth start of the season and give the Arizona Diamondbacks enough opportunities to cruise to a 9-2 victory over the Marlins at Marlins Park.
After retiring the first nine batters, Yamamoto's command became an issue in what turned into a six-run fourth inning for the Diamondbacks. The damage came on an RBI single from Eduardo Escobar, an RBI groundout from David Peralta and a grand slam from Nick Ahmed to cap off a painful frame for the Marlins. It took just two Diamondbacks hits to score those runs because Yamamoto walked three batters and hit another in the frame.
When it was done, Yamamoto had allowed six runs on two hits, while striking out three, walking three and hitting a batter in four innings of work. It's the second consecutive start the 23-year-old has earned a loss in after beginning his MLB career with a 4-0 record.
Over his past two starts, Yamamoto has posted a 12.38 ERA on six hits and five walks in eight innings. Before this two-start rough patch, he owned an impressive 1.59 ERA.
That six-run inning was all the Diamondbacks needed, with rookie lefty Alex Young limiting the Marlins to two runs on eight hits in six innings.
But the Diamondbacks added a few insurance runs anyway. Jake Lamb connected on a slider from Marlins reliever Wei-Yin Chen for a two-run homer in the sixth to extend the lead to 8-1, and Ahmed picked up his fifth RBI of the game on a double in the eighth to drive in the Diamondbacks' ninth run.
The Marlins scored their first run on their first at-bat of the game, when Miguel Rojas crushed an up-in-the-zone fastball over the left-field wall for a leadoff home run.
That swing gave the Marlins an early 1-0 advantage and marked their fourth leadoff home run of the season. Both of Rojas' home runs this season have been of the leadoff variety, with the first coming in a July 4 loss to the Nationals.
An RBI double off the Martin Prado's bat to score Harold Ramirez in the seventh gave the Marlins their second and final run.
Before the night was over, though, there was a benches-clearing incident in the eighth inning after Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. Marlins reliever Tayron Guerrero threw the eighth-inning pitch, a 98.6-mph fastball, that angered Walker.
Players and coaches were separated before it went any further.
With the Marlins and Diamondbacks splitting the first two games, the four-game series continues Sunday at 1:10 p.m.
