BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Miami Marlins almost pulled it off. They got four home runs from their offense and four strong innings from the bullpen after Pablo Lopez lasted just four innings.
And then it all fell apart in the ninth inning.
As rain fell on the field, Yimi Garcia blew a two-run lead as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied for a 6-5, walk-off win over the Marlins at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field to sweep the two-game series.
Garcia allowed three consecutive hits to start the inning — including a game-tying two-run triple to Bo Bichette — before intentionally walking Valdimir Guerrero Jr and Teoscar Hernandez to load the bases. Randal Grichuk grounded into a fielder’s choice for the first out before Joe Panik hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to center field to score Guerrero and cap the victory.
The Marlins are now 24-30 on the season and have lost five consecutive games. The Blue Jays are to 29-25.
BREAKING DOWN LOPEZ’S START
Wednesday was a mixed performance for Lopez. He tied a career high with nine strikeouts and, outside of two swings from Grichuk, kept a potent Blue Jays lineup in check.
The bad: He only made it through four innings by the time he threw 90 pitches and found himself handing the game over to the bullpen.
Of his 90 pitches, just 59 went for strikes although he did induce 19 swings and misses — most of which came off his changeup.
Four of his strikeouts came on the changeup, four on his four-seam fastball and one on his curveball.
His lone blemishes, outside of the short start, were leadoff home runs from Grichuk in the second and fourth innings. He wiggled out of a jam with two runners in scoring position and one out after Grichuk’s first home run by striking out Reese McGuire and Marcus Semien.
Through 12 starts this year, Lopez has a 2.82 ERA with 68 strikeouts against just 19 walks in 67 innings.
MASHING AGAINST MANOAH
Opposite Lopez on the mound Wednesday was the Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah, a Homestead native and South Dade High alumnus making his second career MLB start.
Manoah was solid in his MLB debut, throwing six shutout innings against the New York Yankees on Thursday.
His hometown team had better luck.
The Marlins tagged Manoah for four earned runs over 3 1/3 innings, all of which came on home runs. Corey Dickerson opened scoring with a leadoff shot to center field. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added a two-run home run in the third. Jesus Aguilar tacked on a solo shot of his own two at-bats after Chisholm.
All 10 of Aguilar’s home runs this year have come on the road, making him the first Marlins player to hit his first 10 home runs of a season on the road since Justin Ruggiano in 2013.
The Marlins missed out on a chance to tack on more runs in the fourth after Manoah was removed with one out in the fourth after loading the bases on a pair of walks and a hit by pitch.
Joel Payamps struck out Chisholm on an 86 mph changeup and got Starling Marte to hit a groundball to Bichette to end the threat.
Marte added a solo home run in the seventh against Trent Thornton to give the Marlins an insurance run.
STRONG IN RELIEF — UNTIL THE END
The Marlins’ bullpen, which has quietly become one of the best in baseball, put together a solid all-around performance for the first four innings after Lopez only threw four innings.
Rookie Anthony Bender threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out three. Richard Bleier threw 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout. Anthony Bass, who walked two batters, gave up an unearned run in the seventh when a Hernandez groundball bounced off Chisholm’s glove and into the outfield, which allowed Semien to score from second. Dylan Floro threw a perfect eighth before Garcia’s rough ninth inning made it all for naught.
ROGERS ROOKIE OF MONTH AGAIN
For the second consecutive month, Marlins left-handed pitcher Trevor Rogers was named the National League Rookie of the Month.
He is just the fourth Marlins player to win NL Rookie of the Month twice in the same season, joining Miguel Cabrera (2003), Josh Johnson (2006) and Jose Fernandez (2013). Like Rogers, Johnson (May-June, 2006) and Fernandez (July-August 2013) also won the award in back-to-back months.
Rogers went 3-2 in six starts during the month of May, compiling a 2.34 ERA and 38 strikeouts against 12 walks over 34 2/3 innings.
Through 11 starts this year, Rogers has a 1.87 ERA with 76 strikeouts against 22 walks. He has six quality starts, defined as throwing at least six innings while giving up no more than three earned runs.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Rogers is the fourth pitcher to record an ERA under 1.90 and record at least 75 strikeouts in first 11 starts of a rookie season. The others: Fernando Valenzuela (1.89 ERA, 79 strikeouts in 1981), Orel Hershiser (1.81 ERA, 77 strikeouts in 1984) and Francisco Liriano (1.77 ERA, 76 strikeouts in 2006).
ELIESER HERNANDEZ’S IMPENDING RETURN
The Marlins continue their road trip with four games against the Pittsburgh Pirates starting Thursday at PNC Park. The series also should coincide with Elieser Hernandez’s return to the rotation. Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday the plan is for Hernandez to be added back to the active roster at some point while in Pittsburgh.
Based on the projected pitching matchups the team released shortly afterward, all signs point to Hernandez starting on Thursday.
The Marlins listed their projected starting pitchers for three of the four games in Pittsburgh: Cody Poteet on Friday, Rogers on Saturday and Sandy Alcantara on Sunday. Thursday’s starter is listed as “TBA.”
With Hernandez on the 60-day injured list, the Marlins have to clear a spot on both the 40-man roster and the 26-man active roster to activate Hernandez. They will make the moves the day Hernandez starts.
EDWARD CABRERA UPDATE
Right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera, the fourth-ranked prospect in the Marlins’ organization and the No. 54 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, threw 35 pitches over two innings in an extended spring training game on Tuesday as he continues his return from right biceps nerve inflammation.
Cabrera has been dealing with the injury since before spring training.
