MIAMI — The Miami Marlins avoided the sweep.
Lewin Diaz hit a lead-off, walk-off, two-run home run in the 10th inning to back another strong performance from ace Sandy Alcantara as well as two previous rally attempts as the Marlins defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 on Sunday at loanDepot park after dropping the first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday. Miami is 63-86. Pittsburgh is 56-93.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning after Pittsburgh’s Hoy Park hit a two-run home run off Dylan Floro in the top of the ninth to force extra innings.
Before that, Joe Panik hit a two-run double in the fourth and Jesus Sanchez added a sacrifice fly in the fifth for the Marlins.
Alcantara pitched into the seventh inning and held the Pirates to two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out four.
The 26-year-old righty was taken out after allowing three consecutive baserunners to start the seventh inning on a Cole Tucker single, Anthony Alford RBI triple and Hoy Park walk. Pittsburgh scored its first run on a pair of Alcantara fielding errors in the second inning.
Anthony Bender took over with runners on first and third and kept the one-run lead intact by getting Yoshi Tsutsugo to fly out to shallow center and Ke’Bryan Hayes to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Richard Bleier kept Pittsburgh scoreless in the eighth before Park’s home run against Floro before one final rally. It was just the second home run Floro had given up this year.
