CHICAGO _ Christian Yelich couldn't believe it. His line drive to left field, a potentially game-tying hit in the seventh inning Tuesday, came off the bat a little too hard. It traveled a little too far, hung up a little too long and landed in the glove of the diving outfielder, former Marlin Chris Coghlan.
In an instant, the Wrigley Field crowd of 40,419 collectively transitioned from holding its breath to cheering wildly, the final threat of the night over and the Cubs on their way to a 3-2 win.
Yelich ran past first base and stared into the sky. He removed his batting helmet, untied his shin guard and ripped off his batting gloves. He moseyed toward the visitors' dugout. Giancarlo Stanton eventually handed him his glove. They had two more innings to play, two more turns at bat to try to steal one from the best team in the National League, but that inning _ that lineout _ was the Marlins' last best chance.
It made a loser out of Jose Fernandez, who was efficient most of the night but not dominant. He allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings, striking out eight. The final three came consecutively, on curveballs, with two runners on in the sixth inning.
This marks the first time Fernandez has lost back-to-back starts since April 2013, the first month of his big league career.
Fernandez's fate _ and score line _ might have been different if not for Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler, who went 3-for-4 with a triple to score two runs and drive in another.
Fowler tripled into the right-field corner in the first inning, scoring moments later on Willson Contreras' single to shortstop. In the third, he singled and stole second before coming around after Anthony Rizzo's fly out to left.
That play was the strangest of the game. Yelich reeled in the routine fly, but his throw to first base _ an attempt to double off Contreras _ pulled first baseman Chris Johnson off the bag. Fowler had broken from third for home, so Johnson fired to catcher J.T. Realmuto, who applied the tag but couldn't hang onto the ball. Jose Fernandez picked it up and threw to second to get Contreras, completing the double play and ending the inning.
Fowler later singled to right-center field to score Coghlan.
The Marlins were again unsuccessful against a Cubs mid-rotation starter, this time right-hander Jason Hammel, who threw six shutout innings. The scoreless streak reached 15 innings, most of them during a complete-game effort from Kyle Hendricks on Monday, before Miami broke through against the Chicago bullpen.
Both Marlins runs came in the seventh prior to Yelich's liner. Adeiny Hechavarria singled to bring Derek Dietrich home, and J.T. Realmuto sent one to right field _ via a ricochet off pitcher Pedro Strop _ to score Johnson.
Ichiro Suzuki struck out swinging in the seventh inning. He remains at 2,998 career major league hits.
