MIAMI — The Miami Marlins tied a franchise record by scoring 11 runs in the second inning of their 14-10 win against the Chicago Cubs on Friday to start a six-game homestand at loanDepot park.
It matched the mark set in the fifth inning of their June 4, 2019, win at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Miami (49-67) sent 15 batters to the plate and recorded eight hits, two walks and two hit by pitches while facing three Cubs pitchers.
Highlighting the inning: A go-ahead grand slam by rookie outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and a three-run home run by catcher Alex Jackson.
De La Cruz recorded two hits in the inning, becoming the second Marlins player to accomplish the feat this season (Miguel Rojas had two hits in the eighth inning on May 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks).
Miami loaded the bases on singles from Brian Anderson and Jorge Alfaro as well as a walk by Alex Jackson to set up De La Cruz’s grand slam. De La Cruz, who hit his first career MLB home run one game earlier against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, sent an Adbert Alzolay slider thrown over the heart of the plate an estimated 407 feet to left field.
It was the Marlins’ fourth grand slam this season and the first by a Marlins rookie since Lewis Brinson on May 20, 2018.
Pitcher Jesus Luzardo hit a groundball to second baseman David Bote for the first out of the inning before Rojas hit a two-strike single to left. Alzolay was removed from the game in the middle of Isan Diaz’s ensuing at-bat with an injury. Diaz hit a line drive to right against reliever Dan Winkler and Jesus Aguilar walked to load the bases.
Brinson then continued his hot streak from the last three weeks with a double to left that drove in two runs. Back-to-back hit-by-pitches to Anderson and Alfaro loaded the bases and drove in another run.
A passed ball brought Brinson home before Jackson capped scoring in the inning with a three-run home run to right center. Jackson’s home run, his third of the season, went a projected 411 feet and had an exit velocity of 108.8 mph.
After De La Cruz recorded his second hit of the inning, a single to left, the Cubs turned to Rex Brothers out of the bullpen, who recorded the final two outs via a Luzardo strikeout and a Rojas fielder’s choice.
Aguilar also drove in three runs with an RBI groundout in the first and a two-run home run in the third.
Breaking down Luzardo’s start
Luzardo, a Parkland Stoneman Douglas High alumnus acquired from the Oakland Athletics on July 28, gave up five runs on six hits and four walks while striking out six over five innings on Friday. He threw 106 pitches, 60 of which went for strikes.
He put the Marlins in an early hole after giving up four runs in the first two innings on a David Bote two-run home run in the first, a Johneshwy Fargas RBI triple in the second and Sergio Alcantara sacrifice fly in the second. He got out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the second following Alcantara’s sacrifice fly by striking out Patrick Wisdom.
Luzardo gave up just one hit over the next two innings before giving up a solo home run to Robinson Chirinos in the fifth.
Shawn Morimando (2 2/3 innings), David Hess (1/3 inning) and Anthony Bender (1 inning) threw the final four innings of the game out of the bullpen.
Recognizing Eddy Alvarez
The Marlins honored infielder prospect and Miami native Eddy Alvarez during the third inning on Friday after he helped Team USA baseball win a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the process, Alvarez became just the sixth athlete ever to earn a medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. He also has a silver medal in short-track speed skating from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
