MIAMI — The Miami Marlins series against the Philadelphia Phillies at loanDepot park this weekend can be summarized in the following way: Three games, three attempts for come-from-behind victories.
The Marlins were successful in the first two games, but couldn’t finish off the sweep on Sunday, falling 4-3 in extra innings. The Marlins are 57-80 on the season.
“The guys are fighting for sure,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “It’s definitely not the outcome that we wanted. We got that thing tied up and you felt like you had a shot to win that game.”
Even with the loss in the finale, all three games followed similar scripts: Good (but not spectacular) outings from the Marlins’ starting pitcher, rallies in the middle and late innings by the offense to take the lead, and shutdown performances by the bullpen.
On Friday, it was a seven-run sixth inning that gave Miami its cushion to defeat the Phillies 10-3. Miguel Rojas and Jazz Chisholm Jr. both reached twice in the frame, with Rojas driving in three runs. The combination of Steven Okert (1/3 inning), Ross Detwiler (1 inning), Zach Pop (1 inning) and Zach Thompson (1 inning) threw 3 1/3 innings of relief after Jesus Luzardo allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings.
On Saturday, it was a three-run eighth inning, with Lewis Brinson’s two-run home run that clanked off the right field foul pole giving Miami the game-tying and go-ahead runs. The quartet of Pop (2/3 inning), Okert (1 inning), Richard Bleier (1 inning), Anthony Bass (1 inning) and Dylan Floro (1 inning save) threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings after Trevor Rogers held the Phillies to two earned run over 4 1/3 innings in his first start since July 31.
And on Sunday, the runs came in spurts after falling behind. The Phillies (71-66) took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth on a pair of home runs from Bryce Harper and Freddy Galvis, the only runs Philadelphia scored in five innings against Elieser Hernandez. Bryan De La Cruz, who was hit on the shoulder during his first plate appearance, cut the Marlins’ deficit to one in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run before Miami tied the game with a small-ball approach in the sixth.
In that inning, Chisholm reached on an error to lead off the frame before Lewis Brinson walked. Jesus Sanchez moved the two 90 feet to put runners at second and third with one out. De La Cruz then hit a groundball to shortstop. Brinson got caught in a rundown between second base and third base long enough for De La Cruz to reach base and Chisholm to score, tying the game at 3-3.
Thompson (1 inning), Bass (1 inning), Anthony Bender (1 2/3 innings) and Okert (1/3 inning) worked four scoreless innings out of the bullpen to get the game to extra innings, but the Phillies scored in the top of the 10th off Floro and the Marlins couldn’t scratch across the tying run. Isan Diaz led off with a sacrifice bunt to move automatic runner Alex Jackson from second to third before Sandy Leon struck out and Deven Marrero struck out.
