The Miami Marlins scored seven times during the final two innings to take the rubber match of a three-game series against the host Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Sunday.
Reds starter Nick Lodolo held Miami scoreless on three hits and two walks and struck out a pair in five innings.
Starter Eury Perez went six innings for the Marlins, limiting Cincinnati to two hits while walking five and striking out five in six innings. Josh Ekness (1-1) got the Reds out in order in the seventh to earn the win, Miami’s sixth in its last eight games.
Leading 2-1 after eight, the Marlins broke the game open in the ninth. After Otto Lopez drew a two-out walk and Heriberto Hernandez was struck by a fastball on his right hand, Agustin Ramirez doubled to push Miami’s lead to 4-1.
Xavier Edwards followed with another walk, then Javier Sanoja homered to left to extend it to 7-1.
Hernandez gave Miami a 1-0 lead in the top of the eighth against Tejay Antone (2-2), lifting a sweeper over the left field wall.
Antone then walked in a run with the bases loaded. Ramirez reached on a throwing error from Elly De La Cruz, Edwards singled and Sanoja walked before Griffin Conine drew a pinch-hit walk to make it 2-0.
Tyler Stephenson cut it to 2-1 with a homer in the bottom half of the frame, belting a first-pitch fastball to center field.
Both offenses struggled to generate much through six innings. Miami had three hits, all singles, through the first two innings and didn’t get a fourth hit until the seventh.
Cincinnati didn’t get its first hit until the third when Jose Trevino lined a single to left field. He picked up the Reds’ second hit two innings later, again a single.
The hosts came closest to threatening in the fourth and fifth. With two outs in the fourth, Perez walked JJ Bleday and Eugenio Suarez in consecutive at-bats but Michael Toglia struck out to strand the runners.
Then in the fifth, after Trevino’s base hit with one out, Ke’Bryan Hayes drew a two-out walk but Perez got Elly De La Cruz to ground into a forceout.
John Devine has worked with the Miami Herald since 1996. He has worked as a Broward sports editor, Broward news editor, assistant sports editor and deputy sports editor before he became executive sports editor in 2021.