Marlins swept by Braves with extra-innings loss after bullpen collapses in finale
Miami Marlins outfielder Austin Dean had three hits, backup catcher Bryan Holaday had two of his own, Pablo Lopez put together another quality start, and Austin Brice and Starlin Castro teamed up for a pivotal play to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
An uncharacteristic bad relief appearance by veteran Sergio Romo started a bullpen implosion that made all of that irrelevant.
Romo gave up four runs in the ninth, including a game-tying three-run home run to Ronald Acuna Jr. that sent the game to extra innings.
The Marlins ultimately lost 7-6 in 12 innings, with Matt Joyce’s RBI single off Adam Conley serving as the go-ahead run. He scored Ozzie Albies, who hit a one-out triple to the wall in left-center field. It secured a Braves three-game sweep as they opened the series with a 7-1 win on Friday and a 1-0 win on Saturday.
“This one stings a little bit,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We just didn’t shut it down there.”
After Lopez left following the sixth inning, Tayron Guerrero (2/3 inning), Brice (1/3 inning) and Nick Anderson (one inning) combined to throw a pair of scoreless innings — although Brice needed a Castro to snag a line drive from Swanson to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh — before Romo’s ninth-inning collapse.
Romo’s appearance started off smooth, with him getting Ozzie Albies to ground out. Then Tyler Flowers doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Joyce walked to put runners on the corners before Romo was called for a balk that brought Flowers home. A Johan Camargo pinch-hit single set the stage for Acuna’s game-tying home run, which traveled 403 feet to left-center field.
“I’ve been in this game long enough to know what it takes mentally to go out there and get it done no matter what the score is,” Romo said. “Today, I just failed.”
The Marlins and Braves each exchanged a run in the 10th, with Marlins reliever Tyler Kinley throwing four consecutive-two out walks to push in a run before Martin Prado tied it in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI double that brought home Harold Ramirez. A scoreless 11th inning set up Joyce’s game-winner in the 12th.
As a whole, the bullpen gave up six runs on six hits, eight walks and a balk.
“[The walks] sting the most,” Romo said. “We’re putting ourselves in binds. ... We’re better than that. We should be able to attack more and that’s something that we’ve been talking about around here. Being somewhat of the elder statesman here, I need to lead the pack in that regard. I didn’t.”
It spoiled a game in which the Marlins (23-40) held a 5-1 lead through eight inning, sparked in large part by Dean and Holaday. The duo recorded five combined hits and drove in Miami’s first four runs.
Dean, who entered the game hitting .183 for the Marlins, made his presence known early with a leadoff home run in the first inning off Braves starter Max Fried. He added RBI singles in the fifth and seventh for his third multi-hit game of the season. He scored in the seventh on Starlin Castro’s two-out infield single.
Holaday, playing in his sixth game of the year since being called up on May 24 after Chad Wallach went on the 10-day Injured List with a concussion, has recorded at least one hit and one RBI in three consecutive starts. His RBI double to left field in the fifth that scored Martin Prado served as the Marlins’ go-ahead run. Holaday also had a sacrifice bunt in the seventh, which helped Miguel Rojas advance on the basepaths before eventually scoring on Dean’s two-out single.
Holaday also made a big play at the plate in the third to hold the Braves to just one run early in the game. Fried, who hit an RBI double to score Joyce and advanced to third on an Acuna flyout, bolted for home on a Swanson ground ball up the middle. Marlins second baseman Castro fired a throw home, and Holaday quickly applied the tag in a close play. Freddie Freeman grounded out to end the inning.
For the early going, it backed up another solid home start for Lopez, who gave up just one run on four hits and one walk over six innings. Lopez tied his career high with seven strikeouts — the last of which was arguably the biggest.
After striking out both Acuna and Swanson to start the sixth inning, Lopez gave up a double to Freeman and walked Josh Donaldson to put the tying run at first base. A mound meeting with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. followed. Lopez proceeded to strike out star Braves rookie Austin Riley with an 86.5 mph slider to strand both runners and keep the Marlins’ two-run lead intact before handing the ball over to the bullpen.
Since a 10-run shelling against the New York Mets on May 10, Lopez has gone at least six innings while holding opponents to one run or fewer over four of his last five starts. He has a 1.88 ERA with 27 strikeouts and six walks over 28 2/3 innings in that span.
This story was originally published June 9, 2019 at 5:38 PM.
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