Miami Marlins suffer frustrating 10th-inning loss to Tampa Bay Rays. ‘It’s just stupid’
Brandon Kintzler wasn’t afraid to share how he really feels after he and the Miami Marlins once again lost 5-4 in extra innings to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
“I think it’s completely stupid,” the relief pitcher said. “It’s just stupid.”
He was weighing on MLB’s controversial new rule, which gives teams a runner at second base to start every inning beginning with the 10th and which, so far, has not exactly benefited the Marlins.
On Sunday, Miami played its third extra-innings game — all of which have come on the road — and lost for the second time to drop a three-game series in St. Petersburg. The Marlins (17-18) scored in the top of the 10th inning on a two-out single by outfielder Matt Joyce, only to let the lead slip away in the bottom half of the frame when the Rays (28-13) knew they could play for just two runs on their home field.
Ji-Man Choi opened the frame with a pinch-hit, RBI double down the right field line, went to third on a flyout, then scored on a sacrifice fly by fellow first baseman Nate Lowe. Kintzler (1-3) walked off the field frustrated and he still was when he sat down to talk about his outing.
“Maybe if I threw 100 and struck everybody out I’d love it, but I think it’s stupid,” said the relief pitcher, a groundball specialist whose sinker tops out at 93 mph. “It takes the whole pitching part out of it and just try to throw the heck out of it or something.”
With the score tied 3-3 in the ninth, it meant there was additional urgency for Miami to score.
First baseman Lewin Diaz led off the frame with a double and Don Mattingly started to manage like it was a playoff game. The manager inserted Jon Berti as a pinch runner. He called for Jazz Chisholm to bunt, but it backfired and the shortstop popped out into foul territory. He kept making moves — slugger Garrett Cooper pinch hit for utility infielder Eddy Alvarez, shortstop Miguel Rojas pinch hit for catcher Chad Wallach — and nothing could move the speedy utility man from second base. Outfielder Corey Dickerson eventually flew out to end the inning.
“You’re going to take your chances to win it right there,” Mattingly said. “You’re definitely probably at a little disadvantage being the road team with the guy at second.”
The fear was something like extras on Sunday could play out. The Marlins started the inning with outfielder Lewis Brinson planted on second base and Tampa Bay started with relief pitcher John Curtiss on the mound. Curtiss (3-0) set down the first two batters he faced before Joyce finally cracked him with a single up the middle to put Miami ahead 4-3. The Marlins knew, however, there was a good chance it wouldn’t be enough and they were right. The Rays plated two in the 10th and walked off at Tropicana Field to take 5 of 6 in the season series.
The loss drops Miami 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East and keeps them 1 1/2 behind the second-place Philadelphia Phillies. Miami, which began the day as the top wild card in the NL and the league’s No. 7 seed, could drop out of playoff position by Monday if both the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants win later Sunday.
It all came after the Marlins spent most of Sunday with the lead. It took less than five minutes for Miami to jump ahead after Dickerson led off the game with a walk and fellow outfielder Starling Marte followed with a homer three pitches later. The Marlins led 2-0 right away and hung on to their lead all the way until the sixth inning.
Starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, making his third career Major League start, was mostly dominant, save for a handful of misses. In six innings, he threw 100 pitches, mixing a fastball, changeup, slider and sinker to strike to strike out 10 while allowing just four hits.
The organization’s No. 9 prospect in the MLB.com rankings, Rogers threw 45 four-seam fastballs, 22 sliders, 20 changeups and 13 sinkers, touching 95 mph.
“That’s probably his best so far,” Mattingly said.
Three of those hits, though, were solo homers. First, Randy Arozarena belted a solo homer in the bottom of the first to slice Miami’s lead to 2-1. Fellow outfielder Hunter Renfroe added another in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2 and then Arozarena hit another in the sixth to tie the game at 3-3.
The Marlins’ two-run lead was gone and so was their best chance at taking a series from one of the best teams in baseball.
“Three missed spots,” Rogers said. “I kind of missed just lower than I was hoping for.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 4:32 PM.
