Marlins fall to Rays to begin quick two-game series. Quick hits from the loss

The Miami Marlins dropped the opener of a quick two-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 on Tuesday at loanDepot park to fall to 55-74 on the season.

Some quick hits from the outing:

▪ The Rays (71-57) did the bulk of their damage in the third and fifth innings. A leadoff walk to Taylor Walls in the third followed by back-to-back doubles by Jose Siri and Yandy Diaz gave Tampa Bay an early 2-0 lead on the Marlins before they scored three more runs in the fifth on a Manuel Margot RBI groundout, Randy Arozarena reaching on a Jesus Luzardo throwing error with two outs and a Harold Ramirez RBI single.

Siri added a solo home run in the seventh off Cole Sulser and ended the night a triple shy of the cycle. Arozarena homered off Andrew Nardi in the ninth to cap scoring.

▪ Luzardo’s final line: Five runs (just three earned runs) allowed on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts. In six August starts since coming off the injured list, Luzardo posted a 2.97 ERA (12 earned runs over 36 1/3 innings) with 32 strikeouts against nine walks. He pitched at least six innings with no more than three earned allowed in four of those six starts.

▪ Miami broke up its shutout in the seventh inning on a two-run double by Jerar Encarnacion, who lifted a Garrett Cleavinger slider that was below the strike zone into left field. Encarnacion’s one-out hit — his second of the game — came after Nick Fortes hit a single and Joey Wendle followed with a ground-rule double.

▪ The near shutout came against a Rays pitching staff that was thrown into a last-minute bullpen game with All-Star Shane McClanahan a last-minute scratch due to a left shoulder impingement. The Marlins had nine hits against the Rays’ assortment of pitchers — a group that included one-time Marlin Shawn Armstrong (three shutout innings), JT Chargois (one scoreless inning), Brooks Raley (one scoreless inning), Cleavinger (1 1/3 innings), Jason Adam (2/3 of a scoreless inning), Pete Fairbanks (one scoreless inning) and Colin Poche (one scoreless inning) — but failed to put together rallies outside of the seventh inning.

Fortes hit a one-out single in the second only to get caught stealing.

Luke Williams and Jon Berti hit back-to-back two-out singles in the third but Williams was thrown out trying to go from first-to-third on Berti’s hit.

A Brian Anderson single in the fourth was erased when Garrett Cooper hit into a double play.

And back-to-back two-out, first-pitch hits by Encarnacion and Peyton Burdick in the fifth were for naught when Williams struck out to strand them.

Jordan McPherson

Miami Herald

305-376-2129

Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.