Marlins rally and walk off Phillies in 12 innings. Takeaways from the win
In a span of two at-bats Wednesday — two pitches, really — the Miami Marlins saw the first glimpse of what their newly fortified lineup can do.
With the Marlins down five runs, Josh Bell (acquired at the trade deadline Tuesday) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (returned from the injured list Monday after missing 60 of 66 games with two separate injuries) hit home runs on back-to-back pitches in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler. It was the first time this season the Marlins had hit home runs in consecutive at-bats, let alone consecutive pitches.
The beefed-up offense then continued to rally over the eighth and ninth innings to force extra innings, tied the score again in the 10th and once more in the 11th and then sealed it with a 9-8, 12th-inning walk-off win over at loanDepot park.
Jesus Sanchez sealed the game with an RBI single to shallow left that scored Chisholm from third base.
In between the sixth-inning home runs and the 12th-inning walk-off, the Marlins scored two runs in the eighth (a Sanchez bases-loaded walk and Jon Berti RBI groundout), one in the ninth (Jorge Soler solo home run) and two in the 10th (Avisail Garcia RBI groundout and Berti sacrifice fly) and one in the 11th (Bell RBI single).
The Marlins, after dropping the first two games of the series entering Wednesday, improve to 58-51 on the season. The Phillies fall to 58-50.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
How did the new guys do?
Both of the Marlins’ position-player acquisitions at Tuesday’s trade deadline — first baseman Bell and third baseman Jake Burger — made their Miami debuts on Wednesday and left a good first impression.
Bell went 4 for 5, including the sixth-inning home run and game-tying single in the 11th, and also drew a walk while scoring three runs and logging two RBI. Burger went 2 for 4 at the plate with a walk, a hit by pitch and one run scored.
Bell became the 19th player in franchise history to hit a home run in his Marlins debut. He was the first since Jerar Encarnacion on June 19, 2022, at Citi Field against the New York Mets, and the first to do so at loanDepot park since Nick Fortes on Sept. 18, 2021, against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Marlins pitching gave up three big innings
The Phillies scored multiple runs in three separate innings on Wednesday.
They took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when they logged four consecutive hits — an Alec Bohm single, Bryce Harper double, Nick Castellanos RBI single and Bryson Stott RBI single — against Braxton Garrett to begin the frame.
Philadelphia then scored three more in the sixth when command eluded Miami pitchers. Garrett gave up a leadoff walk to Stott before giving way to Huascar Brazoban, who issued free passes to all three batters he faced (Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa and Garrett Stubbs) to force in another run without a ball being put in play or an out being recorded. Steven Okert, Miami’s third pitcher of the inning, got two outs before giving up a two-run double to Bohm to put Miami in a 5-0 hole.
After Miami rallied to tie and force extra innings, Robertson gave up a leadoff, two-run home run to pinch-hitter Brandon Marsh in the 10th before Miami scored two runs in the bottom half to extend the game.
Philadelphia retook the lead, 8-7, in the top of the 11th on a Bohm leadoff RBI single against Jorge Lopez that scored Rodolfo Castro, the Phillies’ automatic runner to begin the inning. Miami rallied once more to extend the game.
Tanner Scott then threw a shutout 12th inning to, finally, set the stage for the walk-off.
The goal now: Split the series
The Marlins and Phillies wrap up their four-game set with a 12:10 p.m. game on Thursday.
Right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto (0-2, 5.06 ERA) will start for Miami opposite Philadelphia’s Michael Lorenzen (5-7, 3.58 ERA), whom the Phillies acquired at the trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers.
This story was originally published August 2, 2023 at 10:48 PM.
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