Jorge Soler go-ahead home run leads Miami Marlins past Reds. Takeaways from the win
The Miami Marlins’ losing streak has come to an end.
Behind a go-ahead, two-run home run from Jorge Soler and quality pitching, the Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.
The win snaps Miami’s five-game losing streak and improves the Marlins to 59-56. The Reds, who had lost six consecutive games before beating the Marlins on Monday, fall to 60-56.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Jorge Soler excels in leadoff spot
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker on Tuesday flipped the top two hitters in his lineup, putting Soler in the leadoff spot for the first time this season and bumping second baseman Luis Arraez into the No. 2 spot.
The move worked.
Soler safely reached base in all four of his plate appearances, hitting two singles, drawing a walk and belting the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning — a 395-foot shot that just cleared the wall in center field.
It was the first time Soler has reached base safely four times in a game since July 4 and the first time he hit home runs in back-to-back games since his stretch of home runs in five consecutive games from May 23-27.
Prior to Soler’s home run, his 28th of the season and 17th that either tied a game or gave Miami a lead, the Marlins scored a run in the second inning on a Joey Wendle RBI double that scored Jake Burger, who doubled in the at-bat before Wendle.
A quality start from Braxton Garrett
Left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett held the Reds to two earned runs on six hits over six innings of work. Garrett struck out three and did not issue a walk.
The runs Cincinnati scored against Garrett came on a TJ Friedl double in the second inning that tied the game at 1-1 and a Little League home run from Stuart Fairchild to lead off the fifth — Fairchild hit a triple to right field on a flyball that dropped in front of and then skipped past Jesus Sanchez and scored on a throwing error from Arraez on the relay to home plate that had catcher Nick Fortes out of position to tag Fairchild.
Andrew Nardi, Tanner Scott and David Robertson pitched three shutout innings out of the bullpen to preserve the win, with Robertson notching his second save in four attempts since joining the Marlins ahead of the trade deadline.
Can this spark a winning streak?
The Marlins have only won consecutive games since returning from the All-Star Break once — July 26 at the Tampa Bay Rays and July 28 at home against the Detroit Tigers.
In fact, Tuesday was just Miami’s second road win in 13 games away from loanDepot park in the second half.
The Marlins now have a chance for back-to-back road wins — and just their second series win — of the second half. The series finale against the Reds is slated for a 12:35 p.m. first pitch Wednesday. Right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto (0-3, 5.32) will start for the Marlins opposite the Reds’ Graham Ashcraft (6-7, 5.18).
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 9:09 PM.
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