Weathers has a strong start, but game gets away from Marlins in the sixth en route to a 14-1 defeat

Marlins starter Ryan Weathers pumped his fist emphatically after finishing the fifth inning Tuesday night.

The southpaw had just fired two 97-mph four-seam fastballs in a row to strike out Ian Happ and keep the score tied at 1.

Unfortunately for Weathers, his impressive outing was over.

With his pitch count at 80, five fewer than targeted for his second appearance coming off the injured list, Marlins’ manager Clayton McCullough turned to the bullpen.

That’s when it started unraveling for the Marlins on Tuesday.

Calvin Faucher surrendered six runs without securing a single out and Lake Bachar gave up three more as the Cubs posted eight runs on eight hits in the decisive sixth inning of a 14-1 Marlins’ loss at loanDepot park.

The runs and hits were the most allowed by the Marlins in an inning this season. The Cubs’ 21 hits for the game were a season high for a Marlins’ opponent.

“Cal’s been throwing the ball so well,” McCullough said. “Outside of the leadoff walk, he was victimized with some base hits that fell in front and found holes through the infield. Unfortunately, we couldn’t really stop the bleeding. They did a good job of stringing some at-bats together. Calvin threw better than the result that he got dealt there. Tough for things to turn so quickly in the inning, but that’s how the game goes.”

The Marlins started the sixth positioned to record their fifth win in six games for the first time this season.

After Kyle Tucker gave the Cubs the lead with a solo home run to right center in the first inning, Nick Fortes knotted the score with a 399-foot shot to left off Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon in the third. It was a notable offensive contribution for Fortes, whose playing time has decreased with the emergence of rookies Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks.

Meanwhile, Weathers, who held the Cubs to one run on two hits over five innings in a win May 14, took “another good step” Tuesday, McCullough said. He allowed one run and five hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

“He was really good again tonight,” McCullough said.

“Probably one of the better fastballs I’ve had since I’ve been in the big leagues,” said Weathers, whose velocity reached 99 mph. “It just felt good to go out there and have command.”

Weathers shook off a scary comebacker off Seiya Suzuki’s bat in the third inning. He said he was lucky the ball hit the “fatty part of my wrist,” and added, “I just wanted to keep pitching.” In the fifth, Justin Turner doubled with one out as right fielder Jesús Sánchez was unable to make the grab. Weathers then got Matt Shaw to ground out and fanned Happ.

“I’ve been through so many battles in the big leagues where a guy gets on second with less than two outs and I don’t have the stuff to get out of it,” Weathers said. “When [Turner’s] on second base I’m telling myself, ‘He’s not scoring. Whatever it takes. It was a fun last inning.”

Asked whether he thought about letting Weathers pitch the sixth, McCullough pointed to Tuesday’s targeted 85-pitch limit and added, “It didn’t seem worth going back out there for one batter potentially.”

Said Weathers: “If I took care of business earlier in the game, I would have had more pitches to work with, but I shot myself in the foot and didn’t take care of business early.”

▪ With Fortes catching and Ramírez the designated hitter, Hicks got the day off despite being 5 for 12 with three RBI and a home run the past three days.

“It’s a really great problem to have right now, it is,” McCullough said of managing the lineup with three capable catchers. “The more guys are forcing my hand and making it tough to not put them in the lineup is a good sign for us.

“Liam has certainly been doing that. Gus has been outstanding as well. And we all know what Nick brings to the table on the defensive side. We’ll see his offense turn some. He was off to such a good start and [had] an unfortunate setback there [with an injury].”

▪ The Marlins held a spirited teamwide competition during batting practice.

“We wanted to focus on swing decisions,” hitting coach Pedro Guerrero said. “This is something we are priding ourselves in. Our motto is to hit strikes hard.”

Position players and pitchers were paired, and scores were marked on a poster with a sharpie. The winning pair – outfielder Derek Hill and reliever Valente Bellozo — were given a hotel suite for one away series.

“That’s what we were aiming for — breaking out of the routine, coming out and having some fun,” Guerrero said. “It’s still baseball, something we’ve loved since we were little kids.”

▪ Ronny Simon started at second base in place of Otto Lopez and Graham Pauley started at third in place of Connor Norby.