Orioles beat Marlins, 9-7, and drop Miami to season-worst 4 games under .500
Instead of serving as a launching point to better days, the Marlins’ longest homestand of the season so far has left them with something of a hole to dig themselves out of.
Baltimore roughed up Sandy Alcantara for seven runs in 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday, then touched up Andrew Nardi for two go-ahead runs in the ninth, and the Orioles beat the Marlins 9-7 to drop Miami to 1-4 on the homestand and to a season-worst four games under .500 at 16-20.
“It was bad out there,” Alcantara said of his start.
The Marlins made it interesting after Alcantara’s worst start of the season.
Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez hit consecutive homers in the seventh to pull Miami to within 7-6; Hicks’ upper deck shot traveled 431 feet, the longest distance of any Marlins home run this season.
The Marlins then tied it in the eighth.
Catcher Joe Mack singled with one out in the eighth - his second hit of the night - and Esteury Ruiz pinch-ran and stole second. Owen Caissie then walked, Ruiz stole third and scooted home on a throwing error by catcher Samuel Basallo.
But Graham Pauley lined out to right for the second out; the second-base umpire ruled Caissie was thrown out at second on the play, but that call was reversed on replay. After a Xavier Edwards walk, Hicks struck out to send the game to the ninth inning tied at 7.
But Andrew Nardi blew it in the ninth, walking Taylor Ward and Pete Alonso, and then allowing a two-out RBI singles by Adley Rutschman and Leody Tavares. Clayton McCullough has great confidence in Nardi, calling him “one of the best pitchers on our team.” But Nardi’s ERA swelled to 6.92.
Rico Garcia retired Otto Lopez, Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee 1, 2, 3 in the ninth to end it.
It was the shortest outing of the season for Alcantara, who allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks and saw his ERA jump from 3.04 to 4.02. Alonso and Basallo went a combined 5 for 5 with 6 RBI against Alcantara, who left with the Marlins down 7-4 in the fifth.
For a time, the Marlins seized on a chaotic start from Orioles right-hander Chris Bassitt, who hit two batters, threw a wild pitch that drove in Miami’s first run, walked three and gave up six hits and four runs in four innings.
After scoring on that wild pitch in the first, the Marlins scored two in the second on Hicks’ two-run single, then pulled to within 5-4 in the third on Mack’s first big-league hit, a single to left that drove in a run.
Hicks’ solo homer in the seventh - his eighth long ball of the season - and Lopez’s fourth homer a minute later pulled the Marlins to within 7-6.
Manager Clayton McCullough shook up his batting order, moving Xavier Edwards to leadoff for the first time this season, batting Hicks third for only the third time in his career; and slotting Marsee in the fifth hole for the first time this season after hitting leadoff much of the season.
Hicks went 4 for 5 with three RBI, giving him 32 for the season, tying Atlanta’s Matt Olsen for the big league lead.
“Coming up short stings, but we did a lot of good things offensively,” McCullough said.
Alcantara endured only his second poor start in eight appearances this season. The first was an 8-2 loss in Detroit, where he allowed seven runs in six innings. This once was a bit worse. Just a “bad outing,” he said.
Alonso, the former Mets All Star who entered hitting .215, nicked him for a two-run double in the first, followed by an RBI double by Basallo.
And Basallo, who entered the night hitting .234 with 10 RBI, kept tormenting Alcantara, hitting a two-run single in the third and an RBI triple in the fifth that pushed the Orioles’ lead to 6-4. Alcantara was lifted after Basallo beat Xavier Edwards’ throw home on Colton Cowser’s fielder’s choice, making it 7-4.
The Marlins were sloppy early, committing two fielding errors (by left fielder Stowers and pitcher Anthony Bender). They returned from their West Coast trip leading the league in stolen bases, but Ruiz’s was their first of this homestand, after three unsuccessful attempts by Marsee, Lopez and Connor Norby.
A night after Mack made his big league debut, Marlins pitcher Will Kempner did the same, striking out the first batter he faced (Cowser) and pitching a scoreless eighth. Kempner had 34 strikeouts in 15 ⅓ innings in Triple A this season.
The first half of this homestand has been particularly discouraging because the Phillies, though rich in talent, came to Miami at 12-19 before winning three of four at loanDepot Park.
The Orioles entered 15-20 and having lost 7 of their last 10. The Orioles are here for two more games, followed by a three-game series against Washington (16-20). Eury Perez pitches for Miami on Wednesday (6:40 p.m., Marlins.TV).
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 9:50 PM.
