Heriberto Hernandez had a pinch-hit RBI single in the 10th inning to lift the visiting Miami Marlins to a wild 11-10 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Miami bounced back from squandering a 10-6 lead and earned the advantage after Hernandez’s base hit to shallow center field off Garrett Cleavinger (0-2) plated inherited runner Otto Lopez.
Second baseman Xavier Edwards threw out Kameron Misner at the plate in the bottom of the 10th to help secure the win for Cade Gibson (1-3), who did not allow a hit over two scoreless innings.
The Marlins evened the series at one win apiece and spoiled the day for the Rays, who saw Evan Longoria sign a ceremonial one-day contract and retire with the team.
Miami’s Jesus Sanchez belted a three-run homer and drove in five runs, Liam Hicks ripped a two-run double and Edwards also drove in two runs. Dane Myers added an RBI double for the Marlins, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
Tampa Bay matched a season high with five homers, highlighted by Christopher Morel’s power surge in which he launched a three-run blast in the second and a solo shot in the sixth.
Taylor Walls belted a homer and drove in three runs, Danny Jansen added a two-run shot and Brandon Lowe had a solo homer for the Rays, who saw their four-game winning streak come to a halt.
Miami erupted for six runs in the fifth to take a 10-6 lead before Tampa Bay responded with three runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to forge a tie. Morel capped his two-homer performance by launching a fly ball that sailed just inside the left field foul pole in the sixth.
Walls added a two-run shot to right-center field in the sixth and Lowe leveled the contest with his blast to center field in the seventh.
Morel’s three-run homer and Walls’ RBI double staked Tampa Bay to an early 4-0 lead. Edwards’ double drove in a run and Sanchez’s fifth homer of the season knotted the contest in the third.
Jansen’s blast to left field regained the advantage for the Rays before the Marlins countered with a big inning in the fifth.
Edwards had an RBI single to drive starter Taj Bradley from the game, and Sanchez greeted Mason Montgomery with a double that drove in a pair. Hicks added a two-run double and scored on Myers’ double to extend Miami’s advantage to 10-6.
