Otto Lopez delivered an opposite-field walk-off single, driving in Tim Anderson to give the Miami Marlins a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon in Miami.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Lopez connected on a 2-0 pitch from Ryan Fernandez (0-2), sending the ball to right field. Cardinals right fielder Alec Burleson mishandled the ball while attempting a throw to home plate, allowing Anderson to score from second base.
The Marlins, despite starting the day with the worst record in the National League, lead the majors in walk-off victories this season with seven. They secured two out of three games in this series, with all three contests decided by one run in the ninth inning or later.
Cardinals’ third baseman Nolan Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner and eight-time All-Star, exited the game in the eighth inning after being hit on his right elbow by a 95 mph fastball from Huascar Brazoban.
The Marlins began the game with a bang, as Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first inning. This marked only the second time in franchise history that Miami’s first two batters homered in a game. De La Cruz launched the first pitch off the third-deck facade in left-center, while Sanchez sent a 1-2 pitch 417 feet to straightaway center off Cardinals’ emergency spot starter Matthew Liberatore. Liberatore stepped in for Kyle Gibson, who was scratched due to back stiffness.
Yonny Chirinos made his debut for the Marlins, pitching five innings and allowing two runs on eight hits in a no-decision. Liberatore, after a shaky start, settled down to give up three hits, one walk, and two runs over 3 2/3 innings.
Miami’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. was scratched from the lineup with a hamstring issue, while Cardinals rookie Masyn Winn returned to shortstop after missing a game due to illness.
The Cardinals evened the score at 2-2 in the second inning. Nolan Gorman hit a leadoff homer 436 feet to right, and Arenado, after singling and stealing second, scored on Brendan Donovan’s broken-bat single to shallow right. Donovan extended the rally by fouling off four pitches before delivering the RBI hit.
The Cardinals threatened again in the fourth inning, as Donovan singled and advanced to third on Matt Carpenter’s double. However, the rally was cut short when Michael Siani’s grounder to Lopez resulted in Donovan being thrown out at home.
Miami regained the lead in the sixth inning. Sanchez walked, advanced to third on Josh Bell’s single, and scored on Dane Myers’ sacrifice fly. St. Louis tied the game once more in the seventh when Winn singled and scored from first on a two-out grounder that slipped under third baseman Jake Burger’s glove for a two-base error.
Lopez’s heroics in the ninth sealed the Marlins’ victory, adding another walk-off win to their tally this season.
