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Miami has lost its offense and answers are nowhere to be found.
It is as simple as that.
In a game that favored the Marlins about as lopsided as you could imagine, the Fish didn't score any runs during the six innings their ace Jose Fernandez was on the hill.
Facing a young righty with just two games under his belt in 2016, and a terrible showing in Triple-A, the Marlins had the series opener in their grasp. They just didn't take it.
The 25-year-old Rafael Montero tossed five frames of shutout ball. He gave up only two hits, but walked six.
Montero was not entirely sharp. He left balls up in the zone and gave the opposition a number of chances to do some damage, but the Marlins stayed quiet.
Fernandez pitched decent -- well enough to win the game. When it was all said and done, he tossed six shutout frames and struck out six. He gave up three hits and walked four. Fernandez wasn't his sharp self, but he did what he needed to get himself out of trouble and keep the division-rival Mets off the board.
It wasn't until the top of the eighth where either team found the scoreboard.
Ichiro Suzuki delivered his second hit of the game -- a double. He later came home to score on a Xavier Scruggs two-bagger to left. It was the first time the Marlins actually hit the ball hard all night.
The good feeling didn't last long as a wild, wild pitch brought home a hustling Jose Reyes in the bottom half of the frame. With Reyes on third and only one out, A.J. Ramos unleashed an errand ball and collided with the speedster at home. Reyes scored and the game was tied. Both players remained in the game.
The game ultimately went to extras where the 10th inning epitomized the way things have gone for the Fish of late. They went 1-2-3 in the top of the inning, surrendered the first two outs in the bottom half, but gave up a long, no-doubt walk-off shot to Yoenis Cespedes. It was a 94-mph offering from Nick Wittgren right down main street to send the home crowd to the parking lot happy, and the Marlins into the loss column for the fifth time in seven games.
In fact, the Marlins have scored three runs or fewer in six of the aforementioned seven contests.
Source: FanGraphs