Realmuto homers twice; Marlins down Reds for second straight win

If this is to be the final appearance for AJ Ramos as a Miami Marlin, then it was a pretty good one.

Ramos had a relatively easy time with the Reds in the ninth inning, locking down the save and preserving a Marlins 5-4 victory.

JT Realmuto hit two, two-run jimmy jacks to account for four of the five Marlins runs driven in (Giancarlo Stanton also contributed a groundout that let Dee Gordon touch the plate in the first). Here is JT’s second bomb:

Humidity was a factor for both pitchers as muggy conditions made the ball difficult to grip. Chris O’Grady allowed three runs on four hits, striking out six and walking six through four and two third’s innings (continuing to be just good enough to stick around in the rotation for the time-being).

A virtual cavalcade of Marlins relievers appeared after O’Grady’s departure: Nick Wittgren, Jarlin Garcia, Kyle Barraclough, and Junichi Tazawa. The first three were effective as planned, but Junichi...oh, Junichi. A couple of days ago, Mitch wrote some really nice words about Tazawa and his emergence as an effective and trusted late-inning option for Don Mattingly. Naturally, Tazawa thanked Mitch by almost coughing up the game tonight, but Tazawa was able to escape the eighth by the slimmest of butterfly wings before the Reds could score that crucial tying run, handing the baton off to Marlins closer AJ Ramos.

Appearing unflappable as trade rumors swirl continuously around him, Ramos converted his 16th save of the season in style, inducing a couple of groundouts and a game-ending strikeout of the notoriously tough-to-K Joey Votto. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there was a walk in there, because it was a Ramos save, after all.

Ichiro! (obligatory Ichiro Suzuki data links mention) pinch-hit in the Marlins half of the ninth and smacked a single, continuing his march up the list of all-time hitters (Craig Biggio is the next man to pass at 3,060 hits).

The Marlins will square off with the generous Reds one more time at a 10:10 AM eastern start time. Tom Koehler will do battle with Sal Romano.

Kingfish: JT Realmuto (.429)

Flounder: Robert Stephenson (-.320)

Play of the game: Scooter Gennett single in the eighth, scoring Adam Duvall Realmuto bombs (.394)