MIA 4, SFG 2; Marlins triumph over Giants with late-game offense

The Marlins had a late power surge—led by Jorge Alfaro’s massive two-run home run—to help them overcome the Giants Saturday night, 4-2. Robert Dugger did not get the win, but pitched well enough to continue justifying his place in the starting rotation moving forward.

Robert Dugger: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Madison Bumgarner: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

Each pitcher cruised through most of their start. There were some singles here and there, but nothing much. Both Dugger and Bumgarner also worked around hit-by-pitches.

Finally, the offenses made some noise in the seventh inning. Starlin Castro got himself on the basepaths with a single. The Fish struck their major blow to Bumgarner with a Jorge Alfaro two-run blast into the stands. The monster home run was on a low pitch and Alfaro sent it flying 473 ft.

This gave the Fish a two-run lead and they only needed to get nine more outs.

That would prove it to be a struggle. Dugger pitched the bottom of the seventh and gave up a single and a double. At this point, Don Mattingly turned it over to the bullpen and Brian Moran was called in to defuse the situation.

Well...attempt to defuse the situation. Pinch-hitter Donovan Solano knocked a triple into the gap to tie up the game at 2-2.

Tyler Kinley came in right away to take over from Moran. Kinley was able to get the second out of the inning, then got pulled for Jarlin García. García got Brandon Belt to fly out to end the inning.

The Fish came right back with more offense in the eighth inning. Neil Walker was called off the bench to pinch-hit and doubled. Miguel Rojas hit a double of his own to bring home pinch-runner Magneuris Sierra. Lewis Brinson followed this up with a single to push the lead to 4-2 Miami.

The ninth inning was the final push for the Giants. José Urená was summoned to convert the save opportunity for the Marlins. After recording the first out, he gave up back to back singles, putting a man in scoring position. He settled down from there, getting a strikeout and a ground out to finish the game.

The Marlins look to win the series Sunday when they send Elieser Hernández to take on Johnny Cueto. It’ll be a 4:05 ET start time.

Marlins vs Giants box score (MLB.com)

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