CHC 4, MIA 5; Marlins Take Advantage of Cubs’ Mistakes, Win Series

By the skin of their teeth and a couple of crucial errors, the Miami Marlins came from behind twice to hand the Chicago Cubs their 10th consecutive loss.

In a complete counter from last night’s shootout, both teams were scoreless until the Cubs scored on a Patrick Wisdom single that drove in Rafael Ortega.

Cubs starting pitcher Zach Davies looked like he was on the verge of completing his sixth scoreless inning of the night. With two out in the inning and a Jesús Aguilar on first, Lewis Brinson hit a grounder to shortstop Sergio Alcantara. Alcantara threw to second base for what should have been the easiest option, but the ball sailed into the outfield, allowing Brinson to reach second and Aguilar to reach third.

This mistake gave the Marlins a second chance at life in the inning, and gave Brian Anderson the chance to hit a three-run home run to left field to take the 3-1 lead.

But this was just the beginning of the intense back-and-forth that would occur over the latter half of the game.

With a runner on first in the eighth inning, Marlins reliever Dylan Floro was called upon to get the final out of the eighth inning. He proceeded to load the bases, and give up a bases-clearing double to Frank Schwindel, which stayed fair by mere inches to put the Cubs ahead, 4-3.

The Marlins looked to get those runs right back. After Jazz Chisholm, Jr. reached base to lead off the eighth inning, Brinson once again hit a ground ball to Alcantara at shortstop, who bobbled the ball before he could throw to first, allowing both base runners to be safe. The next at-bat, Alcantara bobbled the ball once more when trying to turn a double play off the bat of Brian Anderson. Instead, Chisholm, Jr. scored to tie the game.

Magneuris Sierra capped off the rally by poking the ball through the left side of the infield, allowing Brinson to score the winning run. Brinson redeemed himself after a clumsy moment earlier in the game in which he tripped over his bat after spiking it to the ground in frustration while running to first base.

The Marlins and Cubs play the series finale on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. Alec Mills will start on the mound for the Cubs, while the Marlins have yet to announce a starter.

Miscellaneous notes

-All of the Marlins’ five runs were unearned.

-Marlins starting pitcher Zach Thompson threw a career-high-tying six innings. He allowed just one run on four hits.

-The Cubs have lost 10 in a row. That is the second time this season that has occurred.

Baseball Savant

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