Jakob Marsee’s early jolt carries Marlins past Diamondbacks’ three solo homers

The inning that left a mark

The box score says 10 hits apiece. The game says something narrower and more revealing: Miami was better at making one messy inning count. In the second, the Marlins broke through when Heriberto Hernandez reached on an infield single to third and Arizona’s only error followed, a throwing mistake by Nolan Arenado that helped two runs score. In a one-run finish, that sequence was not background detail. It was the margin.

Miami kept adding to the discomfort in smaller ways. The Marlins drew four walks and stole three bases, and even without piling up extra-base hits they kept asking Arizona to execute cleanly. That is not the same thing as overpowering a game, but it is often enough to bend one. On this night, one bend became decisive.

The third inning supplied the loudest Miami swing. Jakob Marsee drove a two-run homer to right-center, scoring Javier Sanoja and stretching the lead to 4-1. Marsee finished 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI and a walk, while Hernandez delivered a 4-for-5 night that kept the lineup moving. Otto Lopez added two hits as well, and suddenly the Marlins had built an early cushion without needing a barrage of power.

Arizona’s power made the comeback feel permanent

The Diamondbacks never stopped threatening because their offense came in unmistakable bursts. Pavin Smith answered in the second with a solo homer to right-center. Gabriel Moreno cut the deficit again with a solo shot in the fifth. Arenado, after the costly error earlier, pulled Arizona within 4-3 with a solo homer to left-center in the eighth. Arizona’s three runs all came on home runs, and the club actually finished with more total bases than Miami, 20 to 14.

That is what made Miami’s pitching line so interesting. Ryan Gusto allowed eight hits and two home runs in 4.1 innings, but he limited the damage to two runs and prevented the game from flipping early. From there, the Marlins got a useful middle stretch from Cade Gibson, then swing-and-miss relief from Jack Ralston, who struck out four over two innings even as he yielded Arenado’s homer. Sandy Alcantara closed it out in the ninth for the save, allowing no hits and only a walk.

Arizona’s staff did its share to keep the game alive. Merrill Kelly struck out nine in 4.2 innings, but the first five innings did the damage: seven hits, four runs and three earned runs allowed. After Kelly exited, Ryne Nelson, Dennis Santana and Jonathan Loaisiga combined for 4.1 scoreless innings. That gave the Diamondbacks enough pitching to win if the offense could stack at-bats together. It just never quite happened.

Our take: equal hits, unequal pressure

Our take: this was a useful reminder that baseball games are not neatly explained by the hit column. Arizona matched Miami with 10 hits and outslugged the Marlins, but Miami created more kinds of stress. The Marlins drew twice as many walks, ran successfully three times, and turned Arizona’s lone error into the swing point of the night. The Diamondbacks hit three home runs, but because every one of them was a solo shot, the comeback always lacked one more baserunner.

There is something for both teams to clean up, and the evidence is right there. Miami probably leaves this game knowing that 10 hits and four walks should usually create more breathing room than a one-run finish. Arizona, meanwhile, has a clearer lesson still: sharper run prevention on the lone error and more traffic around the power bats might have changed everything. With 10 hits, three home runs and only three runs to show for it, the Diamondbacks had force but not enough connection. Miami had less thunder, but more leverage, and that was the difference.

Scoring moments

1. 2nd Inning

   Hernández reached on infield single to third, Edwards scored on throwing error by third baseman Arenado and Marsee scored, Stowers to second.

2. 2nd Inning

   Smith homered to right center (424 feet).

3. 3rd Inning

   Marsee homered to right center (420 feet), Sanoja scored.

4. 5th Inning

   Moreno homered to left (384 feet).

5. 8th Inning

   Arenado homered to left center (413 feet).