Colorado Rockies walk off Miami Marlins, who fall to 2-5 on road trip
Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker alluded to it multiple times the past four days: No lead ever feels safe at Coors Field.
Was that ever true during the Marlins’ series finale against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
The Marlins went from a two-run lead after the top of the fourth inning, to a tie game after six innings, to down four after eight innings, to tied again after Miami put together a four-run rally in the top of the ninth, to losing 7-6 in walk-off fashion to cap the four-game series.
“Tough loss,” Schumaker said. “No doubt.”
Ezequiel Tovar sealed the game with a one-out groundball single through the left side of a five-man infield against Huascar Brazoban, who walked Kris Bryant and Elias Diaz on eight pitches to open the ninth inning and then walked Ryan McMahon with one out to load the bases.
Brazoban threw 24 pitches, only 10 of which landed for strikes.
“It was just command,” said Brazoban, who has given up seven earned runs and allowed an additional two inherited runners to score over his past four outings after posting a 1.93 ERA (five earned runs in 23 1/3 innings) and stranding 11 of 18 runners in his first 19 relief appearances this season. “I didn’t have any control of my pitches.”
The Marlins (25-26) went 1-3 in Denver and are now 2-5 after two legs of this three-city road trip. The Rockies improve to 22-29.
The Rockies’ walk-off undid the Marlins’ rally in the top of the inning that had previously undone the Rockies’ four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth.
With Miami down 6-2, Jorge Soler and Garrett Cooper each hit two-run home runs in the ninth to even the score. Jean Segura then reached on a strikeout-wild pitch and Jonathan Davis walked to put the go-ahead run in scoring position but both were stranded.
Soler’s home run was his 15th of the season, his 10th this month, his fourth of this road trip and third in as many games.
Cooper’s home run was his second in three games.
The big inning was needed after Miami’s rough bottom of the eighth.
With one out in that frame, the game tied 2-2 and the go-ahead run on first base, Schumaker brought in Dylan Floro to relieve JT Chargois.
Schumaker’s rationale for the pitching chance was that Floro hadn’t pitched since Saturday and he needed to be sure Floro got into the game.
“He was fresh,” Schumaker said. “He was going to get [the eighth] and then get the next one. We felt that was the right call.”
But two pitches in, Floro gave up a go-ahead RBI double to Ryan McMahon (who ultimately was tagged out trying to extended the double to a triple). It was the beginning of a four-run Rockies rally.
After the Rockies scored the go-ahead run, Floro proceeded to load the bases by giving up back-to-back singles to Tovar and pinch-hitter Charlie Blackmon before walking Michael Toglia.
Mike Moustakas then hit a bloop single to shallow center field to score two runs and chase Floro. Brenton Doyle capped scoring in the frame with an infield single against Bryan Hoeing that scored Toglia from third.
The Marlins took an early 2-0 lead on a Yuli Gurriel triple in the third that scored Soler and an Xavier Edwards single in the fourth that scored Davis, who had three hits and two walks one day after logging the first three-hit game of his MLB career in his first Marlins start.
The Rockies evened the game on an Alan Trejo two-out single in the fourth that scored Randal Grichuk and a Diaz leadoff home run in the sixth, both against Marlins starter Braxton Garrett.
Garrett’s final line: Two earned runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts over five-plus innings pitched.
Over his past three starts, Garrett has a 1.65 ERA, allowing just three runs over 16 1/3 innings.
Up next
The Marlins wrap up their three-city, 10-game road trip with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels that starts on Friday.
