Esteury Ruiz’s clutch three-run double fuels a dramatic extra-inning surge in Phoenix, lifting Miami over the Diamondbacks as the Marlins embrace their role as late-season playoff spoilers.
When in doubt, break glass and use the secret weapon.
Esteury Ruiz, a fourth outfielder typically called in to provide a spark, broke open a 1-1 tie in the 11th inning with a three-run double. The Miami Marlins went on to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 in extra innings to even the series on Tuesday in Phoenix.
The Marlins used eight pitchers including Josh Ekness, who pitched the two extra innings to get the win. He only gave up an RBI double to Katel Marte in the bottom of the 11th.
“I think it was honestly a big team game,” Ekness told the Marlins Radio Network after the game. “Our pitchers did a great job keeping it close.”
The Marlins only amassed five hits but they made them count. Miami got its first run on a solo home run by Griffin Conine, who has 16 on the season despite missing considerable time from injury.
“Our hitters, even though it was a slow start, came through strong and put up the runs when we needed them,” Ekness said.
The Diamondbacks established an early lead on a solo home run by Gabriel Moreno in the first inning. Moreno and Marte were the only Diamondbacks hitters with multiple hits during the game.
Former Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez went 1-for-3 in his Diamondbacks debut. He was recently claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Michael Soroka went five innings with one run allowed on two hits with six strikeouts for the Diamondbacks (80-72), who are 2.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for the third and final wild card spot.
Sitting at 7.5 games out of the playoffs, the Marlins (75-77) are left striving for their first winning season since 2023. With playoff contenders remaining on their schedule, they can also play spoiler along the way.
Double-A Playoffs
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos opened the Southern League playoffs with a 6-3 loss against the Biloxi Shuckers on Tuesday.
The Shuckers opened the scoring with two runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a solo home run by Damon Keith. The Blue Wahoos cut their lead in half when Max Williams drove in a run on a single in the bottom half of the inning.
The Shuckers added three more runs on three doubles the rest of the game.
Christian Hernandez drove in two more runs on a single in the seventh inning to round out Pensacola’s scoring.
Single-A playoffs
The Tampa Tarpons evened the Florida State League Championship Series on Tuesday with a 4-1 win over the Jupiter Hammerheads.
Jupiter’s only run came on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning. Andres Valor went 2-for-2 while Eric Guevara went 2-for-5 for the Hammerheads.
