Marlins Mash 15 Hits, Defeat Diamondbacks in Slugfest

MIAMI — Otto Lopez went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead RBI single as the Miami Marlins defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-6 in the series opener on Tuesday. 

Lopez’s RBI was the start of a four-run rally in the eighth that put Miami back on top for good. With the bases loaded, Javier Sanoja singled to center field to score two more runs. Esteury Ruiz came into the game as a pinch hitter and hit an RBI double. 

The Marlins (32-35) scored 10 runs for the fourth time this season while totaling 15 hits. 

“Every time we got a hit, we have a new celebration,” Lopez told the Marlins Radio Network after the game. 

Lopez leads all of Major League Baseball in batting average (.341) and hits (89). He is slashing .419/.438/.710 through his last seven games. Lopez said he feels “pretty good at the plate,” and all the hard work that led to this season is paying off. 

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough went further in his postgame press conference. Making the case for Lopez to be in the MLB All-Star Game next month, McCullough said it is “hard to find someone at that position in our league that's having a better year offensively than he is with the average, the clutch hits and the extra base hits.“

"He’s been a hitting machine since day one of the season and he's played a high-level defense," McCullough said. “He's really doing it on both sides of the ball, and he's making a very strong case for himself each and every day."

Joe Mack went 4-for-4 to lead the Marlins at the plate and became the youngest catcher in franchise history to record four hits in a single game. 

Max Meyer went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in a no-decision. He set a franchise record with 14 starts to begin a season without a loss. 

Meyer’s only runs allowed were solo home runs hit by Corbin Carroll in the first inning and Gabriel Moreno in the fourth inning. 

The Marlins tied the game in the first inning on an RBI single by Xavier Edwards to score Lopez. Connor Norby doubled in the second to score a run and put the Marlins up 2-1 in the second inning. 

A sacrifice fly by Edwards increased the Marlins’ lead to 3-1 in the third inning. After Moreno’s homer, the Marlins scored three more runs in the sixth inning on a pair of RBI doubles by Liam Hicks and Kyle Stowers. 

The Diamondbacks clawed back with an RBI double by Ketel Marte in the seventh inning. Marte struck again in the eighth inning with a two-run single. Arizona tied the game 6-6 on a groundout in the eighth inning. 

Marte went 3-for-5 to lead the Diamondbacks (34-32) at the plate. Geraldo Perdomo went 2-for-2. 

Pete Fairbanks earned the win for the Marlins with a scoreless ninth inning and two strikeouts. 

Zac Gallen gave up four runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings for the no-decision. Brandyn Garcia was charged with the loss after giving up four runs in 0.2 innings. 

The Marlins will send Ryan Gusto (0-1, 10.80 ERA) on the mound on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks and Ryne Nelson (2-4, 4.60 ERA). 

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