Adley Rutschman’s clutch pinch-hit single capped a back-and-forth thriller in Miami, after Baltimore’s aggressive bats chased ace Sandy Alcantara early to secure a gritty road victory.
MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara was ambushed by Baltimore’s bats as the Miami Marlins fell to the Orioles 9-7 on Tuesday at loanDepot park.
The game was tied 7-7 entering the ninth inning. With runners at scoring position, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz made the bold move to pinch hit for Samuel Basallo with Adley Rutschman facing Miami left-handed relief pitcher Andrew Nardi.
“It’s a tough decision to make but a good decision to make when you have two really talented hitters,” Albernaz said. “Ultimately we landed on Adley just for the simple fact of getting a righty in there.”
The move paid off as Rutschman drove in the go-ahead run on a single to left field, followed by an RBI base hit by Leody Taveras.
“I think it says a lot about the character of this team,” Rutschman said after the game.
The Orioles got to Alcantara in the first inning. Pete Alonso drove in two runs on a double to left field and scored on a double by Basallo. Albernaz said the at-bat Dylan Beavers had against Alcantara was “the battle of the game.”
“Sandy’s tough. Sandy’s one of the best pitchers of the game,” Albernaz said. “That at-bat from my opinion, from my side, kind of really set the tone and made him work a lot harder during the first inning than he probably wanted to.”
Marlins manager Clayton McCullough agreed with the assessment.
“I think that first inning, the Beavers' at-bat just got really elongated," McCullough said. "Pitch count ran up, Pete (Alonso) hooks the ball down the line for a couple of runs and we have a little trouble handling down there.”
Alcantara finished with seven runs allowed on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 4.1 innings for the Marlins (16-20), who are 1-4 through their current homestand.
The Marlins scored their first run of the game as Xavier Edwards scored on a wild pitch by Baltimore pitcher Chris Bassitt. Xavier Edwards led off the inning with a single.
The Marlins tied the game 3-3 in the second inning on a two-run single by Liam Hicks. The Marlins set the table up with a hit-by-pitch and two walks to load the bases.
A sliding catch by Taveras prevented the Marlins from taking the lead. The Orioles took back the lead on a two-run single by Basallo to go up 5-3 in the third inning.
Marlins rookie catcher Joe Mack drove in a run on a single for his first Major League hit. singles on a line drive to left fielder Taylor Ward. Kyle Stowers scores. Connor Norby to 2nd. 5-4
Basallo drove in another run on a triple in the fifth inning. He later scored on a fielder’s choice hit by Colton Cowser to add to Baltimore’s lead at 7-4. Basallo was a home run away from a cycle.
The Marlins cut the Orioles' lead to 7-6 in the seventh inning on back-to-back solo home runs by Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez. Esteury Ruiz came into the game as a pinch runner and scored the tying run in the eighth after stealing third base, which led to a throwing error from Basallo.
"I hope this guy leads the league in pinch-running stolen base attempts," McCullough said.
Hicks went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI to lead the Marlins at the plate. Mack went 2-for-4 with an RBI in his second game in the big leagues.
Basallo went 3-for-4 with four RBI and Alonso went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI to lead the Baltimore bats.
Bassitt allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts in four innings for the Orioles (16-20), who snapped a five-game losing streak.
The Marlins will look to Eury Pérez (2-3, 4.46 ERA) to rebound against the Orioles and Brandon Young (2-1, 6.14 ERA) on Wednesday.
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