Hernández's Two-Run Single Breaks Cincinnati's Back in the Eighth

Jakob Marsee went a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run as Miami dismantled Cincinnati 8-4 on Saturday. The Marlins trailed by a run heading into the eighth inning, then erupted for four runs to put the game away for good.

This one had a genuine back-and-forth feel through the first six innings before Miami pulled away decisively. Marsee got things started in the third with a 386-foot shot to right center, but Cincinnati answered immediately — Sal Stewart singled to right, scoring both Ke'Bryan Hayes and Matt McLain to flip the lead 2-1. Joe Mack answered in the fourth with a 385-foot homer to right center of his own, knotting it at two. Miami grabbed the lead again in the fifth when Heriberto Hernández singled to left to score Marsee, but Cincinnati wasn't done. Hayes went deep to left at 392 feet to tie it, and McLain followed with a 383-foot shot of his own to put the Reds back in front 4-3. Through five innings, this looked like a slugfest with no clear winner.

Ryan Gusto gave Miami 4.2 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits, striking out 6 without issuing a walk — a respectable if unspectacular outing. Brady Singer went a full 6.0 innings for Cincinnati, surrendering 8 hits and 3 earned runs with 4 strikeouts. The Miami bullpen then took over and was simply dominant: Pete Fairbanks threw a perfect inning with 3 strikeouts, and Calvin Faucher added 1.1 hitless innings with 2 more punchouts. That combination of arms appears to have been the difference in keeping Cincinnati off the board long enough for Miami's offense to do its work.

The story of the night was the eighth inning. After a Pauley sacrifice fly tied the game at four, Hernández came up with runners on base and singled to right — scoring Ramírez and Ruiz and sending Edwards to third. That single swung Cincinnati's win probability from 45% to 13%, a 32-point collapse in a single at-bat. Conine followed with another single to right, scoring Edwards and pushing the lead to 7-4. Pauley added an insurance run in the ninth with a double to right, scoring Caissie to make it 8-4. Hernández finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI — the quiet engine of a rally that Cincinnati never recovered from. McLain's 3-for-4, two-run night looks like the lone bright spot in an otherwise frustrating loss for the Reds, who had the lead twice and couldn't hold either advantage.