Marlins Explode for Six in Final Two Innings, Rout Reds 7-1

Miami scored six of its seven runs across the eighth and ninth innings, turning a tight game into a rout. Javier Sanoja's three-run homer in the ninth was the knockout punch in a 7-1 Marlins win.

For seven innings, this looked like a pitchers' duel that could go either way. Eury Perez was doing the heavy lifting for Miami — 6.0 innings, just 2 hits, 0 earned runs, with 5 strikeouts — though he did walk five batters, which looks like the kind of tightrope act that can unravel fast. On the Cincinnati side, Nick Lodolo held Miami to 3 hits and 0 earned runs over 5.0 innings, and Julian Garcia followed with 2.0 innings of 4-strikeout relief. The scoreboard was blank heading into the late innings, and the Reds, entering the eighth with a 57% win probability at home, appeared to be in reasonable shape.

Then Heriberto Hernandez happened. His 359-foot homer to left in the eighth swung Cincinnati's win probability from 57% to 29% — a 28-point collapse on a single swing. That was the turning point, and the Reds never recovered. Miami kept the inning alive, and a walk scored Ramírez to push the lead to 2-0. Cincinnati challenged the call on the field, but it was upheld. Tyler Stephenson answered immediately with a 390-foot shot to center to make it 2-1, and for a moment it looked like the Reds might claw back into it. They didn't get another chance.

The ninth inning was where Miami buried Cincinnati for good. Agustín Ramírez — who finished 2-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored — doubled to right, scoring both Hernández and Otto Lopez to push the lead to 4-1. Then Sanoja stepped up and ended any remaining suspense, launching a 358-foot homer to left that scored Ramírez and Edwards and made it 7-1. Sanoja finished 1-for-4 with 3 RBI, and the story of the night was clearly Miami's ability to pile on late when Cincinnati's bullpen ran out of answers. Josh Ekness closed it out with a clean 1.0-inning, 1-strikeout performance. The Marlins scored six runs in their final two at-bats and walked away with a convincing road win.