Miami Shuts Out Boston 4-0, Errors Do the Heavy Lifting
Boston couldn't score a single run and couldn't stay out of its own way, gifting Miami three of its four runs on errors. The Marlins didn't need to be brilliant — they just needed to be competent, and on Wednesday night, that was more than enough.
The game turned in the very first inning, and it turned on a single swing of the bat. Hernández singled to left, Stowers scored, and just like that Miami's win probability jumped from 51% to 56% — a modest number that understated how thoroughly the Marlins would control the rest of the evening. It was the kind of early punch that forces a team to chase, and Boston never found an answer. Lopez scored on an error in the second to make it 2-0, and then — in what looks like the defining sequence of the night — Lopez stole second and scored on an error by catcher Wong to push the lead to two. Boston's defense was handing Miami baserunners and runs simultaneously.
The Marlins didn't need to manufacture much. Ryan Gusto worked 5.2 innings, allowing 4 hits and 0 earned runs while walking 3 and striking out 2 — not a dominant line, but a clean one where it counted. Sonny Gray took the loss for Boston, going 5.0 innings and surrendering 7 hits and 2 earned runs against just 1 walk, with 5 strikeouts. Gray kept Miami from blowing the game open early, but the run support — or complete lack of it — made his effort irrelevant. Jovani Moran came out of the Boston bullpen and threw 2.0 clean innings, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 2 strikeouts, which appears to be the only real bright spot in a Boston uniform all night.
The eighth inning was the exclamation point. Lopez scored on yet another error, with Caissie reaching first on a fielding error by first baseman Sogard and then advancing to second on a separate error — three mistakes on what should have been a routine play. That made it 3-0. Sanoja then singled to center to score Ruiz and close the book at 4-0. Sanoja finished 3-for-4 with 1 RBI, the best individual line of the night. For Boston, Caleb Durbin went 2-for-4 — the only Red Sox hitter who looked remotely comfortable — but two singles mean nothing when your defense is actively working against you. The story of the night was simple: Miami let Boston beat itself, and Boston obliged at every opportunity.