Griffin Conine, Liam Hicks and Owen Caissie drove in two runs apiece as the host Marlins defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-2 on Tuesday night.
After Janson Junk’s 4 1/3-inning start, four relievers — Andrew Nardi, Anthony Bender (1-0), Calvin Faucher and Pete Fairbanks — combined to deal eight strikeouts and hold Miami hitless over the final 4 2/3 frames.
Erick Fedde (0-1) took the loss, allowing six hits, one walk and four runs (three earned) in five innings.
The White Sox, who are coming off three straight 100-loss seasons, made three errors, all on throws to the plate. Two of the miscues were charged to center fielder Luisangel Acuna.
Chicago opened the scoring in the third with four singles and two runs. Munetaka Murakami and Andrew Benintendi provided the RBIs.
Miami didn’t get its first hit until Xavier Edwards’ infield chopper to lead off the fourth. Agustin Ramirez followed with a double on a 105-mph liner that could’ve been caught by Acuna or right fielder Tristan Peters. But when both players pulled up to avoid a collision, the ball fell in play off the tip of Peters’ glove.
That led to a four-run inning as Hicks grounded a two-run double down the first base line, and Caissie and Heriberto Hernandez added RBI singles.
Chicago kept Miami off the board in the fifth thanks to a pair of fielding gems. First, left fielder Austin Hays made a diving catch, robbing Jakob Marsee of a single. Then, Acuna threw out Edwards trying to stretch a single to a double.
Miami added two more runs in the seventh on a rally started by Hernandez’s walk and a Conine single. Then, with Graham Pauley up, the Marlins executed a safety squeeze. Pauley bunted to the right of pitcher Bryan Hudson, and his throw home deflected off the glove of catcher Edgar Quero, who was assessed a fielding error.
Marsee followed with a sacrifice fly.
The Marlins made it 9-2 in the eighth on Caissie’s sacrifice fly and a two-run homer by Conine.
–Field Level Media
