After gift-wrapping a victory for the Boston Red Sox on Friday night, the visiting Miami Marlins will look to rebound when the teams play the second contest of a three-game series on Saturday.
The Marlins held Boston to three hits Friday, but the Red Sox scored a run in the ninth inning to earn a 2-1 victory.
Miami rookie Josh Simpson walked two batters and hit another with no outs in the ninth before being pulled. Calvin Faucher took over on the mound, and Trevor Story delivered a game-ending single.
“We felt like we played a really nice ballgame, but we weren’t able to come out on top,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “To lose never feels good.
“I like Josh a lot, and believe he’s going to be a key piece for us. His ability to get out (left-handed hitters) is going to be a big part of that. And also throwing strikes, especially late in the game, coming out of the ‘pen is a critical thing, and Josh knows — he’s aware of that. He just didn’t have much feel for his pitches and unfortunately had trouble finding the strike zone. …
“Still have a lot of confidence that Josh is going to be someone that will take down high-leverage outs versus (left-handed hitters) for us. Tonight was not good from a strike-throwing perspective.”
It was Miami’s sixth loss in seven games and ninth in 12 outings.
Among the few highlights for the Marlins was Xavier Edwards extending his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning double. Edwards, who scored Miami’s only run in the loss, is 20-for-46 (.435) during the streak.
Five of Miami’s nine hits on Friday were doubles.
“We collected some extra-base hits,” McCullough said. “We scattered our hits more than strung anything together. We had some balls that we hit hard that unfortunately didn’t fall our way. I felt that the offense was good tonight. It was just unfortunate that we had bad aim on some of the balls we hit well and didn’t string some hits together.”
Boston manager Alex Cora credited Lucas Giolito for pitching into the seventh and keeping his team close on a night when the Red Sox produced little offense. Cora also thanked the home fans for giving his team an edge.
“I always joke around, but we need that (fan support),” Cora said. “We need it. This is Fenway Park and it should be uncomfortable to the opposition. And I think they’re doing a good job.
“(The Marlins) were a little more aggressive than we expected early in the game, but (Giolito) was able to move the fastball. The slider was good. Gave us enough.”
Despite the win, the Red Sox remained five games behind the first-place Blue Jays in the American League East. Toronto overcame a three-run deficit to defeat Texas 6-5 on Friday.
Miami will send right-hander Cal Quantrill (4-9, 5.09 ERA) to the mound on Saturday. He is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox.
Quantrill has a 3.33 ERA over his past five starts, but he is just 1-1 in that span. In his most recent outing, he allowed one run on three hits in four innings against the Atlanta Braves during a no-decision on Sunday.
Right-hander Brayan Bello (8-6, 3.27) is listed as Boston’s probable starter. He is 1-1 with a 1.32 ERA in five career starts against the Marlins.
Bello is coming off his worst outing since May. He was tagged for five runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings during a loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
