Marlins Power Past White Sox, Win Fourth Straight
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Interstat) — The Miami Marlins capitalized on a pivotal fourth-inning rally and a lockdown performance from their bullpen to defeat the Chicago White Sox 9-2 on Tuesday night at loanDepot Park, securing their fourth win in five games to start the season.
A crowd of 6,667 watched as the Marlins erased an early two-run deficit with a four-run fourth inning, then pulled away late behind Griffin Conine’s two-run homer in the eighth. The victory improved Miami’s record to 4-1, while the White Sox fell to 1-4.
The most important sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the fourth inning, turning the contest decisively in Miami’s favor. Trailing 2-0, the Marlins’ offense ignited against Chicago starter Erick Fedde. Xavier Edwards led off with a single and Agustín Ramírez followed with a double, putting runners on second and third. Liam Hicks then delivered a two-run double to right field, tying the game. After a strikeout, Owen Caissie singled home Hicks to give Miami the lead. The inning was compounded by two throwing errors from White Sox center fielder Luisangel Acuña, the second of which allowed Heriberto Hernández’s subsequent single to plate Caissie, capping the four-run outburst and shifting all momentum to the home side.
Marlins starter Janson Junk, named the game’s top star, navigated 4 1/3 innings to earn the win. He allowed two runs on five hits, both coming in the third inning, and struck out five. The White Sox had taken their brief lead in that frame on an RBI single from Munetaka Murakami that scored Edgar Quero, followed by a run-scoring single from Andrew Benintendi that brought in Luisangel Acuña.
From there, Miami’s relievers dominated. Anthony Bender, credited with the official victory, worked 1 2/3 perfect innings. He was followed by Calvin Faucher, Andrew Nardi, and Pete Fairbanks, who combined for three hitless innings. Fairbanks struck out the side in the ninth. The Marlins’ bullpen quartet retired the final 14 White Sox batters in order, recording eight strikeouts.
Chicago’s offense, which managed just five hits, was silenced after the third. Fedde took the loss, surrendering three earned runs on six hits over five innings of work.
Miami added insurance runs with two in the seventh, one scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jakob Marsee after a Chicago error, and another on a sacrifice bunt that led to a throwing error by catcher Edgar Quero. They put the game out of reach in the eighth. After a sacrifice fly by Caissie made it 7-2, Conine launched his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right-center off reliever Bryan Hudson.
The game’s outcome aligned with pregame projections from Interstat, which gave Miami a 63.1% probability to win and projected a 7-2 final score. The combined 11 runs went under the betting over/under line of 8.5.
The win gave Miami immediate redemption after a 9-4 loss to the White Sox just one day prior. The two teams will conclude their three-game series on Wednesday. Chicago will then return home to face the Toronto Blue Jays, while Miami embarks on a road trip starting with a series against the New York Yankees.