Owen Caissie and Javier Sanoja combined for six hits and five RBIs to lead the host Miami Marlins to an 8-1 defeat of the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon, earning a split of the four-game set.
In a battle of former first-round picks, Miami’s Max Meyer (1-0) allowed four hits, three walks and one run in five innings, striking out four.
Reds starter Rhett Lowder (1-1) entered the game with the best eight-game ERA (1.30) in Reds history with a minimum of 30 innings. He had never allowed more than three runs in a game.
On Thursday, he allowed eight hits and five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out a pair.
Caissie (3-for-4, three RBIs) and Sanoja (3-for-4, two RBIs) led Miami’s offense. Agustin Ramirez went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
Miami left fielder Griffin Conine was removed from the game in the sixth inning due to left knee discomfort. Conine got hurt trying to make a diving grab on Spencer Steer’s bloop double.
Reds first baseman Sal Stewart – a Miami native – was 1-for-3 with a solo homer to cap off a brilliant series where he went 5-for-14 with two homers, one double, two steals in two tries and five RBIs.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (1-for-5, 3 strikeouts) had his eight-game run-scoring streak snapped.
The Marlins, who lead the league in triples, got their fifth of the season in the first on Xavier Edwards’ drive to right-center. Miami then took a 1-0 lead when Ramirez reached on a routine chopper to third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who dropped the ball for an error as he eyed a potential throw home.
Miami extended its lead to 4-0 in the fourth. Liam Hicks walked and Otto Lopez doubled on a 113-mph liner to start the rally. The Marlins cashed in with Caissie’s two-run double and Sanoja’s RBI single.
Cincinnati got on the board in the fifth as Stewart hit his fourth homer of the season, a 409-foot bomb off of Meyer.
Sanoja added another RBI single in the sixth and Caissie did the same in the seventh, giving Miami a 6-1 lead. Ramirez added a two-run single in the eighth.
Marlins reliever Tyler Phillips pitched the final three scoreless innings for his fifth career save and his first this year.
