Xavier Edwards hit three triples and Jonah Bride homered twice as the Miami Marlins crushed the Toronto Blue Jays 15-5 on Friday at Rogers Centre.
The Marlins (60-100) broke through early, plating three runs in the first inning off Jays’ starter Jose Berríos. Miami built some heavy momentum and never slowed down, recording 17 hits.
Edwards emerged as the Marlins’ hero in this contest, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Bride hit two homers, his 10th and 11th of the season, and drove in three RBIs to secure Miami’s untouchable lead.
The Blue Jays (74-86) came up short in their 12-hit effort, which included Ernie Clement’s solo homer in the fourth inning, his 12th of the season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added two singles and an RBI, bringing him one hit shy of 200 on the season, while Alejandro Kirk extended his hitting streak to 18 games.
Berríos (16-11) took the loss, allowing six earned runs on six hits in just three innings of work, marking his shortest start of the season. The right-hander also struck out four batters and yielded three walks.
The Marlins quickly extended their lead in the second inning as Otto Lopez singled, Kyle Stowers walked, and Nick Fortes advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Edwards capped off the Marlins rally with a two-run triple off Berríos.
The Blue Jays responded against Marlins starter Adam Oller (2-4) in the bottom of the third, as Nathan Lukes doubled off the right-field wall, scoring Leo Jiménez from second. Spencer Horwitz singled up the middle, driving in George Springer and Lukes two batters later.
Oller earned the win for the Marlins, pitching five innings and allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out three.
The Marlins poured it on with five runs in the seventh inning. Griffin Conine homered, Edwards picked up his third triple of the night, and Jake Burger, after driving in a run earlier, doubled for his team-leading 76th RBI of the season.
The Rogers Centre roof opened an hour before first pitch, revealing cloudy skies. Announced attendance was 31,597, and the game lasted three hours, seven minutes.
MARLINS MAKE A MOVE
Before the game, Miami placed reliever Declan Cronin (3-4) on the 15-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis and activated right-hander Mike Baumann (3-1) from the paternity list.
ROTATION SHUFFLE
Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (10-14) will not pitch in Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins, manager John Schneider announced Friday. With the Jays eliminated from playoff contention, Schneider said he prefers to rest Bassitt and let other pitchers see some action.
UP COMING
The Blue Jays send right-hander Yariel Rodríguez (1-7) to the hill for the second leg of this three-game series on Saturday. The Marlins have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.