Adley Rutschman hit a two-out, pinch-hit single to drive in the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning and the Baltimore Orioles held on to beat the host Miami Marlins 9-7 to end a four-game losing streak in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night.
Samuel Basallo went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Pete Alonso doubled in two separate Baltimore rallies. Through the fifth inning, Basallo already had a single, double and triple, but he was replaced in the ninth by Rutschman. Leody Taveras followed Rutschman with an RBI single.
Liam Hicks went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for the Marlins, who’ve lost four of their last five games. Miami’s Otto Lopez also homered.
Basallo, a catcher, had a throwing error in the bottom of the eighth that allowed the tying run to score.
Baltimore’s Rico Garcia (3-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Miami’s Andrew Nardi (2-2) allowed both runs in the ninth.
Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara was pulled after 4 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits and three walks with five strikeouts. He had worked at least five innings in his previous seven starts this season.
Orioles starter Chris Bassitt lasted four innings, charged with four runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Still, Baltimore won its fifth consecutive game in which Bassitt started.
Before the game’s second out, Alonso roped a two-run double and Basallo followed with a run-scoring double.
Xavier Edwards led off the bottom of the first with a single and later scored on a Bassitt wild pitch. Hicks hit a two-out, two-run single in the second to pull Miami even at 3-all.
The Orioles went back on top in the third on Basallo’s two-run single that came after Alonso’s second double of the game.
Marlins catcher Joe Mack’s first major-league hit was an RBI single in the third in his second career game.
Basallo tripled in a run in the fifth and later scored on Colton Cowser’s fielder’s choice grounder to put Baltimore ahead 7-4.
Hicks homered in the seventh for his eighth long ball of the season and Lopez made it back-to-back to cut the deficit to 7-6. Both blasts were surrendered by Anthony Nunez.
