Kyle Stowers and Heriberto Hernandez each had two hits and two RBIs, Javier Sanoja homered among his three hits and the Miami Marlins rallied from an early hole to defeat the host Kansas City Royals 9-6 on Wednesday night.
Griffin Conine added two hits with an RBI and made a pair of stellar outfield catches and Jakob Marsee followed Sanoja’s ninth-inning homer with one of his own for the Marlins (71-69), who scored the final six runs and have won the first two of this three-game set.
Carter Jensen hit a pair of solo homers and Salvador Perez had a two-run shot for the Royals (62-78), who have dropped three straight following a 12-1 stretch.
Miami wasted no time getting to Kansas City’s Noah Cameron, who opened the game by hitting Hernandez. Otto Lopez followed with a triple, and Stowers then singled him home for a 2-0 lead.
However, Kansas City answered in the bottom of the first by taking a 4-2 lead four batters into the frame. Jensen sent a Eury Perez pitch over the right field fence. Bobby Witt Jr. singled and scored on Jac Caglianone’s double. Perez followed by clearing the left field wall. Michael Massey’s double to score Nick Loftin, who walked, capped the five-run inning.
Miami got a run back in the third with Stowers’ two-out homer over the left-center field wall. However, in the fourth, Jensen sent another Perez pitch over the right field fence for a 6-3 advantage.
The Marlins got a run in the fifth via Hernandez’s RBI ground-rule double.
Cameron allowed four runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking one over five innings. Meanwhile, Perez surrendered six runs, nine hits and three walks over 4 2/3 frames for the Marlins.
Miami got to Kansas City right-hander Jose Cuas (0-1) for three runs (two earned) in the sixth. Sanoja singled and Marsee walked. Conine then laced a pinch-hit RBI single and Jared Serna tied things via a sacrifice fly.
Hernandez followed with his second double, this one to center against Royals left-hander Connor Thomas, to score Conine for a 7-6 Marlins lead.
With a man on third in the sixth, Conine made an inning-ending diving catch on Vinnie Pasquantino’s liner. An inning later, Conine made a leaping grab at the wall on Massey’s deep fly ball.
Miami’s Cade Gibson (3-1) pitched a third of an inning for the win.