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Esteury Ruiz’s hustle enabled the visiting Miami Marlins to score the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, leading to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
The defeat meant the Cubs once again failed to clinch a playoff spot. Chicago (87-71) and the Philadelphia Phillies (87-71) dropped one game behind the San Diego Padres (88-70) in the race for the top National League wild card. The Arizona Diamondbacks (84-74) are three games back of the Cubs and Phillies with four games to play.
One night after going 0-for-6 with four strikeouts in the Marlins’ 8-2, 12-inning victory in Chicago, Ruiz got a pinch-hit single off Ryan Rolison with one out to put runners at the corners. Joe Mack followed with a slow-hopper to second baseman Nico Hoerner, who threw to shortstop Dansby Swanson to try to get Ruiz, and Swanson threw to Michael Busch to get Mack at first.
Initially, second base umpire Edwin Moscoso ruled that Hoerner’s toss beat Ruiz, but Miami challenged the double play. Replay showed Ruiz was safe, allowing Agustin Ramirez’s run to count and giving the Marlins the one-run lead on Mack’s RBI groundout.
Cade Gibson (6-2) protected the lead and struck out two, pitching a perfect seventh to earn his fourth win this month.
Sandy Alcantara, the Marlins’ ace, allowed a leadoff hit to Pedro Ramirez in the ninth but got Swanson to fly out and pinch hitter Carson Kelly to ground into a double play, earning his second save in a week.
Much like Tuesday contest, the two teams squared off in a pitchers’ duel as Miami’s Ryan Gusto and Chicago’s Kevin Gausman had shutouts through five innings. Gausman, though, gave up a two-run home run to Kyle Stowers, his second longball in as many nights, in the sixth.
The Cubs countered in their half. Busch (2-for-4) led off the inning with a single off Gusto, and one out later, Ian Happ’s double to the right-center gap put both runners in scoring position. Michael Petersen came in and hit Hoerner to load the bases.
After Ramirez struck out, Swanson’s broken-bat hit went through the infield to tie the game. Before that, the Cubs were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and they finished 1-for-8.
Griffin Conine and Javier Sanoja both went 2-for-4 for Miami, which got 10 hits.
Gausman allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings, exiting after hurting his left shoulder while diving to make a tag at third base.
–Field Level Media
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