MIAMI -- Jakob Marsee was certain the baseball that caromed off the right-field wall was going to be gone when he smashed it in the bottom of the 10th inning Tuesday night.
“Yeah. It doesn’t matter,” he said, grinning, then added with a laugh, “I didn’t need to run.”
By the time Marsee stopped a few feet shy of second base for what officially registered as a 369-foot single, Xavier Edwards had already bounded home easily from third, lifting the Marlins to a 6-5, 10-inning win over the Mariners at loanDepot Park.
The hottest team in Major League Baseball since June 1 (24–8) started a six-game homestand by finding a way to win yet again -- this time in unusual fashion, blowing a 4-0 lead, falling behind in the eighth, and still prevailing.
“You have a chance at home to cash one in and we were able to do it,” said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. “These guys, no matter what, they don’t stop fighting and you can see the amount of confidence and belief they have in each other now.”
That includes Marsee, who has struggled at the plate all season. He started Tuesday’s game hitting .192 with 22 RBIs and five home runs.
“It’s been tough -- this game is really frustrating,” Marsee said. “You feel like you do a lot of things right and things don’t go your way. But when you have a great group, it makes it fun to come to the yard every day. They’ve really had my back the whole time, and we’ve been winning. That’s all I care about. I’m glad we’ve been winning games throughout the process. I’m glad I could help out tonight.”
Tuesday against the Mariners, playing on a knee he injured Sunday against the A’s, the center fielder was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He scored Griffin Conine with a single in the third inning and then delivered the walk-off against right-hander Michael Rucker.
“I just got a good pitch and did something with it,” said Marsee, who notched his first career walk-off hit and RBI.
“So good for Marsee,” McCullough said. “We all know how much he’s been grinding this year offensively, and to come through there in that spot … I know that had to feel good for him. And certainly our team. We talk a lot about how much Marsee does within the game, and for him to come through offensively there, I couldn’t be prouder of how he keeps hanging in there.”
The Marlins, meanwhile, continue to remain in the mix for a playoff spot.
They are in sole possession of the final National League Wild Card spot, one game back of the Phillies for the second spot and 1 1/2 games behind the Cubs for the top spot. They are also just three games back of the first-place Braves in the NL East.
They needed Heriberto Hernández’s tying home run in the eighth to set up Marsee's walk-off, after the Mariners scored two runs in the fifth and three more in the top of the inning.
Marlins starter Max Meyer, coming off his first loss after opening the season 9-0, pitched five-plus innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four and walking two. He threw 80 pitches.
Before the game, MLB announced that Meyer, named a first-time All-Star on Saturday, will not pitch in next Tuesday's All-Star Game. The Marlins noted it’s because Meyer will start Sunday against the Guardians in the team’s final game before the break. Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo was named Meyer’s replacement.