ST. PETERSBURG – A disappointing road trip needed a jolt. Miami’s floundering lineup got just that in historic fashion.
The Marlins set a franchise record with eight runs in the 10th inning of a 10-5 win over the Rays to even the Citrus Series on Saturday at Tropicana Field.
For some perspective, Miami scored just 12 total runs through the first four games.
“To win, and to go on a run, we're going to need contributions up and down,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “We certainly have the people capable of that, and a ton of belief in them.”
Here are some of the top storylines from the victory, which snapped Tampa Bay’s 11-game home winning streak:
Liam Hicks stays clutch
With the bases loaded in the 10th, Tampa Bay drew the shifted infield in, but Hicks still found a hole through the right side for a two-run single to retake sole possession of the Major League RBI lead (40).
Javier Sanoja snaps a slump
During a two-out rally in the ninth, Jakob Marsee sliced a single to left and Sanoja followed by lining righty Bryan Baker’s first-pitch changeup to the left-center gap to score Marsee for the then-go-ahead run.
Sanoja later produced a three-run double in the 10th, which was the club’s biggest inning since September 2023. Entering the ninth-inning at-bat, Sanoja had been 3-for-36 with just one extra-base hit and one RBI since April 24.
“Like you mentioned, May has not been my best month,” Sanoja said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “I've been hitting the ball like right in the face and it goes directly to players and it's out, and that's baseball. I do appreciate the manager and my teammates, who are lifting my spirit every day. That's what we do in trying to compete out there and do our best.”
Marsee might be turning a corner
Marsee collected back-to-back three-hit performances Friday and Saturday, bumping his average from .176 to .204.
Pete Fairbanks is still trying to find his groove
The game went to extras after longtime Rays reliever Fairbanks gave up the game-tying run on former Marlin Nick Fortes’ two-out RBI single off Sanoja’s glove.
Fairbanks’ return to Tropicana Field was his first appearance since being reinstated from the injured list (nerve irritation) on Wednesday, and his 11th overall. He has been scored upon in five of those outings.
“It's been hard to put together, because it's just been so kind of uneven with just the time, and being away,” McCullough said. “And even this one, it had been a stretch since he had been out in a game. But I thought his stuff was great. The velocity was terrific. … I think Pete's going to be fine, and now just get him some regular work, and he can get into a good rhythm.”
Sandy Alcantara is ol’ reliable
Alcantara allowed one unearned run over six innings for his seventh quality start of the season. In a key sequence, he didn’t let consecutive errors and an infield hit get to him in the fifth, stranding the bases loaded to keep it a one-run ballgame.
Joe Mack is a difference-maker behind the dish
One game after throwing out one of the fastest players in the Majors, Mack’s arm once again played a role.
With runners at the corners with one out in the sixth, Mack caught a called third strike, faked a throw to second and instead fired to third with the lead runner straying too far off the bag. It wound up as an unconventional inning-ending double play.
“We trust Mack,” Alcantara said. “He's a great catcher behind the plate. I don't know how he does that, but I think I threw my best four-seam down in the middle, and he executed the play at third base.”
Heriberto Hernández is finding his stroke
The Marlins were held scoreless by righty Nick Martinez through six innings. Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the seventh, the right-handed-hitting Hernández pinch-hit for the left-handed-hitting Owen Caissie to face southpaw Garrett Cleavinger.
Following a mound visit, Hernández ambushed the first-pitch slider for a game-tying solo shot to left-center.
Hernández’s first long ball of the season was also the club’s first pinch-hit homer in 2026. Production from the “supporting” cast, particularly off the bench, needs to be more frequent for Miami’s offense to live up to its potential.
“The goal is very simple: Just got to win, try to win as many games as you can every day, and we're going to continue to prepare ourselves to be ready every time,” Hernández said via Dorante. “Even though sometimes you won't have the same results, we'll be ready.”