The Marlins used the long ball to pull even in the ninth inning, but they were unable to convert playing small ball in the new formatted extras.

After Miami came up empty with a man starting out on second base in the 10th, Stephen Tarpley allowed Travis Shaw’s one-out walk-off single to hand the Marlins a 5-4 loss in the first regular-season game at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y.

• Box score

The Marlins have now dropped three straight, and on Wednesday they close out what will be 23 days on the road before opening a weekend series on Friday against the Braves at Marlins Park.

The frustrating defeat came after the Marlins (7-4) rallied with two outs in the ninth inning to tie it on Francisco Cervelli's three-run homer off Anthony Bass. The blast traveled a projected 377 feet, with a 96.5 mph exit velocity, according to Statcast.

• Marlins-Jays litmus test for building process

Until that momentum-swinging shot, which came on a 3-0 pitch, Miami’s lone run was Brian Anderson's solo homer in the second inning off Hyun Jin Ryu.

“The home run, I saw the ball and I hit the ball. That's it,” Cervelli said. “I saw the situation and I looked at who was behind me [Lewis Brinson], and I said, 'I've got to swing here.' That was my plan.”

Playing extra innings for the first time this season, the Marlins started with Brinson at second base in the 10th inning, and they experienced brief elation when Logan Forsythe lifted a towering drive down the left-field line. Initially, it was ruled a two-run homer, with Statcast estimating the drive at 376 feet with a 102.1 mph exit velocity. But a crew review overturned the call and called it a foul ball, and Forsythe struck out on the next pitch.

“Obviously, Cervy's homer is big,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “It gives us an opportunity. For a brief second there, it looks like Logan's got a homer. Then, we just weren't able to make a pitch there in that last inning.”

After the Marlins were unable to score in the 10th, the Blue Jays started with Anthony Alford on second. He was bunted to third by Danny Jansen. Cavan Biggio walked, and the Marlins weren’t happy about a missed strike call that made the count 3-1.

“You felt the call to Biggio, we get the guy up there we want,” Mattingly said. “But you can't complain. Just live with it.”

Two batters later with the bases loaded, Shaw’s single to right ended it.

Cervelli is not a fan of the extra-innings format, which was adopted to avoid lengthy games in a shortened 60-game season.

“This is not softball,” Cervelli said. “This is not the Olympic Games. This is baseball. But this is what it is. I've got to adapt to this. I believe if we're the home team, and we have success, we're going to be happy.”