Marlins break up no-hitter in seventh, rally to force extras, still get swept by Red Sox

Oh the range of emotions the Miami Marlins experienced on Thursday.

The Marlins went from being no-hit by the Boston Red Sox into the seventh inning... to tying the game with two outs in the eighth ... to nearly recording their MLB-leading ninth walk-off win of the season in the ninth ... to tying the game with a monstrous home run from Jesus Sanchez in the 11th ... to losing 6-5 in 12 innings and getting swept by the Red Sox at loanDepot park.

A David Hamilton RBI groundout in the 12th scored Romy Gonzalez, Boston’s automatic runner at second base to begin the inning who had moved to third base on a Ceddanne Rafaela single, to give the Red Sox (47-39) the lead for good. Tyler O’Neill added an RBI double to the gap in left-center field.

The Marlins cut the deficit back to one run on a Jonah Bride sacrifice fly but got no closer.

“Fun baseball game,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Just unfortunately we couldn’t come away with the win.”

Here are three takeaways from the game and the series.

Jesus Sanchez steps up

Sanchez was involved in just about every big moment for the Marlins on Thursday even as their final rally attempt fell short.

It was Sanchez who broke up Boston starter Nick Pivetta’s no-hit bid with a two-out triple off the wall in left-center field in the seventh inning. Miami then broke up the shutout and tied the game when Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz hit a pair of back-to-back two-out RBI singles in the eighth against Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino, who inherited runners on the corners from Justin Slater after Vidal Brujan and pinch-hitter Nick Gordon drew one-out walks and Brujan reached third on a wild pitch.

It was Sanchez led off the ninth inning with a double against Boston closer Kenley Jensen and tried to make it home on an Xavier Edwards single up the middle but was thrown out at home. Schumaker challenged for blocking the plate but the call stood.

“I cannot tell you 100 percent if I was going to be able to make it exactly there, but I can tell you he was blocking the plate,” Sanchez said postgame. “If he was not blocking the plate there, I could have had more possibility to make it and score.”

And then after Boston scored twice in the 11th, it was Sanchez who tied the game with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning to keep Miami’s hopes alive if only for another inning.

Thursday was Sanchez’s fourth three-hit game of the season and second game with three extra-base hits (also May 31 against the Texas Rangers).

Over his past 25 starts, dating back to May 29, Sanchez is hitting .280 (28 for 100) with eight doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 15 RBI and 13 runs scored.

“Sanchez was outstanding,” Schumaker said. “He hit the ball really hard. He’s been hitting the ball hard. The last month, it’s been really good. Maybe the overall numbers don’t show what he’s been doing lately, but it’s been really good.”

A mixed bag for Edwards at shortstop

Xavier Edwards may not have the most flashy stat-line on first impression. The 25-year-old shortstop is hitting just .227 with just one extra-base-hit in a small sample size in the big-leagues this season and had some questionable defensive plays — most notably a throw home in the 11th inning where there wasn’t a guarantee that the out would be recorded.

After the Marlins designated Tim Anderson for assignment on Tuesday, Schumaker said Edwards would be given an extended look at shortstop to see how much value he could bring to the team long-term.

There are some tools there, but there are also expected growing pains.

In just five games this season entering Thursday, Edwards’ outs above average and defensive runs saved are minus-2 and minus-3 respectively, indicating he has cost his team outs and runs compared to the average defender at his position. However, the South Florida product displayed his range several times at shortstop throughout the series, getting to balls that other shortstops prospects typically wouldn’t.

However, Edwards’ lack of arm strength often held him back from finishing some spectacular plays. There were several plays where the five-foot-ten shortstop was able to get a glove on the ball, but couldn’t get the runner out due to a slow throw. On Wednesday, there was an instance where Edwards lost his footing and bobbled a ground ball, allowing two runners to score.

But with more experience, Edwards will likely minimize the number of fielding errors he makes.

On the offensive side, Edwards will likely never be a big power hitter. But he does possess the tools to be a good contact hitter with speed. The 5-10 shortstop tallied a hit in every game this series, including the near walk-off hit in the ninth inning on Thursday when Sanchez was thrown out at home.

Hitting woes continue into July

After trading second baseman Luis Arraez in May, the Marlins have nobody left on the roster that can get on-base consistently. The team ranks last in MLB in home runs (69), walks (177) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.630). Opportunities to break open games and go on long offensive rallies are few and far between.

But even when the Marlins got those chances against the Red Sox, they failed to capitalize. The batting order’s lack of consistent contact hitters reared its ugly head throughout the series. Miami went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position during the first two games against the Red Sox before going 5 for 14 on Thursday.