*Photo from Fish Stripes*
One swing of the bat is all you need sometimes. Jorge Soler homered two times, Bryan De La Cruz drove in a run, and the Miami Marlins defeated the Minnesota Twins with a 5-2 victory on Wednesday in Miami.
The Marlins have now won two games in a row following a 3 game losing streak, winning the series over the Twins. It was a pitchers duel, with all but two runs being scored with the bullpens in the game. It just happens that Soler's swing proved to be the difference.
Miami manager Skip Schumaker said after the game that "Whatever it takes to win that day, you try to do. Not everybody is easy to hit and run off of. Luckily we've got some guys in the lineup who can make you pay and do some damage, especially in the middle there."
Soler started the scoring right off the bat in the first inning, hitting a solo home run to left field, putting the Marlins ahead by a 1-0 score on his second home run of the season. The Twins were able to tie the game 1-1 in the 7th inning when Trevor Larnach hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Ryan Jeffers.
In the 8th inning, De La Cruz gave the Marlins the lead back, making it 2-1 with an RBI single that scored Jean Segura. Soler then made it a 5-1 lead when he cranked a 3 run home run to left field. The Twins were able to get one back in the 9th inning when Kyle Farmer scored on a wild pitch, but that was all they could muster.
Jesus Luzardo got the start for the Marlins, striking out 10 hitters while allowing just one run over 7 strong innings. Dylan Floro picked up the win with a scoreless 8th inning, while AJ Puk closed out the win in the 9th inning.
Schumaker said of Luzardo's performance that "It shows when he throws his ball in the strike zone, he's really difficult to hit. And I've said it all Spring Training: I just feel like he's ready to take the next step in his career, and really good start to the season for him."
Getting the start for the Twins was former Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez, traded to Minnesota in the offseason. Lopez allowed one run with 8 strikeouts over 7 innings of work. Griffin Jax was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs while recording just one out. Caleb Thielbar pitched the rest of the 8th inning, allowing two runs of his own.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said of Lopez that "Pablo López, putting us in that spot really is the highlight of the day for us. It’s tough to have a highlight when you lose, but he threw the ball really well. It was great to see him go out and do that again for us, pitching seven really strong innings."
Up next, the Marlins host the New York Mets on Friday afternoon, with no announced starter for the Marlins. Sonny Gray will start for the Twins on Friday when they take on the Houston Astros.
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