Jon Berti broke a scoreless tie with an eighth-inning single, Braxton Garrett combined with three relievers on a three-hit shutout and the Miami Marlins squared their three-game series with the host San Francisco Giants at a game apiece with a 1-0 victory Saturday afternoon.
The outcome was decided by the bullpens after Garrett and Giants ace Logan Webb matched zeroes into the seventh inning. Neither got a decision.
The game’s only run was unearned as the result of a fielding error by Giants third baseman J.D. Davis to open the eighth. It allowed Garrett Hampson to reach base, from where he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Xavier Edwards.
Berti then lashed his hit off Tyler Rogers (0-4) into right field, and when Hampson beat the throw to the plate, the Marlins took a major step toward the fifth win in their last six games.
Seeking a fifth straight victory, the Giants threatened in the eighth when, with two outs, Patrick Bailey singled and Bryce Johnson bunted for a hit. The single was Bailey’s first major league hit.
But Dylan Floro came on to get Thairo Estrada to ground out to third, ending the threat.
Floro stayed on to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts for his fifth save, the first this season in which he’s gotten more than three outs.
JT Chargois (1-0), who retired both batters he faced in the seventh inning, was credited with the win. Tanner Scott also got two outs in the eighth as part of the shutout tag team.
Garrett allowed a single to Estrada, the Giants’ first batter of the game, but no others in 6 1/3 innings, during which he walked one and struck out eight. The shutout was just the Marlins’ second of the season.
When Estrada stole second with two outs in the first, he became the Giants’ only baserunner to reach scoring position until the eighth.
Webb was nearly as good, limiting the Marlins to four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
The game featured a total of just eight hits, none for extra bases. The Marlins outhit the Giants 5-3.
The shutout loss was San Francisco’s fifth of the season, its first since April 27.
–Field Level Media
