Down to their last strike, the host Miami Marlins rallied for a 7-4 walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon as Jake Burger slugged a three-run homer against his former team.
With two outs in the ninth, and the Marlins trailing 4-3, first baseman Josh Bell — mired in a 0-for-23 slump — drove an RBI double just over the glove of leaping left fielder Tommy Pham. After an intentional walk to Jesus Sanchez, Burger connected on a 99-mph fastball from closer Michael Kopech, who blew the save.
Marlins left fielder Nick Gordon made two diving catches, including an odd one in the sixth inning because the ball nearly went completely through the webbing of his glove. The ball, while in the glove yet protruding through to the other side, hit the grass, and the White Sox challenged the catch ruling but were denied.
Early in the game, defense took center stage. Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. robbed Andrew Vaughn of extra bases in the first inning. Vaughn’s blast traveled 398 feet to left-center field. But Chisholm raced back and made a leaping, backhand stab, simultaneously colliding with the wall at full speed.
The White Sox finally broke a scoreless tie in the fourth. Lenyn Sosa singled, and Danny Mendick homered off a 2-2 slider from Edward Cabrera to give Chicago a 2-0 lead.
Previously, with runners on the corners and two outs in the second inning, Mendick tried a bunt but popped out. This time, he swung away, and his dinger traveled 401 feet to center.
Miami got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Dane Myers drew a walk and scored from second when Vidal Brujan pulled a double to right.
The White Sox stretched their lead to 4-1 with two runs in the sixth. Mendick started the rally with a single, and he scored on Korey Lee’s triple to the right field corner. Vaughn capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to left.
Miami cut its deficit to 4-3 with a pair of runs in the seventh. Brujan drew a leadoff walk and scored on Nick Fortes’ double to left. Fortes then scored on Bell’s groundout.
–Field Level Media
