Cincinnati Reds vs Miami Marlins

Miami struck first when Marsee launched Brady Singer's first pitch of the third inning over the right-field wall for his seventh homer of the season, giving the Marlins a 1-0 lead.

The Reds answered immediately in the bottom half. A dropped fly ball by Marlins right fielder Esteury Ruiz put Ke'Bryan Hayes on base, and Matt McLain followed with a double. After Elly De La Cruz struck out, Sal Stewart ripped a two-run single through the right side to put Cincinnati ahead 2-1. The RBI gave Stewart 91 on the season, tying him for the major league lead.

Joe Mack restored parity in the fourth, taking Singer deep to right for his 12th homer of the season.

The Reds regained the lead in the fifth with back-to-back homers off Marlins starter Ryan Gusto. Hayes led off with a solo shot to left — his fifth of the year — and McLain followed immediately with his 11th, making it 4-3 Cincinnati.

Singer departed after six innings, having allowed three earned runs on eight hits while striking out five. He threw 99 pitches.

The game turned decisively in the eighth. Reliever Tejay Antone (2-1) replaced Luis Mey and immediately ran into trouble. Joe Mack led off with a single, advanced to third on an Owen Caissie hit, and scored on Graham Pauley's sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Hernández lined a 1-2 pitch from Sam Moll into right field, scoring two runs to give Miami a 6-4 lead. Griffin Conine followed with an RBI single. Pauley added an RBI double in the ninth to cap the scoring.

Antone took the loss for Cincinnati. Tyler Zuber (2-1) earned the win for Miami after recording the final out of the seventh. Pete Fairbanks struck out the side in the ninth to close it out.

Jakob Marsee (Marlins) — 4-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 R. The first Marlins leadoff man in the Statcast era with four-plus hard-hit balls in a game (all at 103 mph or more, per MLB.com). His solo homer set the tone.

Joe Mack (Marlins) — 3-for-5, HR, RBI, 2 R. His fourth-inning solo shot tied the game and he started the decisive eighth-inning rally.

Heriberto Hernández (Marlins) — 2-for-4, 2 RBIs, BB. The go-ahead two-run single with two outs in the eighth was the game's biggest swing.

Matt McLain (Reds) — 2-for-4, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R. Extended his errorless streak to 108 games at second base, passing Brandon Phillips for the Modern Era (since 1900) franchise record for the position, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

Sal Stewart (Reds) — 1-for-4, 2 RBIs. His two-run single in the third gave him 91 RBIs for the season, tied for the MLB lead.

Miami out-hit Cincinnati 14-8, with both sides committing one error. The Marlins' bullpen was the decisive difference: four Miami relievers combined for 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six. Cincinnati's bullpen, by contrast, surrendered four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings.

Singer's 24th home run allowed this season marked a career high, a vulnerability the Marlins exploited twice. Gusto laboured through 4.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned), but his six strikeouts without a walk kept Miami in the game.

The 8-4 final was the 47th meeting in the 50-game history of this rivalry to go over 2.5 total runs (94%), and the 40th where both teams scored (80%).

The Marlins improved to 53-13 when scoring four or more runs this season, a remarkable 80.3% win rate. They had scored three or fewer in 10 of their previous 16 games, making this offensive outburst timely. Miami sits at 63-61, keeping them in the National League Wild Card conversation.

Cincinnati (59-63) remain 15 games adrift of the Brewers in the NL Central with 0.7% playoff odds per Fangraphs, with the season slipping away.

The three-game series concludes Sunday (23:40 UTC), with Miami sending RHP Eury Pérez (6-9, 3.39 ERA) against Reds LHP Nick Lodolo.