Soler’s Home Run Secures Series-Opening Win for Marlins

Jorge Soler’s fifth home run of the season couldn’t have come at a better time for the Miami Marlins.

His two-run shot to center field gave the Marlins their first lead of the game and was the catalyst for their series-opening 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants at loanDepot Park.

Giants starter Logan Webb (0-4) allowed the homer. He allowed eight hits in four innings and also struck out six batters. The newly-extended Webb was supposed to pitch on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, but a five-hour long weather delay postponed the game, pushing back Webb’s mound date another day.

“He’s a good pitcher. You saw that by the extension he just signed,” Miami first base coach Jon Jay said. “He throws a lot of strikes. He controls the strike zone.”

The Giants showed patience and control at the plate against Miami starter Jesús Luzardo. The left-handed pitcher threw 100 pitches and struck out six batters in 4.1 innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. 

Luzardo was relieved in the fifth by left-hander Andrew Nardi, who forced a 6-4-3 double play in the first batter he faced. Reliever Matt Barnes (1-0) was awarded the win after pitching a scoreless seventh frame.

Second-year right fielder Heliot Ramos drove in San Francisco’s first run of the night and the first RBI of his career in the second on a double to deep left field. 

David Villar extended the Giants’ lead in the third. The second baseman’s two-out double sent both Wilmer Flores, who had a game-high three hits, and Darin Ruf home and gave San Francisco the early 3-0 lead.

Outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. generated the Marlins’ first run of the game in the third, striking a single to center field that drove in Jesús Sánchez. Chisholm followed this two-out RBI with a steal of second, his fourth of the season. 

The former infielder again reached base in the sixth on a line-drive single to center field. He was sent home following a single to right field by Luis Arráez, which cut the Marlins’ deficit to just a run.

Chisholm has struggled to find consistency at the plate so far this season, batting only .218 entering the game, but his series-opening success provides an opportunity for Chisholm to turn his season around.

“He’s got a good attitude,” Jay said. “For me, it’s all about the process, not the results. The process is there. He’s doing everything he can do, and the results will come.”

For Arráez, this marked his seventh RBI of what has been a dominant season so far from the second baseman. Arráez leads the MLB with a .463 batting average and became the first Marlin ever to hit for the cycle on April 11 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Luis is the type of guy who’s prepared. If you watch him behind the scenes and everything he does, he’s prepared to go out there and play baseball,” Jay said. “It’s been fun to watch him play. He brings a lot of energy, which I think is really good for this team.”

Miami improved to 122-100 all-time against San Francisco. The two clubs have a storied past against each other, with the Marlins defeating the Giants in both the 1997 and 2003 NL Division Series.

The Marlins (9-8) have now won five out of their last six games.

“I think something we preached in the beginning was taking it one day at a time and they’ve done a really good job at that,” Jay said regarding Miami’s recent wins.

The Marlins will look to clinch their third straight series on Tuesday, while the Giants (5-10) will look to end their four-game skid. San Francisco’s Alex Wood and Miami’s Edward Cabrera are set to start on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.