For three and a half innings, Miami looked like the better team. Then the sixth inning happened. Colorado sent 10 men to the plate, scored seven runs, and turned a one-run lead into a 12-4 advantage that made the final score of 14-4 feel inevitable. The Rockies had trailed as late as the fourth inning. They never trailed again.
Jake McCarthy was the catalyst. After Miami took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth, McCarthy homered to right — 429 feet — with Edouard Julien aboard, giving Colorado a 5-4 lead it would not relinquish. He finished 2-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs scored, and 4 RBI. On the season, he is hitting .293 with 7 home runs and 41 RBI. Mickey Moniak added a 3-for-5 night with a home run and 2 RBI, while Troy Johnston went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and TJ Rumfield contributed 2 hits and an RBI out of the four spot in the order.
The sixth inning was the story. McCarthy singled to left, scoring Carrigg and Sullivan to push the lead to 7-4. Moniak then singled to right, scoring Julien. Rumfield singled to center, scoring McCarthy. Johnston singled to right, scoring Moniak and Rumfield. Carrigg capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Castro. Seven runs, a parade of singles, and a Miami bullpen that had no answers. Colorado added two more in the eighth on a Carrigg sacrifice fly and a Sullivan single that scored Johnston, closing the books at 14-4.
Miami starter John King lasted just 2.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 1 hit with 1 walk and 1 strikeout before departing with a 6-2 record. His ERA: 2.31. The Marlins had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a fielder's choice that scored Hicks and a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie that scored Otto Lopez. They added single runs in the third and fourth to stay ahead, but the Colorado lineup wore down the Miami pitching staff once the sixth arrived. Lopez went 3-for-5 for Miami in a losing effort.
Brennan Bernardino earned the win for Colorado, improving to 3-3 with a 3.34 ERA. The Rockies, despite the lopsided final, fell to 33-53 and have lost three straight. Miami, which had won two in a row entering the game, saw that streak end; the Marlins stand at 46-40.