Fraley homers again as Reds beat Alcantara and Marlins 6-5

MIAMI -- — Jake Fraley hit his third homer in two days as the Cincinnati Reds beat Sandy Alcantara and the Miami Marlins 6-5 on Saturday.

Henry Ramos had two hits, including a go-ahead RBI double off Alcantara in the eighth. Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited with a right foot contusion after he collided with the wall attempting to catch Ramos’ drive.

Alcantara (1-4) squandered two leads and his ERA increased to 4.91. The NL Cy Young Award winner issued a leadoff walk to Jonathan India in the eighth. India then stole second before Fraley’s run-scoring single tied it at 4-all.

“It’s the type of atmosphere that we’ve created as a team,” Fraley said. “We all trust each other.”

Matt Barnes relieved Alcantara and allowed Stuart Fairchild’s RBI single. Alcantara gave up six runs, seven hits, struck out nine and walked two in 7 2/3 innings.

“I just want to be able to compete,” Alcantara said. “I didn’t have my best stuff today and they took advantage.”

Peyton Berdick’s RBI single and Chisholm’s solo shot off reliever Ian Gibaut (3-0) in the seventh gave the Marlins a 4-3 lead.

Alexis Díaz relieved Casey Legumina with one out in the eighth after Legumina sustained a right ankle contusion when he was struck on a comebacker by Yuli Gurriel.

The Marlins rallied against Díaz in the ninth. Jorge Soler walked with one out and scored on Luis Arraez’s double. After Bryan De La Cruz walked, Díaz retired Burdick on a pop out and walked Jean Segura to load the bases. Gurriel struck out, earning Díaz his ninth save.

Reds manager David Bell had reliever Alex Young warming up before Díaz faced Gurriel. Bell visited Díaz and remained with the closer although his pitch count was approaching 40.

“I got into trouble in the ninth but I told the manager I’m going to finish this,” Díaz said. “He trusted me with the opportunity and I did it.”

The loss ended Miami’s season-starting string of victories by one run at 12.

Fraley put the Reds ahead 3-1 with his three-run shot against Alcantara in the fifth. He drove Alcantara’s 0-1 pitch inside the right-field foul pole for his fifth homer.

De La Cruz hit a solo shot in the bottom half to reduce Cincinnati’s lead.

The Marlins struck first on Gurriel’s RBI single in the fourth.

Derek Law opened and got the first four outs in the emergency bullpen game for the Reds. Original starter Nick Lodolo was scratched late Friday because of left calf soreness. Lodolo returned to Cincinnati on Saturday for additional tests.

Cincinnati used seven relievers two-days after another bullpen outing in a 5-0 win over the New York Mets.

“Thankfully, we know how to recover and grind through a long season and we’ll figure that out,” Bell said. “I think it’s a very good exhaustion. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment.”

Marlins right fielder Jesús Sánchez exited after his diving catch of Tyler Stephenson’s line drive to end the first. Sánchez, who didn’t start Friday because of right hamstring soreness, limped noticeably as he headed to the dugout.

“It’s just pretty unfortunate,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “You ask him right now and he feels OK. It’s a tough one to figure out exactly what it is. We’ll probably take (an MRI) of it and see what it looks like.”

FORGETTING A PAINFUL MOMENT

For Díaz, the escape act in the ninth helped erase the forgetful image he witnessed on the same mound two months ago. Díaz and his brother, New York Mets’ star closer Edwin Díaz, were members of Puerto Rico’s national team in the World Baseball Classic. Edwin Díaz sustained a season-ending knee injury while celebrating the team’s victory over the Dominican Republic.

“I didn’t want what happened to my brother to affect me,” Díaz said. “I just focused on the moment because that already happened. I had the baseball classic in my mind but I knew I was going to go out there and get the job done.”

ROSTER MOVE

The Reds recalled RHP Levi Stoudt from Triple-A Louisville and optioned RHP Kevin Herget to the same club. Stoudt followed Law and pitched three innings of one-run ball.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: OF TJ Friedl (left oblique soreness) sat out his second consecutive game and the next two days could determine if he will end on the injured list. ... INF-OF Nick Senzel had the day off.

Marlins: 1B Garrett Cooper (inner ear infection) went hitless in four at bats during a rehab game with Triple-A Jacksonville Friday. ... J.T. Chargois (right oblique strain) is scheduled to make consecutive appearance with Jacksonville on Saturday after throwing a scoreless inning Friday.

UP NEXT

RHP Luke Weaver (1-2, 7.36) will start the series finale for the Reds on Sunday. The Marlins will go with LHP Braxton Garrett (1-2, 5.97).

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