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The Eagles are soaring, securing a victory in game one during extra innings after Miami’s bullpen faltered. Miami initially took a lead in the first two innings with early scoring, but the Eagles responded by reclaiming four of those five runs in the third. Following a challenging third inning, AJ Ciscar rebounded by retiring 17 of the next 19 batters. Miami’s closer was brought in to close out the game and maintain a two-run lead, but Boston mounted a comeback, tying the game in the ninth. Ryan Bilka couldn’t finish his outing, prompting JD to bring in Lazaro Collera in the 11th. Boston capitalized on a costly decision by Brylan West, who chose not to tag the runner. They then loaded the bases with a walk. A dropped third strike by Sosa with the bases loaded allowed the go-ahead run to score. The combined misplays by the Canes in the 11th inning were enough for Boston to take its first lead and secure a win in game one.
For the first two innings, Miami dominated the game. Jake Ogden opened the scoring with a leadoff single, followed by a walk to Michael Torres. Daniel drove in his 18th RBI of the season with a single to right, bringing Ogden home from second. When the center fielder mishandled the ball, Torres also scored, giving Miami an early 2-0 lead. In the following inning, singles by West and Sheahan set the stage for Miami’s hottest hitter, who responded with a 405-foot home run to center field, increasing the lead to 5-0.
AJ Ciscar was cruising through the first two innings, beginning the third with a strikeout. Two consecutive singles followed by a double allowed Boston to score its first run. With runners on second and third, Nick Wang’s 406-foot drive to center brought Boston within one run, quieting the Miami fans. What initially seemed like a five-run lead and a likely runaway victory transformed into a close game.
Miami scored one run in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of a throwing error by the third baseman that allowed runners on first and second. Vance Sheahan capitalized on the mistake, singling to right and bringing home Alvarez from second to give Miami a 2-0 lead. They maintained and expanded their lead to three runs in the seventh when West led off with a double, and Dylan Dubovik’s RBI single extended the lead to 7-4.
Following a challenging fourth inning, AJ demonstrated why he’s the Friday starter, retiring the next ten batters. With one out in the seventh, AJ hit his seventh batter of the season but kept his composure, retiring the next two batters to end the inning.
At 75 pitches and still showing strength, AJ returns to the mound for the eighth inning. An opening double had Ryan Bilka ready to take over if JD decided to make a pitching change. AJ stays in, but not before Nick Wang cuts the lead to two runs with a sacrifice fly to left.
Holding a two-run advantage, JD calls in closer Ryan Bilka to finish the game. However, the Boston hitters rally with an opening single and a walk. An RBI single slices the lead to one, with runners on the corners and no outs. A sacrifice fly to right field ties the game, sending it into extra innings, as Miami struggles to respond in the ninth, only managing a two-out single by Michael Torres.
Fast forward to the 11th, Lazaro Collera replaces Bilka after recovering in the 10th with a pair of strikeouts. The first batter faced, Lazaro, hits, putting a baserunner on first. A sacrifice bunt down the first base line; West decides, rather than tag the runner, to try and beat him to first, which he fails to do, putting runners at first and second. A walk loads the bases with no outs. Two strikeouts follow, but on the second, Sosa drops the ball. The throw to first gets the batter out, but the baserunner on third scores, giving them the go-ahead run. Between West’s mental error in not tagging the runner and Sosa dropping the third strike call, Miami is in a full-blown meltdown now, trailing for the first time tonight.
Miami enters the 11th inning with a leadoff walk to West. Sheahan lays down a sacrifice bunt, advancing West to second. Then JD, in his infamous wisdom, decides to substitute our best hitter—analytics—removing Dubovik, who was 3-5 tonight, for Cian Copeland, a left-handed batter facing a right-handed pitcher. How many times this has backfired on JD for not putting his best hitter at the plate, I cannot count. Copeland grounds out to first, advancing Fabio to third, who replaced West after his walk. Back to the top of the order, Jake has the chance to either extend the game or end it, with the tying run on third. With three hits tonight, unfortunately, it is not to be, ending the game unceremoniously with a 4-3 groundout.
Miami outperformed Boston offensively with a 16-9 hit differential, while Boston committed four errors. The key issue was Miami leaving too many runners on base, stranded at 15 across various innings, which hindered their ability to advance the train. With runners in scoring position, the Canes managed only a 4-for-22 mark, ultimately making the difference between a win and a loss. Six players recorded multiple hits: Ogden, Cuvet, Williams, West, Sheahan, and Dubovik. Dylan Dubovik led the team, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs, though it was puzzling why he was pulled at such a critical moment. JD should rely on analytics as a guide rather than a strict rulebook for batting decisions. The game featured three doubles from Cuvet, Williams, and West, along with Dubovik’s fourth home run of the season.
Aside from the third inning, in which Ciscar gave up four runs, he pitched exceptionally well through eight innings. Miami’s bullpen underperformed tonight, emphasizing the need for JD to find a reliable closer who can finish games. A true closer shouldn’t throw 30 pitches over two innings and blow a two-run lead in the ninth, especially with runners on the corners and no outs. Collera fared little better in the 11th with bases loaded and no outs. Although his defense didn’t help him, he should not have been in that situation to start the 11th, beginning by hitting the first batter. The situation worsened from there with West and Sosa in the field.
Miami has two remaining chances to clinch the series, beginning with Rob Evans on the mound tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 6 PM
