Miami Marlins Capitalize On Error In Win Over Kansas City Royals, 5-2

Aug 14, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Miami Marlins center fielder Justin Ruggiano (20) connects for a single in the ninth inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Miami won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

In the rubber game of the three game series between the Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, the Marlins used an error and a wild starting pitcher to win the game and the series.  The error by Royals third baseman Elliot Johnson allowed Christian Yelich to reach base in the seventh inning and eventually score the go ahead run.

The wild starting pitcher was the Marlins own Justin Turner who allowed 6 bases on balls in 5 innings pitched, but allowed only 2 runs with 1 of those being unearned.  Turner threw 89 pitches of which only 38 were strikes.  Turner also allowed 4 hits and did not record a strike out, but was somehow able to leave the game trailing just 2-1.

In the 7th inning, the Marlins took advantage of the Royals inability to deliver with runners on base.  Koyie Hill led off the inning for the Fish with a double and was followed by Yelich who reached on the previously mentioned error putting Marlins on second and third with none out.  Donovan Solano and Logan Morrison then each followed with RBI groundouts to give the Marlins a 3-2 lead.  Morrison and Solano would also go on to add RBI singles in the top of the 9^th inning.

The Marlins bullpen shut the door on the Royals from the 6^th through the 9^th innings to preserve the victory.  Dan Jennings threw a scoreless 6^th, followed by A.J. Ramos in the 7^th and 8^th innings and finally Steve Cishek nailing down his 26^th save in the 9^th inning.

Justin Ruggiano finally broke out of a 0-for-42 slump by delivering 3 hits on the afternoon including the Marlins first RBI of the game.  Ruggiano was inserted in the lineup for a slumping Giancarlo Stanton, who got his second day off in less than a week.

Jennings was credited with the win for the Marlins to improve to 2-3 on the season and Tim Collins took the loss in relief for the Royals falling to 2-6.

Up Next: The Marlins have an off day Thursday before returning home to face the San Francisco Giants over the weekend.  Friday’s matchup will pit Nathan Eovaldi (2-2) for the Marlins against the Chad Gaudin (5-2) for the Giants