Using MLB.TV During the Offseason: 10 Best Miami Marlins Games

MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 23: Trevor Richards #63 of the Miami Marlins throws a pitch during the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Marlins Park on September 23, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 23: Trevor Richards #63 of the Miami Marlins throws a pitch during the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Marlins Park on September 23, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
6 of 11
Miami Marlins
MIAMI, FL – MARCH 30: Players from the Miami Marlins celebrate on the field with Miguel Rojas #19 after he hit a walk off single in the bottom of the 17th inning against the Chicago Cubs at Marlins Park on March 30, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

Hope was still thick in the air after Miami’s first victory of the season, a 2-1, walkoff victory against the Chicago Cubs. It took 17 innings, and heroics from every part of the game, but the Miami Marlins were the winners at the end.

Caleb Smith started for the Marlins, and got eight Cubs to miss by the time he was lifted, after 5 1/3 innings. The only blemish on an otherwise scoreless outing was a third-inning moonshot by Kris Bryant, his first of the season. Opposing starter Kyle Hendricks also got touched in the third and then not again. Starlin Castro brought home Lewis Brinson to tie it at one.

Then the two clubs traded zeroes for the next four hours and change. For the Marlins, Jacob Turner got two outs, then Drew Steckenrider, Kyle Barraclough, and Brad Ziegler each tossed an effective inning of relief. Jarlin Garcia had a signature game, holding the Cubs to one hit and striking out six in six innings, working the 10th through the 15th frames. After a Chris O’Grady inning, Odrisamer Despaigne, ostensibly a starter, came on for the 17th.

Brian Anderson got things started with two outs in the bottom of that inning, with a single, then he moved to second on a Cameron Maybin single. Miguel Rojas brought BA home with a single into center field.

Despaigne collected the victory, and Cubs reliever Brendan Morrow lost after facing one batter.

"It was amazing after 17 innings, and they brought their closer in, too,” Rojas said. “They brought their best guy in that situation. I felt like watching him in his warmups. I felt that was so important, because watching him, I saw he was trying to get a feel for the strike zone. – Rojas, quoted by Joe Frisaro on MLB.COM"

Schedule