Hitting leadoff for 1st time, De La Cruz stays hot

MIAMI -- For the first time this season -- and his career -- the Marlins had Bryan De La Cruz batting out of the leadoff position.

It is safe to say he will be back.

De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with a home run, but it was not enough as the Padres defeated the Marlins, 9-4, in Tuesday night’s series opener at loanDepot park. Of Miami’s four runs, De La Cruz drove in three and scored that fourth himself.

De La Cruz’s third RBI came in the sixth inning, a single that gave Miami a 4-2 lead. But then San Diego tied the game in the seventh before blowing it wide open with five runs in the ninth. Miami walked eight batters on Tuesday night. Five of those were from ace Sandy Alcantara; four of them scored as he took the no-decision.

“All the leadoff walks scored,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “We have some stolen base stuff to clean up. Just self-inflicted wounds there. … That’s a tough one. We had the chance to break it open a few times there, had a lot of guys on with the right guys up and just could not break through.’’

De La Cruz has been Miami’s best hitter this month, with a .347 average (33-for-95) that was highlighted by a career-high 14-game hit streak, which ended Wednesday in Colorado, and two four-hit games. Tuesday marked De La Cruz’s eighth game this season with at least three hits, the second-most in MLB only to the nine such games for Toronto's Bo Bichette.

But De La Cruz’s big game could not help Alcantara get his third win of the season, as the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner was pulled with one out in the seventh. He allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out three, throwing 93 pitches (57 strikes) over those 6 1/3 innings.

Miami’s overworked bullpen got a nice reprieve with Monday’s off-day, but it was back to work with one out in the seventh when Alcantara walked the first two batters he faced and was replaced by Tanner Scott after he induced a lineout.

Scott grew accustomed to high-leverage situations last season, when he got 20 saves in 27 save opportunities. After one hiccup, a game-tying single to Juan Soto, Scott struck out Xander Bogaerts and Rougned Odor with runners in scoring position to limit the damage. Miami carried the 4-4 tie into the ninth, before things fell apart.

“The walks cost me everything tonight,” Alcantara said. “Next time, I have to make sure I don’t walk anyone. … Everything was good, I got to the seventh and got into trouble. It’s part of the game.”

In the ninth, Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a walk, stole second and raced to third on the throwing error from catcher Nick Fortes. Tatis scored the go-ahead run on a single from Bogaerts that opened the floodgates.

Miami helped San Diego rally with, as Schumaker said, three errors, and did itself few favors by hitting into three inning-ending double plays. The Marlins stranded 11 and went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

“We had runners on all night,” Schumaker said. “But De La Cruz was really, really good. We threw him up there because he has been hitting the ball so well and we wanted him getting more at-bats than in the five-hole.”

De La Cruz opened the scoring by coming home off a single from Garrett Cooper in the third. He then hit a two-run homer to left in the fourth, his seventh of the season and fifth this month, then drove in a run with a single through a drawn-in infield in the sixth.

Speaking in Spanish, via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr., De La Cruz said he was happy for the confidence boost that came with leading off, and he hopes the Marlins can forget the loss and move on.

“That was my first time leading off and I appreciate that from Skip,” De La Cruz said. “I am here to help the team in any way I can. If I help the team in that position, I am ready.”