Marlins' rally in 16th falls short vs. Rays

MIAMI -- For the second straight night, the Citrus Series went into extra innings at Marlins Park. This time, it was the Rays that prevailed in an exhausting contest that lasted 16 innings and five hours and 31 minutes.
Jake Bauers, pitcher Vidal Nuño and Daniel Robertson each had two-out RBI hits off Brett Graves in a five-run 16th inning that lifted the Rays to a 9-6 win over the Marlins.
In the marathon, the two teams combined to use 17 pitchers, including a position player, catcher Jesús Sucre, taking the mound. Had the game extended to a 17th inning, Marlins backup catcher Bryan Holaday would have pitched.

"It's different, yeah, definitely different with the position player pitching as you're running out of guys," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "I've been in there before where you have pitchers hitting. It's definitely a different kind of game."
The game was the second longest, by innings, in Marlins Park history. Only Miami's March 30 contest, when the Marlins outlasted the Cubs in 17 innings, went longer. The time of Tuesday's game tied for the sixth longest.
"They're strange, for sure," Holaday said of games that involve so many changes and missed opportunities. "You run out of pitching. You run out of certain things. You try to find a way to win. They were able to pull it off. It was definitely a long one, for sure."
Tampa Bay had 20 hits and left 13 on base, to the Marlins' 15 hits and 14 runners left on.

Nuno, who pitched two innings in relief and earned the win, also singled in the 15th off Graves. The Tampa Bay left-hander, however, pulled up, clutching his hamstring, while running to first in the 16th inning and eventually was lifted for a pinch-runner.
The game featured a bit of everything, with backup catcher Sucre pitching the 16th due to Nuno's injury. He faced four batters and was replaced by José Alvarado. Even the final outs were contested -- J.T. Realmuto's grounder to third, initially ruled a game-ending 5-4-3 double play, was sent to review. The Marlins challenged, and the call at first base was overturned, accounting for another run, and bringing up Dan Straily, a starting pitcher, to pinch-hit. Straily walked, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. But Cameron Maybin grounded to second, ending the game.

Each team had their chances in the ninth inning and extras.
Realmuto led off the 15th with a double down the left-field line, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. But he was stranded.
The Marlins escaped a first-and-third, no-out jam in the 13th inning. Graves struck Robertson with a pitch to open the inning, and Adeiny Hechavarría laced a single, putting runners on the corners. But Johnny Field lifted a fly ball to shallow right field -- not deep enough for Robertson to tag and score. Carlos Gómez attempted a squeeze bunt, but it popped up to Realmuto, who was playing first base after catching the first 12 innings. Realmuto doubled up Robertson at third.
In the 11th inning, Derek Dietrich singled with one out off Sergio Romo. With two outs, Dietrich advanced to second on an error by Bauers on a pickoff attempt. But the Marlins weren't able to cash in as Yadiel Rivera, Monday night's walk-off hero, fouled out to first.
"It feels like Opening Week," Miami third baseman Miguel Rojas said, "when we played against the Cubs. It was kind of a different situation, we could have won the game earlier."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing by five in the bottom of the 16th, the Marlins were still able to load the bases with no outs, poised to come back. Holaday, off Sucre, laced the ball into the left-center field gap but Kevin Kiermaier ran it down. The Marlins scored a run, but Kiermaier saved extra bases, limiting the damage.
"I didn't think it was going to be gone," Holaday said. "But I thought it was going to be in the gap, for sure."

SOUND SMART
The Marlins have now played three games of at least 16 innings for the first time in franchise history. On March 30, Miami outlasted the Cubs, 2-1, in 17 innings. And on June 14, Miami fell 6-3 to the Giants in 16 innings. All three games were at Marlins Park.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Nuno was called upon to pitch in the 14th inning, and in the top of the 15th inning, the lefty pitcher got a chance to hit. He flipped a single over the head of third baseman Rojas. Nuno attempted to stretch it to a double, using a head-first slide, but he was thrown out by Dietrich. Nuno is 4-for-28 after his two-hit effort Tuesday. The Rays challenged that Nuno reached the bag ahead of Starlin Castro's tag, but the call was confirmed.

HE SAID IT
"It was not a good situation for the club and them either. Playing games like that kind of stinks because you never want to play that long, wear out your bullpen, and put your guys in a situation where they can get hurt." -- Rojas, on the wear and tear of playing 16 innings
UP NEXT
To close out Miami's 10-game homestand, right-hander José Ureña gets the ball against Tampa Bay on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. ET. Urena is making his first appearance since being placed on the 10-day disabled list on June 21 with right shoulder impingement. Matt Andriese starts for the Rays.