Griffin Conine and Connor Norby each delivered key home runs, and the Miami Marlins backed a steady outing from Eury Pérez to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 7–4 on Wednesday night, halting Cincinnati’s five-game winning streak.
Miami’s offense produced timely hits throughout the night, with Xavier Edwards and Jakob Marsee collecting two hits and an RBI apiece as the Marlins secured the series victory at home.
The Reds struck first with a pair of unearned runs in the opening inning. Elly De La Cruz scored from second base when Miami third baseman Graham Pauley misplayed Sal Stewart’s two-out grounder. Stewart later came home on Eugenio Suárez’s RBI double to give Cincinnati an early 2–0 edge.
The Marlins responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Agustín Ramírez doubled home a run before Liam Hicks followed with an RBI single, tying the game at 2–2 and shifting momentum back to Miami.
In the second inning, Miami grabbed the lead for good. Run-scoring singles from Marsee and Edwards chased home two more runs against Reds starter Brady Singer, making it 4–2. Conine extended the advantage in the third inning with a two-run homer to right field, blasting a Singer sinker over the wall for his second long ball of the season and a 6–2 Marlins lead.
Cincinnati trimmed the deficit in the fifth when Miami native Sal Stewart connected for a two-run homer, pulling the Reds within 6–4. But Norby answered in the seventh inning with a solo shot off Connor Phillips, snapping a stretch of 10 2/3 scoreless innings by Cincinnati’s bullpen in the series and restoring a three-run cushion.
Pérez (1–1) delivered a solid bounce-back performance after struggling in his previous start. The right-hander allowed four runs—two earned—on six hits across five innings. He struck out six and walked one, showing improved command after issuing six walks and hitting a batter in his prior outing.
Miami’s bullpen handled the rest. Ryan Gusto, Andrew Nardi and Lake Bachar each worked a scoreless inning before Michael Petersen navigated around two singles in the ninth to record his first career save.
Singer (0–1) struggled in his season debut for Cincinnati, allowing six runs—five earned—on 10 hits over 2 2/3 innings.
The series wraps up Thursday with Reds right-hander Rhett Lowder (1–0, 1.64 ERA) scheduled to face Marlins right-hander Max Meyer (0–0, 4.66 ERA) in the finale.
