Bullpen falters in extra innings loss: Rays 5, Marlins 10
May 16, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Garrett Cleavinger (60) pitches during the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images The Rays were unable to continue their 10-game winning streak at the Trop on Saturday afternoon as they dropped the second game of the three-game set to the Miami Marlins by a score of 10-5 in extra innings.
Early on this was the pitching due we all expected it to be with Nick Martinez facing off against Sandy Alcantara. Both were good, but Martinez was slightly better as he lowered his ERA on season to just 1. 51 with another six innings of shutout baseball.
Alcantara allowed just one run over his six innings of work. The Rays struck first in the second inning and as Chandler Simpson singled home Taylor Walls who reached on a bunt single. View Link The 1-0 Rays advantage would hold until the top of the seventh when pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernandez hit a towering homerun to left field to tie the game at 1-1.
The teams then traded blows in the ninth inning with the Marlins striking first. Bryan Baker came on in the 9th to hold the line and looked well on his way to doing so with back-to-back strikeouts to open the frame. But, with two outs Jakob Marsee singled and Javier Sanoja quickly doubled, driving in Marsee to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth with a save on the line, the Rays faced off against none other than their former closer, Pete Fairbanks. But, what’s a save situation without a bit of drama from Pete? After striking out Palacios to open the bottom half of the inning, Fairbanks walked Mullins.