Marlins rough up Rhett Lowder to earn series split vs. Reds

Owen Caissie and Javier Sanoja combined for six hits and five RBIs to lead the host Miami Marlins to an 8-1 defeat of the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon, earning a split of the four-game set.

In a battle of former first-round picks, Miami's Max Meyer (1-0) allowed four hits, three walks and one run in five innings, striking out four.

Reds starter Rhett Lowder (1-1) entered the game with the best eight-game ERA (1.30) in Reds history with a minimum of 30 innings. He had never allowed more than three runs in a game.

On Thursday, he allowed eight hits and five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out a pair.

Caissie (3-for-4, three RBIs) and Sanoja (3-for-4, two RBIs) led Miami's offense. Agustin Ramirez went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Miami left fielder Griffin Conine was removed from the game in the sixth inning due to left knee discomfort. Conine got hurt trying to make a diving grab on Spencer Steer's bloop double.

Reds first baseman Sal Stewart - a Miami native - was 1-for-3 with a solo homer to cap off a brilliant series where he went 5-for-14 with two homers, one double, two steals in two tries and five RBIs.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (1-for-5, 3 strikeouts) had his eight-game run-scoring streak snapped.

The Marlins, who lead the league in triples, got their fifth of the season in the first on Xavier Edwards' drive to right-center. Miami then took a 1-0 lead when Ramirez reached on a routine chopper to third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who dropped the ball for an error as he eyed a potential throw home.

Miami extended its lead to 4-0 in the fourth. Liam Hicks walked and Otto Lopez doubled on a 113-mph liner to start the rally. The Marlins cashed in with Caissie's two-run double and Sanoja's RBI single.

Cincinnati got on the board in the fifth as Stewart hit his fourth homer of the season, a 409-foot bomb off of Meyer.

Sanoja added another RBI single in the sixth and Caissie did the same in the seventh, giving Miami a 6-1 lead. Ramirez added a two-run single in the eighth.

Marlins reliever Tyler Phillips pitched the final three scoreless innings for his fifth career save and his first this year.

--Field Level Media