The Marlins sent 10 hitters to the plate in the first inning Sunday and scored four runs, three of them on Otto Lopez’s monstrous 424-foot blast into the seats in left field.
They spent the rest of the game protecting that lead.
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After the Phillies threatened to pull even in the seventh and eighth innings, Lopez whacked another long ball in the bottom of the eighth — this one into “Home Run Harbor” in center field — for his first career multihomer game.
That solo shot proved to be the difference as the Phillies scored one run in the ninth before Lake Bachar got Bryce Harper to ground out with runners at first and third base to end the game.
The Marlins held off the Phillies 5-4 at loanDepot park before an announced crowd of 30,223, earning their first win of September and staving off a sweep to open this homestand.
Reliever Tyler Phillips made his first start as a Marlin and pitched 2 2/3 innings against his former team. Five others succeeded him, including Ronny Henriquez, who came on with two outs in the seventh and clamped down on the Phillies, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (6) tags Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) out between bases during the fourth inning of a game on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla.
“Great win. Stopped the skid today,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Offensively for us to come out and have a big inning like we did, putting up a four spot there, in a bullpen game, is huge. For Tyler and [Cade Gibson] to get us through five innings was tremendous.
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“And all the guys who came in behind them did their part. When you do a bullpen game, it’s going to take a lot of contributions. And getting some runs offensively, and then Otto, his second home run turned out to be really big.”
Lopez finished 3 for 4 and scored twice runs Sunday. He came in 1 for 7 in the series but drilled Phillies starter Taijuan Walker’s cutter and then reliever José Alvarado’s sinker nearly as far — 417 feet.
“I’ve been working with the hitting coaches on my lower body and my legs and just rotating a little more,” Lopez said. “And going with the mentality of not thinking too much. That’s what I’ve been working on.”
“His ceiling as an offensive player, he has yet to reach,” McCullough said. “There’s impact there. We’ve seen his walk rate go up this year. And I still think there’s a lot of areas for Otto as an offensive player to continue to improve upon and believe that he will, that he’s just scratching the surface as an offensive player. We feel like Otto is going to be a real key member of what we have going on here moving forward.”
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The Phillies cut into the Marlins’ lead with Nick Castellanos’ RBI triple in the second inning and closed the gap to 4-2 on Trea Turner’s solo home run off Calvin Faucher in the sixth inning. Brandon Marsh then singled off Faucher to make it a one-run game.
Henriquez entered with two outs and a runner on in the seventh, inducing Bryson Stott to ground to López, who threw wildly for an error. With runners on the corners, Henriquez escaped by getting Kyle Schwarber to fly out to left.
In the eighth, Brandon Marsh doubled with two outs, but Henriquez ended the threat by striking out Nick Castellanos swinging.
Bachar gave up consecutive walks to start the ninth. After retiring the next two batters, he surrendered an RBI single to Schwarber before getting out Harper.
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“Lake is a really good pitcher,” McCullough said. “He has been in a lot of big spots for us and had a few rough ones. That happens to hitters. It happens to pitchers, where you have a couple of outings where even if you’re making good pitches you give up some runs.
“For Lake today, one I hope he sees the confidence we have in him to have him finish that game. And also, for him to buckle down as it got a little hot there and make some pitches at the end and get us the win, hopefully an outing like that can put some wind in his sails and he can take off again.”
Agustín Ramírez swiped his 12th base in the first inning, matching JT Realmuto’s 2016 record for the most steals in a single season by a Marlins catcher.
Outfielder Griffin Conine, on the 60-day injured list since April 20 with a dislocated left shoulder, began a rehab assignment Sunday with Triple A Jacksonville.
Right-hander Luarbert Arias was outrighted to the Jumbo Shrimp.