20-year Marliniversary: Marlins rally in Cleveland with 9th-inning homers from Cabrera, Easley

[Mike Ferguson]

On this day 20 years ago, the Marlins used a pair of ninth-inning homers to rally in Cleveland. 

Not quite as much was on the line as in October 1997, but on this day 20 years ago, the Florida Marlins found a way to break Cleveland baseball fans' hearts again. After Miguel Cabrera hit the game-tying blast in the ninth inning, Damion Easley put the Marlins ahead for good two batters later in a 7-5 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

Omar Vizquel's clutch two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth had given the Guardians a 5-4 lead as the Marlins came to bat in the top of the ninth at Jacobs Field on June 8, 2004. Florida was down to its last out as José Jiménez was able to retire Luis Castillo and Mike Lowell to open the inning.

On an 0-1 fastball, Cabrera pounced and hammered Jiménez's offering down the left-field line. It just stayed fair, hitting well up the foul pole for the game-tying blast. With two outs, however, the Marlins were just getting started.

After Jeff Conine worked a seven-pitch walk during an outstanding at-bat, Easley needed to see just one pitch to put Florida ahead for good. On a slider that stayed flat, Easley hammered it down the left-field line—also off the foul pole—for a two-run blast, giving the Marlins their first lead of the night.

Armando Benítez worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to cap the victory. Nate Bump threw just 16 pitches, but picked up the win for the Marlins.

 

The Guardians struck first with two runs in the first. After Abraham Núñez hit his only home run as a member of the Marlins in the third, an RBI groundout by Easley tied it in the fourth. Vizquel had his first go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the inning before Álex González tied things up once again with a solo home run in the sixth off Cleveland starter Cliff Lee.

González finished with three hits in the win while Castillo and Easley added two hits each for Florida. Easley plated three runs in the win. In addition to two RBI hits from Vizquel catcher Víctor Martínez added three hits for the Guardians. 

Just as they did in the 1997 World Series, the Marlins took two of three from Cleveland at Jacobs Field. Florida took its first game back in Cleveland since Game 5 of the 1997 World Series in thrilling fashion on this day two decades ago. 

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