MINNEAPOLIS — A daring double steal and a two-run homer on consecutive pitches unraveled what had been a dominant outing by Miami Marlins pitcher Eury Pérez, handing the club a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
Pérez was inches from completing five scoreless innings when the Twins manufactured a run with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Byron Buxton, still one of the fastest runners in the league at age 32, drew a walk, and Trevor Larnach poked a hit-and-run single to left field — Minnesota’s first hit of the night — putting runners at the corners.
On a 1-0 pitch to Ryan Jeffers, Larnach broke for second base. Catcher Joe Mack threw down to second baseman Xavier Edwards, but Larnach stopped and tried to get caught in a rundown to give Buxton time to break for home. Edwards chased Larnach back toward first while keeping an eye on Buxton, then fired the ball back to Mack when Buxton sprinted for the plate. The diving Buxton was ruled safe, and video review confirmed the call, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.
“If they’re going to run that, we’ve got a chance there just to play catch,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Joe makes a throw, X comes up, handles the ball. You go check Buxton initially, then you kind of start working the other way. When you get to a point where the runner’s going to make a break for home, fire to the plate.”
McCullough added: “It was really bang-bang. Buxton might have just … accelerated and just beat it, but I thought our guys executed it well.”
The 1-0 lead tripled immediately. Jeffers crushed Pérez’s very next pitch to deep left for a two-run homer, making it 3-0. Pérez, speaking through team interpreter Luis Dorante Jr., acknowledged the lengthy replay delay disrupted his rhythm. Asked whether the delay played a role in the Jeffers home run, Pérez said: “No, but kind of a little bit. Like, you’re there, you’re waiting for that out, you know? It’s gonna get you out of the inning. But then you’ve gotta go back again and just do your best.”
Mack explained the defensive plan on the double steal. “There’s basically three types of plays there: throw through, a cut play, and a pump fake or a throw to third,” Mack said. “We had him at second base, but he stopped. So Xavier did a great job coming up, getting the ball. Buxton took off from third, and he’s a pretty fast guy.”
The Marlins return to action as they continue their road series in Minneapolis.