Miami Marlins achieve an inexplicable victory over the Minnesota Twins despite historic mistakes

To win a baseball game, you don’t have to play great, you just have to play better than the team you’re playing against.

That’s exactly what the Miami Marlins did on Thursday, somehow pulling out a win against the Minnesota Twins despite some historic hurdles.

Miami struck out 20 times, which was the second-most hits in all of baseball this season. Even when they managed to get men on board, the Marlins left 15 runners on base. Still, Miami led Minnesota 4-0 in five innings thanks to a gem from rookie Valente Bellozo.

Of course, the Marlins blew that lead and allowed the Twins to force extras, making two errors along the way.

Miami, which had been in last place in the NL East all year, finally turned on the Jets in the top of the 13th thanks to Otto Lopez’s two-RBI double and Griffin Conine’s RBI single. The Marlins defied all odds to pick up an 8-6 victory against a team struggling to stay alive in the AL Wild Card race.

According to OptaSTATS, the Marlins became the first team in MLB history to record at least 20 strikeouts, leave more than 15 runners on base, blow a lead of at least four runs, commit multiple errors and not hit a home run in a game-winning game or lose. Somehow, Miami still managed to win.

For all the mistakes the entire lineup made on Thursday, third baseman Connor Norby seemingly had the worst performance of all. The rookie infielder went 0-for-6 with five strikeouts and also committed a throwing error in the field.

Left fielder Kyle Stowers and fifth-inning reliever Dane Myers combined to go 0-6 with three strikeouts, while center fielder Derek Hill and fellow 11th-inning reliever Javier Sanoja combined to go 0-6 with four strikeouts .

Miami’s pitching staff may have blown two saves on the night, but they only gave up three earned runs. Three different relievers were credited for their holds, while Anthony Maldonado picked up the win and Darren McCaughan recorded his first career save.

The Marlins are now 59-100, tied for the third-most losses in franchise history. The Twins, meanwhile, are 3.0 games behind the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers for the final two AL Wild Card spots with three games to go.

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