Final, Marlins 5-4: Chris Hatcher closed the door on Boston in the ninth, and the Marlins pick up a 5-4 victory at JetBlue Park.
Kyle Jensen’s two-run, pinch-hit homer in the top of the ninth inning against Drake Britton was the difference.
The Red Sox overcame a three-run deficit to grab a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Britton couldn’t close the door in his second inning of work.
Mike Carp homered for the Red Sox in the loss. Christian Vazquez, Bryce Brentz and Travis Shaw each drove in a run.
John Lackey went 2 2/3 innings to start the game. He was charged with three earned runs on four hits while striking out two. All three runs against Lackey came in the third inning.
The Red Sox won the other half of their split-squad day in Sarasota. Brock Holt, Will Middlebrooks and Ryan Lavarnway went deep in the Red Sox’s 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. A.J. Pierzynski collected three hits.
Mid 9th, Marlins 5-4: The Red Sox will need some ninth-inning magic, as the Marlins recaptured the lead against Drake Britton in the top half of the inning.
Austin Nola singled into right field with one out, paving the way for a pinch-hit, two-run homer off the bat of Kyle Jensen.
Britton, who tossed a perfect eighth inning, had a hard time locating in the ninth.
End 8th, Red Sox 4-3: Travis Shaw gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning.
Heiker Meneses singled with one out, and Shaw drove him in with a wall-ball double to left field.
3:29 p.m.: Meanwhile, the Red Sox lead the Orioles 6-3 in Sarasota.
Will Middlebrooks and Ryan Lavarnway have each homered in that game. Daniel Nava and Jackie Bradley Jr. have driven in runs on a double and a triple, respectively.
Mid 8th, 3-3: Drake Britton continued his solid camp with a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
Britton struck out Jake Marisnick as part of his perfect frame. The young southpaw likely will begin the season at Triple-A Pawtucket, but he could make the Red Sox’s decision very difficult with continued success this spring.
End 7th, 3-3: The Red Sox tied things up in the seventh inning.
Mike Carp cut the deficit in half by drilling a solo homer with one out, and Christian Vazquez tied the game with an RBI single.
Mookie Betts walked and took second base on a wild pitch to set up Vazquez’s RBI single.
Mid 7th, Marlins 3-1: Edward Mujica tossed a scoreless seventh inning after a host of defensive changes by the Red Sox.
End 6th, Marlins 3-1:Â Bryce Brentz put the Red Sox on the board in the sixth inning with an RBI single.
David Ross led off the inning with a walk. The Red Sox then inserted Stefan Welch as a pinch runner, and Welch moved up to second base on a wild pitch.
Brentz singled home Welch on a ball into center field.
Mid 6th, Marlins 3-0: Junichi Tazawa surrendered a double in the sixth inning, but the Marlins couldn’t scratch across any runs.
Derek Dietrich doubled with one out in the sixth before Tazawa retired Casey McGehee and Brian Bogusevic.
End 5th, Marlins 3-0: Arquimedes Caminero has retired all six batters he has faced after working a perfect fifth inning.
Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes and Xander Bogaerts were taken care of in the fifth inning. Napoli homered, Gomes popped out and Bogaerts flied out.
Junichi Tazawa will pitch the sixth inning for Boston.
2:30 p.m.: The Orioles tied the game, 2-2, in Sarasota.
Alex Wilson walked in a run after replacing an erratic Allen Webster in the fourth inning. Wilson then delivered a wild pitch that resulted in Baltimore’s second run.
Mid 5th, Marlins 3-0: The Red Sox backed Koji Uehara with some excellent defense in the fifth inning.
Rob Brantly led off the fifth with a scorching line drive to the right side. First baseman Mike Napoli lunged to his right while making an excellent grab to take away a hit.
Donovan Solano and Christian Yelich then grounded out to second baseman Dustin Pedroia, with Pedey getting dirty on the edge of the outfield grass to retire Yelich.
End 4th, Marlins 3-0: Arquimedes Caminero took care of the Red Sox in order in the fourth.
Grady Sizemore grounded out and Dustin Pedroia flied out before David Ortiz struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Marlins 3-0: Burke Badenhop kept the Marlins’ offense at bay in the fourth inning.
Badenhop did what he does best in the fourth, inducing a couple of ground ball outs en route to a scoreless frame.
Brian Bogusevic put the ball in the air, but Bryce Brentz sized it up in right field.
2:03 p.m.: The Red Sox have a 2-0 lead in their game against the Orioles in Sarasota.
Brock Holt homered, and A.J. Pierzynski knocked in Daniel Nava with an RBI single.
End 3rd, Marlins 3-0:Â Jonathan Herrera’s two-out single went for naught in the third inning.
Herrera followed a pair of flyouts with a base hit into left field. Herrera was gunned down at second base, however, while trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt.
Catcher Rob Brantly delivered a strike right on the money to nail Herrera at second base.
Mid 3rd, Marlins 3-0: The Marlins struck for three runs versus John Lackey in the third inning, putting an end to the right-hander’s afternoon.
The Fish kicked off the third with three straight hits against Lackey. Donovan Solano knocked in Greg Dobbs with an RBI single through the left side.
Marcell Ozuna drove in Miami’s second run with a fly ball to deep center field. The sac fly marked the end of Lackey’s outing, as the Red Sox turned to Andrew Miller with Lackey nearing the 50-pitch mark.
Derek Dietrich’s RBI single made it 3-0.
End 2nd, 0-0: Brian Flynn has retired all six Red Sox hitters he has faced.
Mike Napoli grounded to short, and Jonny Gomes and Xander Bogaerts each flied out.
Gomes actually put a pretty good charge into Flynn’s offering, but center fielder Marcell Ozuna retreated to make the catch at the edge of the warning track.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: John Lackey worked another efficient inning in the second.
Lackey had no trouble retiring the Marlins in order. Casey McGehee, Brian Bogusevic and Ed Lucas went down without a fight.
Lackey even helped himself in the second inning, snagging a comebacker off Lucas’ bat before tossing to first for the out.
End 1st, 0-0: Brian Flynn enjoyed a 1-2-3 first inning.
Grady Sizemore led off with a hot smash to second base. Derek Dietrich used his body to knock it down, and then recovered in time to record the out. Sizemore hustled out of the box, though, and he got down the line pretty well.
Dustin Pedroia struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt. Catcher Rob Brantly corralled it and fired to first base to complete the out.
David Ortiz flied out to center field.
Mid 1st, 0-0: John Lackey worked around a Christian Yelich single in a scoreless first inning.
Yelich singled up the middle with one out in the first inning. Lackey rebounded to retire Macell Ozuna and Derek Dietrich to cap an 11-pitch frame. Ozuna flied out and Dietrich struck out.
Bryce Brentz made an excellent play in right field to begin the game. Brentz ranged toward right-center field to make a diving/sliding catch.
Brentz’s grab was dubbed the “Catch of the Day” over the JetBlue Park loudspeaker. So there’s that.
1:06 p.m.: John Lackey misses with a first-pitch ball. The action is underway at JetBlue Park.
1:01 p.m.: They’ll be conducting an experiment at JetBlue Park on Tuesday. The public address announcer is going to call out every single pitch — “ball” or “strike” — over the loudspeaker.
It should be interesting.
12:35 p.m.: As mentioned, I’ll attempt to provide updates for both of this afternoon’s games. The primary focus will be on the Red Sox’s game against the Marlins at JetBlue Park, though.
Below is the Marlins’ starting lineup.
Donovan Solano, SS
Christian Yelich, LF
Marcell Ozuna, CF
Derek Dietrich, 2B
Casey McGehee, 3B
Brian Bogusevic, RF
Ed Lucas, 1B
Greg Dobbs, DH
Rob Brantly, C
Brian Flynn, LHP
9:40 a.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox have themselves a good, old-fashioned split-squad Tuesday.
The Red Sox will square off with the Miami Marlins in Fort Myers and the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota on Tuesday, with both games scheduled to kick off at 1:05 p.m. Most of the Red Sox’s regulars will appear in the game against the Marlins at JetBlue Park.
Yours truly will be live blogging from Fenway South, where John Lackey will make his Grapefruit League debut. Lackey tossed three perfect innings and struck out six during a minor league intrasquad game Thursday.
I’ll do my best to sneak in some updates regarding the game over in Sarasota as well, so brace yourself for an action-packed blog. Let’s hit the ground running with the Red Sox’s lineups for Tuesday.
Red Sox vs. Marlins (Fort Myers)
Grady Sizemore, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Jonny Gomes, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ross, C
Bryce Brentz, RF
Jonathan Herrera, SS
John Lackey, RHP
Red Sox at Orioles (Sarasota)
Daniel Nava, 1B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Ryan Lavarnway, C
Corey Brown, LF
Alex Hassan, RF
Brock Holt, 2B
Deven Marrero, SS
Allen Webster, RHP
