Arraez's 3-hit game, Luzardo's gem key skid-snapping walk-off

MIAMI -- When Luis Arraez goes, the Marlins go.

Being winless in the second half had taken a toll on Miami, in particular its All-Star second baseman. It’s not exactly the start the Marlins expected after entering the All-Star break atop the National League Wild Card standings. That’s when the unequivocal leader of the clubhouse stepped up when it mattered most despite feeling under the weather.

Arraez knocked a walk-off single -- the first of his career -- to snap the Marlins’ season-high eight-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the Rockies in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon at loanDepot park. It was Miami’s sixth walk-off win of the season, and its first since July 5.

“The last couple of games were more who we are,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “I think we've had some timely hitting and good starting pitching. The ‘pen has given up a couple of late-inning runs, but that was going to happen eventually. They were so good in the first half. Hitters go through slumps, bullpens can go through slumps. They went through a little funk. Hopefully they get through it after this off-day and back to where we're at.

“But [Arraez has] been our catalyst the whole year. Running the bases the right way, working the right way. Yesterday, day game after night game, he's taking ground balls. He didn't feel 100 percent coming in today and still posted, which says a lot.”

Righty Pierce Johnson intentionally walked the left-handed-hitting Jesús Sánchez to begin the 10th. Dane Myers struck out before Nick Fortes walked to load the bases. Facing Arraez, the Rockies went with a five-man infield and put their two outfielders into left and left-center, leaving right field vacated.

There was never any doubt what would come next inside Miami’s dugout, where Schumaker looked on, nor inside the clubhouse, where starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo watched on the TV. Who could blame them, considering Arraez is batting .467 with runners in scoring position?

“I saw the five infielders, there was no right fielder, so I'm just thinking, ‘If he throws one there inside, I'm just going to pull it and win the game,’” Arraez said in Spanish after raising his average to .379 by going 3-for-4.

Arraez’s heroics never happen without Luzardo acting just as much of a stopper of skids, striking out a career-high 13 batters over a career-high-tying seven innings.

The pivotal moment came with runners at the corners and two outs with Miami holding a 2-1 lead in the seventh. Already at a career-high 110 pitches, Luzardo watched as Schumaker visited the mound -- only to keep him in the game.

“Sometimes you see the look or they're kind of handing you the ball already, and you kind of make your decision, they make it for you,” Schumaker said. “Sandy [Alcantara]'s definitely not like that. And ‘Zeus, you could tell that he was staying on the mound, wanted it, that was his moment. But you've got to make that moment, right?”

Five pitches later, Luzardo struck out Brenton Doyle, whose fifth-inning homer was the lone blemish on the southpaw’s line, as the dugout erupted into cheers.

Only three Major Leaguers have thrown more pitches (115) in a start this year, and none had as many strikeouts as Luzardo. Over the last decade, only five Marlins have reached that benchmark: Alcantara, the late José Fernández, Adam Conley, Dan Haren and Tom Koehler.

“I felt like we'd scratched and clawed to get those two runs, so it was important for me to get out of that inning, clean inning, and then obviously Skip giving me the confidence to go back out there and face someone who hit a home run earlier in the game,” said Luzardo, who needed 26 pitches to complete the seventh. “I appreciate it, obviously from him, but it was amazing.”

Both Luzardo and Arraez’s performances bailed out closer A.J. Puk’s third blown save in his last four chances. He surrendered a game-tying homer to Randal Grichuk in the ninth.

The hope is that the Marlins can kick-start a win streak having gotten the monkey off their back. Despite the skid, Miami is just half a game out of a playoff spot in a tight race.

“I missed that,” Arraez said of the postgame celebration. “I missed my teammates doing that, especially Joey [Wendle] with a lot of energy. And I want to do that every day. I want to win every day. That's why I'm here. And especially we lost a lot of games, but we're still fighting, we're fighting, and then we come back. Tomorrow we get a day off, and then we’ve got to go to Tampa, and then we just need to keep continuing to play hard.”