Rockies beat fellow National League cellar-dweller Marlins in series opener behind two Ryans, strong bullpen

In a battle between National League cellar-dwellers, two Ryans got the job done for the Rockies.

Colorado beat fellow 1993 expansion franchise Miami, 3-2, in the series opener on Monday at Coors Field, using a strong start by right-hander Ryan Feltner in conjunction with Ryan McMahon’s game-winning homer in the sixth.

The game breezed through the first five innings, with no runs for either team and the Rockies not registering their first hit off right-hander Edward Cabrera until Jake Cave’s leadoff single in the fourth.

But in the fifth, both offenses finally woke up.

The Marlins took a 2-0 lead in the top of the frame. Miami loaded the bases with two singles and a walk, then Jesús Sánchez flared a single to left that scored two runs. The next batter, Feltner induced a double play to get out of the jam.

Colorado responded in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs to even the game. After Sam Hilliard singled and then Jordan Beck’s single pushed Hilliard to third, Hilliard scored on Aaron Schunk’s groundout. Then Cave came through with a two-out single to plate Beck.

Manager Bud Black went to the bullpen for the sixth considering Feltner had just been activated off the injured list from a right shoulder strain.

The ’pen held up. Jake Bird, recalled ahead of the game from Triple-A, pitched a scoreless sixth after working around a leadoff walk. Justin Lawrence took care of the seventh, and Angel Chivilli threw up a zero in the eighth.

It was after Bird’s solid inning that McMahon provided the evening’s decisive swing. The all-star third baseman launched a leadoff homer in the sixth off Cabrera — a 438-foot moonshot to center on an elevated 3-2 fastball.

Tyler Kinley then shut the door in the ninth, earning his seventh save of the year by setting down the Marlins in order. That included striking out Griffin Conine, the son of former Marlins all-star Jeff Conine, in Griffin’s MLB debut after he came on to pinch-hit.

The game was played in front of a sparse crowd of 20,338.

Injury/roster updates. The Rockies were missing two of their best defensive players on Monday, as shortstop Ezequiel Tovar (sports hernia) and center fielder Brenton Doyle (right leg soreness) were given rest days. Doyle was a late scratch from the lineup. Schunk played shortstop in Tovar’s stead, and Hilliard played center field.

Prior to the game, the Rockies also placed southpaw Lucas Gilbreath on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation and optioned right-hander Peter Lambert to Triple-A. Gilbreath, a Legacy High School alum, has appeared in three games this year since coming back from Tommy John surgery and then a shoulder injury that sidelined him for all of 2023.

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