Yasiel Puig rescues Dodgers in 9th

With the Dodgers down to their final strike, Yasiel Puig hit his second home run of the night, a decisive three-run shot against Marlins closer AJ Ramos to deliver a 6-4 win in the opener of a three-game series at Marlins Park.

After surrendering the lead in the fifth inning, the Dodgers had trouble with the Marlins bullpen. Junichi Tazawa, Kyle Barraclough, David Phelps and Ramos retired 11 of their first 12 batters faced, with four strikeouts.

That got Ramos to two outs in the ninth inning, up 4-3 with nobody on base.

Then, Joc Pederson singled to keep things going, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Yasmani Grandal followed with a walk, putting the go-ahead run on base. Another wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, but Puig was down 1-2 in the count.

Then he crushed a fastball over the left center field wall that sent the Dodgers dugout into a wild frenzy. Puig knew it was gone, too:

Puig since the beginning of June is hitting .295/.370/.580 with nine home runs in 35 games. His 18 home runs are one off his career high, set in his 2013 rookie season.

The Dodgers win streak reaches seven.

For starters

The Dodgers had five hits in the first two innings against Marlins starter Dan Straily but their only run came when Joc Pederson scored from third on a throwing error when Grandal tried to steal second base with two outs.

Then, with two outs and the heart of the order due up, third base coach Chris Woodward sent Grandal home, trying to score from second on a single to left field by Chris Taylor. Grandal was thrown out easily by Marcell Ozuna to end the frame.

The Dodgers, who managed one run in the first four innings, broke a tie against Straily in the fifth inning with a pair of solo home runs, one by Puig and one by Corey Seager.

It marked the 17th time in the last 28 games the Dodgers have hit multiple home runs in a game. They are 27-5 this season when hitting multiple home runs in a game.

Brandon McCarthy was able to withstand some early traffic on the basepaths, but a trio of extra-base hits did him in. A two-out double by Martin Prado in the fourth inning was cashed in one batter later with a single by Realmuto, tying the game at 1-1.

After the Dodgers gave McCarthy a two-run lead in the top of the fifth, he gave it back in the bottom of the inning. Giancarlo Stanton doubled home Dee Gordon to cut the LA lead in half, then after a strikeout and a walk Justin Bour turned the tide with a two-run double of his own to give Miami their first lead.

Shutdown mode

The Dodgers bullpen on Friday night — Ross Stripling, Brandon Morrow, Josh Fields , and Kenley Jansen -- combined for 4⅓ scoreless innings, with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Yasiel Puig 2 (18), Corey Seager (14)

WP - Josh Fields (5-0): 1 IP, 1 strikeout

LP - AJ Ramos (2-4): 1 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Sv - Kenley Jansen (22): 1 IP, 1 strikeout