Marlins demolish Lance Lynn, Dodgers with 9-run inning

The Dodgers absolutely crumbled in a nine-run fifth inning in a 11-4 loss to the Marlins, getting a glimpse of some pitching issues that may rear their head for Los Angeles come October.

The home run issues continued to plague this team. Lance Lynn became the third straight Dodger pitcher in this series to allow multiple long balls, joining Clayton Kershaw and Ryan Yarbrough on Tuesday.

Lynn didn’t make drastic changes coming to Chavez Ravine, and yet the right-hander experienced an absolutely drastic shift in results from what he was getting in a putrid first half with the White Sox.

A blow-up start against the juggernaut Braves could be somewhat written off due to the quality of their offense. But an equally poor outing this time against Miami raises some concerns about what exactly can be relied on, from Lynn in these next couple of months, most importantly in the playoffs.

Through the bulk of it, Lynn looked on pace for a solid rebound outing, as he retired every batter he faced the first time through the order, except for a catcher’s interference in the first.

The Marlins threatened in the fourth but failed to score, only to come back with a monsoon of a fifth inning. Putting up not one, not four, not seven, but nine runs in a single frame, essentially ending this game at the halfway mark.

The scoring didn’t come with lucky hits either, it was hard-hit ball after hard-hit ball. Six of the first eight hitters in the frame, all reached base safely, including three homers from Joey Wendle, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Jesús Sánchez.

Understanding he had a veteran on the hill, and already trailing big, Dave Roberts pushed as much as he could to leave Lynn out there, but after the following two hitters reached with back-to-back singles, the situation became unsustainable.

Victor González came in and, facing a red-hot Marlins attack, couldn’t strand either runner. By the time the inning was over, nine men had scored, with 13 total coming to the plate.

The Heyward game that was not

Before this game became a blowout, Jason Heyward looked like a potential standout. Not only did the veteran outfielder opened the scoring with a long ball, but he also saved multiple runs in the same inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, an inning before Miami put up the nine spot, Heyward leaped at the wall to save a two-run double from Xavier Edwards in a close game, at least at the time.

Heyward had three of the Dodgers’ six hits.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Jason Heyward (14), James Outman (18); Joey Wendle (2), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (16), Jesús Sánchez (12)

WP — Edward Cabrera (6-6): 4 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts

LP — Lance Lynn (10-11): 4⅔ IP, 7 hits, 8 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout

Up next

Dealing with turmoil in the rotation, the Dodgers will send out Ryan Pepiot for the series finale on Thursday (3:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), looking to avoid a sweep. Left-hander Braxton Garrett starts for Miami.