Miami, FL – The Miami Marlins pulled off an incredible comeback in walk-off fashion, edging out the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 in the first game of the Miami Marlins Throwback Weekend Friday night at Marlins Park. Zack Grienke dueled Sandy Alcantara in an impressive pitchers duel that culminated in a late ninth-inning rally for the Fish. 

Miami Marlins Throwback Weekend

In honor of the special weekend, the scoreboards were modified to the likeness of the ones used back in the days of Joe Robbie and Pro Player Stadium. Old school music from the 90s blared throughout the night, including hits from Biggie Smalls, Britney Spears, Quad City DJ’s and even that theme music used in the movie “Titanic” to name a few. Mr. Baseball himself, Jeff Conine, also made an appearance.

See ya in a few. 😎#ThrowbackWeekend starts TONIGHT. pic.twitter.com/RKdiDF98XQ

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) July 26, 2019

Florida got on the board in the first after Miguel Rojas led off with a base hit to rightfield. Garrett Cooper lined one in the same direction, moving Rojas all the way to third. Neil Walker struck one deep to center. He came close to a three-run shot but popped out in the end. Rojas tagged up, however, for the 1-0 lead. 

Arizona tied it in the following inning after ace pitcher Zack Greinke slipped a double just past Walker to leftfield with a runner in scoring position, bringing home Adam Jones. 

The visitors took the lead in the fourth. Jack Lamb tripled on a sharp flyball to center field to pull within 90 feet of the plate. Nick Ahmed grounded out to Rojas at short, scoring the runner. 

After a promising first inning, the Marlins went 1,2,3 for three consecutive innings until Cesar Puello broke it up with a double in the fifth. 

Brian Anderson made THE catch of the game in the sixth. With two outs and a full count, Ahmed smacked one to rightfield only to watch Anderson leap over at the last second, making a SportsCenter Top 10 Play. He robbed the Diamondbacks of a run. In the home half of the inning, he got things started with a double but the Fish failed to capitalize.

Down to their last three outs, Florida sent up the heart of the order as Cooper, Walker and Starlin Castro got the better of Greg Holland to load the bases for Jorge Alfaro. Alfaro hit one deep to right for the sac fly, allowing Yadiel Rivera, who was pinch-running for Cooper, to cross the plate, tying it. Harold Ramirez completed the rally with a deep sacrifice fly of his own to center, as Walker tagged up for the walk-off. Ramirez picked up his first career walk-off RBI with the sac fly.

POWER WALK IT OFF, DUUUUUDE. pic.twitter.com/6Zpxm2d589

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) July 27, 2019

The Time Machine: 90s Style

Since Marlins fandom is on a trip down memory lane with Throwback Weekend, I am reminded of the days when I was a little kid going to good ‘ol Joe Robbie. As you know, it started off as solely the home of the Miami Dolphins but beginning in 1993 they had a new roommate. The 65,000+ stadium now housed dual sports teams. My old man, may he rest in peace, would always surprise me with Marlins games. We went to several in the inaugural season and from there on out, I was hooked. And to think, I use to be a vague Toronto Blue Jays fan. That was because the Fish didn’t exist yet.

Go figure.

I still remember looking out the car window, watching the stadium come into view. My excitement always increased as we got closer. In fact, when we got out in the gigantic parking lot I tried to hurry my dad to get to our seats quicker. Once we got past the gates it was like being in heaven. I hated those really tall escalators that took you up to the upper levels of the ballpark since I was terrified of heights. Old man helped me there. 

We always went to night games and even then as any local would tell you, it was still hot. Worse, it was hot AND humid. Forget about frequent rain delays, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Despite all this, it was home sweet home for South Florida baseball and the trip was worth it every time – except when we took on the Braves. Out of all the teams I’ve seen over the years, obviously who I saw the most were the division rivals, and out of those I hated seeing the Braves. Why? John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Javy Lopez and Chipper Jones, that’s why. This is THE team I would hate in the 90s. More than I ever hated the Patriots. And that chop they made, man did I despise that. Probably why I hate FSU. Then again, hate is a strong word. Extreme dislike. 

A lot of the details have been lost to time, but once, my dad took me and my uncle to watch the team face, you guessed it, Atlanta. We sat pretty much in the nosebleed section but made our way down as was our custom back in the day to get a better view. John Smoltz was pitching and as usual, he was lights out, at least in the first few innings of the game. Suddenly, guys like Gary Sheffield and Luis Castillo were getting to him and boom, we had at least a two-run lead.

It didn’t last.

The Braves stormed back as our bullpen labored and eventually choked in the ninth. The fans were decidedly Pro-Braves too, one in particular. I turned around, looked up and who do I see doing the chop? My uncle, my very own uncle. On the way back home, I was fuming. He was explaining how the Braves royally sucked prior to the 90s, back in the 40’s when they were in Boston. I didn’t want to hear it.

Sure, it isn’t exactly a happy memory, but I look back at it fondly, watching the Marlins square off against their NL East adversary in a rivalry that would last for years. We lost many, we won a few. But when it counted, we always did beat them in the end. Seeing the team play tonight took me back to those days, the uniforms they use now are actually pretty good, but you know how people are about movies and music, nothing beats the classics. 

Here’s to more throwbacks. 

Be kind, rewind. pic.twitter.com/b3Ydtkxr9R

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) July 27, 2019

📸Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports