MIAMI -- Playing without their manager while employing a futuristic outfield and a hastily assembled bullpen held together by baling wire, Krazy Glue and knitting yarn, the Boston Red Sox blew all of a four-run lead and fell 5-4 to the Miami Marlins before a crowd of 31,951 in Marlins Park.
Junichi Tazawa failed to preserve a one-run lead in the ninth during his first audition as Koji Uehara's replacement at closer. Then Boston's seventh pitcher of the night, Craig Breslow, took the loss in the 10th.
Breslow gave up a leadoff triple to Dee (Son of Flash) Gordon, then issued an intentional walk to Martin Prado, who promptly took second on defensive indifference. Breslow struck out Derek Dietrich, but Justin Bour lined a single to left-center to end it.
Breslow had not pitched since giving up five runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning during a 13-3 loss to the Yankees on Aug. 4 in New York.
Red Sox manager John Farrell showed up for work Tuesday, a day after undergoing hernia surgery in Detroit. But minutes before the first pitch, the team announced that Farrell had returned to his hotel room.
Bench coach Torey Lovullo took over the team and watched as the Red Sox built a 4-0 lead, due primarily to the work of Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo, who started the game together as a unit for the first time.
Betts, returning after an 11-game absence due to a concussion, had hits in his first three at-bats, lining a single to open the game, grounding an RBI single in the third and doubling home a run in the fifth.
Bradley, making his first start in left, tripled and scored on Betts's single in the third, then singled, took second on a sacrifice by pitcher Steven Wright and scored on Betts's double.
In the sixth, singles by Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz and a wild pitch accounted for Boston's third run before Castillo tripled home the fourth.
But the Marlins rallied against the Sox bullpen after starter Wright was lifted following a double and walk to open the sixth. Ryan Cook, newly promoted from Pawtucket after being acquired from Oakland, allowed both runners to score on an infield out and a base hit by Gordon.
Tommy Layne, also recalled Tuesday, walked the only two batters he faced to open the seventh. Reliever Alexi Ogando entered and tried to make a play on a bunt that should have been fielded by third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and Cole Gillespie was credited with a single. A sacrifice fly by Ichiro Suzuki made it 4-3.
After Jean Machi, the waiver claim from San Francisco, stranded two in the eighth, Tazawa entered in the ninth. But J.T. Realmuto and Suzuki both singled and moved up on a wild pitch, then a sacrifice fly by Adeiny Hechavarria tied it.
The Marlins won despite leaving 16 runners on base.