Jonah Bride opened the scoring in a disastrous second inning for Ober when he crushed an elevated fastball to the second deck in left field for a solo homer. Early home runs have been a weakness for Ober in an otherwise solid season. He’s yielded 26 homers this season, and 17 have been in the first two innings.
With two outs in the second inning, Ober hit Derek Hill with an errant changeup and watched Otto Lopez bloop a single next to the right field line. Nick Fortes, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup for the 99-loss Marlins, followed with an RBI single when he lined a first-pitch fastball to right field.
On Ober’s next pitch, a cutter, Xavier Edwards lofted a two-run double to the left field wall for a four-run lead. The Twins haven’t scored more than four runs in a game since Sept. 15. Ober shook his head as he walked from behind the plate back to the mound.
Ober, who threw more changeups than fastballs, left two runners on base in the third inning and two more in the fifth. He was removed after issuing a walk to begin the sixth inning. When Ober sat on the dugout bench, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he stared at the ground.
A four-run deficit was too much for a Twins offense that left 10 men on base and produced one hit in nine at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
The Twins put two runners on base in four of their five innings against Marlins lefty Ryan Weathers, and it led to only one run. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton were stranded in the first inning when Carlos Santana flew out to center and Royce Lewis lined out to right. Manuel Margot struck out with runners on first and second base in the second inning.