Three times A.J. Ramos was one strike from ending it.
But every two-strike pitch that Ramos delivered in his calamitous ninth inning at Marlins Park breathed new life into the Dodgers, and the outcome was a deflating 6-4 loss on Friday night.
The Marlins (41-47) were one out away from a 4-3 victory when Ramos came unraveled, giving up a two-out single to Joc Pederson, a two-out walk to Yasmani Grandal and a two-out homer to Yasiel Puig.
It was Puig’s second homer of the game, and it ruined what was looming as a win for the Marlins to begin the second half of the season.