Agustín Ramírez delivers 3 hits to help Marlins beat Reds 4-3 for 3rd straight victory

MIAMI (AP) — Agustín Ramírez walked, doubled twice and singled in his second major league game to help the Miami Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Ramírez went 2 for 3 in his MLB debut on Monday, and his five hits are the most in the first two MLB games by a Marlins player.

Xavier Edwards singled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh — a two-out dribbler to Reds reliever Graham Ashcraft. A throwing error by Ashcraft (0-2) allowed Otto Lopez to score from second.

The Marlins won their third straight game and will go for the series sweep of the Reds on Wednesday.

Lake Bachar (1-0) picked up his first major league win after striking out two in a scoreless seventh. Calvin Faucher pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.

TJ Friedl singled and had a run-scoring double for the Reds, who fell to 2-5 in one-run games.

Reds starter Nick Martinez allowed one run and struck out four in 5 1/3 innings. Marlins starter Edward Cabrera gave up three runs and struck out seven in five innings.

Cincinnati's Noelvi Marte hit his second homer of the season, a 431-foot solo shot off Cabrera, in the third.

Martinez was relieved by Ashcraft in the sixth after giving up a two-out infield singled to Eric Wagaman, followed by Ramírez's run-scoring double to make it 3-2.

With the win, the Marlins improved to 8-7 at home and 11-12 overall. Miami didn't win its 10th game of the season until May 5 last year.

Reds RHP Brady Singer (3-0, 3.38) will start the final game of the series against Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 7.27) on Wednesday afternoon.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cincinnati Reds' TJ Friedl reacts after hitting a double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz follows through on a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Marlins' Eric Wagaman runs home to score on a RBI double hit by Agustin Ramirez during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz steals second during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz steals second during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Nick Martinez throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Marlins' Kyle Stowers hits a RBI single to score Eric Wagaman during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Cincinnati Reds' Noelvi Marte (16) watches after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Marlins' Agustin Ramirez, left, follows through on a RBI double to score Eric Wagaman during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen returned to court Tuesday to appeal an embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.

Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a further two-year suspended sentence and a 100,000-euro ($116,800) fine.

Le Pen did not talk at her arrival at the courthouse.

As the trial was starting, she stood up silently in front of the panel of three judges while reasons for the proceedings were being read by the president of the court. The room was packed with a crowd of dozens of reporters and general public.

“I hope I'll be able to convince the judges of my innocence,” Le Pen told reporters Monday. “It’s a new court with new judges. The case will be reset, so to speak.”

The appeals trial is scheduled to last for five weeks, with a verdict expected at a later date.

Le Pen was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last year's ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. She denounced it as “a democratic scandal.”

Her National Rally party has been coming out on top in opinion polls, and Le Pen alleged that the judicial system brought out “the nuclear bomb” to prevent her from becoming France’s president.

The appeal trial, involving Le Pen, 10 other defendants and the National Rally party as a legal entity, is scheduled to last for five weeks. A panel of three judges at the appeals court in Paris is expected to announce its verdict at a later date, possibly before summer.

Several scenarios are possible, from acquittal to another conviction that may or may not bar her from running in 2027. She could also face an even tougher punishment if convicted anew — up to 10 years in prison and a 1-million euro ($1.17 million) fine.

In March, Le Pen and other party officials were convicted of using money intended for EU parliamentary assistants who instead had other duties between 2004 and 2016, in violation of EU rules. Some actually did work for the party, known as the National Front at the time, in French domestic politics, the court said.

In handing down the sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the heart of a “system” set up to siphon off EU parliament funds — including to pay for her bodyguard and her chief of staff.

All suspects denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen argued the money was used in a legitimate way. The judge said Le Pen and the others did not enrich themselves personally.

The legal proceedings initially stemmed from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities.

The case and its fallout weigh heavily on Le Pen’s political future after more than a decade spent trying to bring the far right into France’s political mainstream. Since taking over the party from her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, she has sought to shed its reputation for racism and antisemitism, changing its name, expelling her father in 2015 and softening both the party’s platform and her own public image.

That strategy has paid dividends. The National Rally is now the largest single political group in France’s lower house of parliament and has built a broad network of elected officials across the country.

Le Pen stepped down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential race, handing the role to Jordan Bardella, now 30.

If she is ultimately prevented from running in 2027, Bardella is widely expected to be her successor. His popularity has surged, particularly among younger voters, though some within the party have questioned his leadership.

Le Pen's potential conviction would be “deeply worrying for (France's) democracy,” Bardella said Monday in a New Year address.

European Parliament lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve arrives to an appeal court for far-right leader Marine Le Pen's appeal trial for an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives for her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella speaks during his New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, is framed by Louis Aliot, left, and conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti during National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)