Marlins win streak over Phillies snapped after rough sixth inning dooms rally attempt
Any chances for the Miami Marlins to record a second consecutive sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies quickly died in the sixth inning on Sunday.
The Marlins, even with a ferocious rally attempt over the final four innings, couldn’t overcome the seven runs the Phillies put up in the sixth — and three more in the eighth and ninth for safe measure — to run away with a 13-6 win at Marlins Park.
The loss snapped Miami’s five-game win streak against the Phillies, which included a three-game sweep in Philadelphia and the first two games of this series.
There’s a lot to digest, so let’s dive right into it.
The Phillies (44-40) held a 3-1 lead entering the sixth inning. The Marlins (32-50) turned to Wei-Yin Chen after Trevor Richards threw 85 pitches over the first five innings, holding the Phillies to those three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three.
Chen faced five batters: J.T. Realmuto, Cesar Hernandez, Brad Miller, Maikel Franco and Jake Arrieta. He didn’t record an out.
All five hit singles — three to left field and two to center. Three runs scored. 6-1 Phillies.
“They didn’t hit anything hard,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Everything fell.”
Mattingly sent Chen to the dugout at this point in favor of Jeff Brigham.
He didn’t fare much better.
After striking out Scott Kingery for the first out of the inning, Brigham loaded the bases when Jean Segura hit a single to center field to bring Bryce Harper to the plate.
Harper, who opened scoring with an RBI single in the first, blasted a full-count fastball to the left-field wall that Curtis Granderson bobbled but kept in play.
Franco scored on the play with ease, but Arrieta held up on the third-base line despite Segura rounding second and making it to third base. After slight hesitation, Arrieta to home plate and was credited with a run scored after running into Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro, who was charged with interference. 8-1 Phillies.
A wild pitch during the next plate appearance sent Segura scampering home, where he collided with Alfaro but ultimately scored. 9-1 Phillies. Alfaro, nose bleeding from the collision, stayed in the game after being tended to by a trainer.
A Rhys Hoskins sacrifice fly scored Harper before pinch-hitter Andrew Knapp flew out to end the top half of the inning. 10-1 Phillies.
The Marlins chipped away at the deficit in the final four innings, but unlike Saturday — when the Marlins used a six-run seventh inning to come back for a 9-6 win over the Phillies — they were unable to fully make up their deficit.
The rally started in the bottom half of the inning. They scored three runs on a Curtis Granderson RBI double that scored Brian Anderson and an Alfaro home run to left-center field off Arrieta. 10-4.
Two more runs came across in the seventh, with Anderson’s two-out RBI triple scoring Garrett Cooper before Anderson scored on a wild pitch. 10-6.
“We made it interesting there for a minute,” Mattingly said.
That was as close as they would get.
Harper belted a two-run home run — the 199th of his career — in the eighth inning off Brigham to give the Phillies a six-run cushion. The lead extended to seven in the ninth on a Franco RBI single off Jose Quijada.
This story was originally published June 30, 2019 at 4:46 PM.
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