Marlins use two big innings to beat Phillies and move into tie for second in NL East
With runners on the corners in the sixth inning and the game tied, Corey Dickerson provided the Miami Marlins’ critical hit on Monday night.
He lifted a low sinker from Zach Eflin and sent it to the gap in right-center field. Adam Duvall scored easily from third base, as did the speedy Jon Berti from first. Dickerson hustled to third base for the two-run triple, beating out a throw that was wide anyway.
“I just tried to be patient in that last at-bat,” Dickerson said, “and find something I could put in play.”
The Marlins didn’t stop there, adding four more runs in the seventh — all against former Miami reliever Brandon Kintzler — and one more in the eighth en route to a 9-6 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies at loanDepot park.
Miami is now 23-24, on a three-game winning streak and have won six of their last eight to move into a tie with the Atlanta Braves for second in the NL East — one game behind the New York Mets, who are now 21-20 after their loss to the Colorado Rockies. The Phillies are 23-25.
“Obviously it feels good to be putting wins on the board,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You chase a team and you’re down one [game], but if you lose a couple in a row, you’re in last place in this division right now. We’ve put ourselves in the pack. Now, we’ve got to keep pace or get our nose out there. Just keep winning games.”
The Marlins padded their score Monday with five of six batters who faced Kintzler in the seventh reaching base. Garrett Cooper started the action with a first-pitch single up the middle. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out, Miguel Rojas was hit by a pitch and Jesus Aguilar scored Cooper with an RBI single to right field.
Adam Duvall crushed his ninth home run of the year on the next pitch, a towering shot that went a projected 424 feet to right field. Berti doubled to end Kintzler’s time on the mound but was stranded at third.
Cooper then drove in Magneuris Sierra with an RBI double in the eighth to cap scoring.
“It felt good to get a little cushion there,” Mattingly said.
A Sandy Leon sacrifice fly in the second and Aguilar RBI double in the third accounted for Miami’s first two runs.
On the mound
Trevor Rogers held the Phillies to two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks while striking out five batters. He had trouble with his command early, walking the first two batters he faced and issuing another free pass in the second inning as well before settling down.
After giving up the two runs — an RBI single to Ronald Torreyes in the second and a ground-rule RBI double to Rhys Hoskins with two outs in the third — Rogers retired eight of his final nine batters.
“I just tried to be more competitive in the zone,” said Rogers, who has a 1.75 ERA through his first 10 starts of the season. “Those first two guys, I was trying to nitpick, be perfect. After that, I was like ‘OK. I’ve just got to try to be aggressive.’”
Adam Cimber, Anthony Bass, Zach Pop threw three scoreless innings. Shawn Morimando gave up four runs in the ninth — a Brad Miller solo home run, Andrew McCutchen RBI double, Odubel Herrera RBI groundout and Jean Segura RBI double — before Dylan Floro recorded the final out and his first career MLB save.
Marlins injury updates
Back in spring training, Mattingly said he expected the NL East to be a “black and blue” division. He anticipated all five teams to be competitive as the season unfolded.
Mattingly didn’t anticipate the saying to become so literal.
All five teams have dealt with injuries to key players to some degree over the first quarter of the season. All five teams as a result have gone through their ebbs and flows.
Most importantly, the division is still up for grabs, with no team separating itself from the pack. The first-place Mets and the fifth-place Washington Nationals are separated by just two games.
Also important for the Marlins: They are getting oh so close to being back to full strength — or at least they were before a couple potential injuries on Monday.
Brian Anderson left Monday’s game after two innings with left shoulder soreness. The severity of the injury is unknown at this time although Mattingly said Anderson had been playing through the injury the past few games and “then seemed to aggravate it” on Monday.
Rojas was also replaced in the eighth inning following his hit-by-pitch. Mattingly said the move was mostly precautionary and that Rojas will be re-evaluated Tuesday.
The latest bits of good news, though: Catcher Jorge Alfaro was added back to the active roster prior to Monday’s series opener with the Phillies and outfielder Starling Marte is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with the Triple A Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday.
Also, right-handed pitcher Elieser Hernandez continues to progress well after two rehab starts and is trending toward returning when he is eligible to come off the injured list on June 3. Meanwhile, Sixto Sanchez is scheduled to throw his first bullpen session since injuring his right shoulder on April 1 and Edward Cabrera is set to throw his second live batting practice session later this week.
“You always want your team back together,” Mattingly said, “and you know that everyone gets challenged with injuries and we’ll probably get challenged again at different parts of the year. We want our team to be resilient and hang in there.”
This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 10:05 PM.
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