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Miami Marlins sweep Philadelphia Phillies, extend win streak to four

By Walter Villa, The Sports Xchange
Miami Marlins' Marcell Ozuna smiles after his at bat in the 3rd inning. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Miami Marlins' Marcell Ozuna smiles after his at bat in the 3rd inning. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

MIAMI -- Marcell Ozuna is retiring his "borrowed" bat.

Justin Bour homered twice and Ozuna went deep once to power the Miami Marlins to a 10-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday afternoon at Marlins Park.

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Ozuna, who borrowed a black bat from teammate Ichiro Suzuki on Tuesday, went 4-for-6 with two homers with that piece of lumber in the past two games.

But after hitting a first-inning, two-run homer with that bat on Wednesday, Ozuna did something unusual. He approached Suzuki in the dugout, bowed out of respect, and told him that the bat was now going to be mounted on his wall.

"It's a magic bat," Ozuna said.

Evidently, all the Marlins' bats are pretty magical right now. Bour and Ozuna each had three RBIs on Wednesday. Bour leads the Marlins with 15 homers while Giancarlo Stanton and Ozuna are tied for second with 14 each.

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"We have a dangerous lineup," Bour said, "one through nine."

Their pitching wasn't bad either, at least on Wednesday.

Dan Straily (4-3) struck out 10 as the Marlins (21-30) extended their win streak to a season-high four games, earning their first sweep of the year.

The only bad news for the Marlins was that Stanton missed the game due to cramping in his left hamstring.

Stanton had kick-started Miami's resurgence over the past week, hitting .414 (12-for-29) with three homers since being moved from cleanup to the two-hole in the batting order. The Marlins are 5-2 with Stanton batting second.

Meanwhile, the Phillies (17-34), who are in last place in the National League East, fell to 6-25 in their past 31 games. They have been swept four times this season.

Third baseman Maikel Franco and center fielder Odubel Herrera, who had been benched this week due to batting slumps, returned to the lineup but to no avail for Philadelphia.

Straily, who leads Marlins starters in wins, allowed eight hits, one walk, two runs (one earned) in 6 2/3 innings. Straily threw 113 pitches, 81 for strikes.

Aaron Nola (2-3), whose brother Austin is a Double-A catcher in Miami's minor-league chain, lasted just three innings, allowing five hits and four runs.

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Nola got in trouble immediately, allowing three first-inning runs.

Leadoff batter Dee Gordon walked, stole his 16th base of the season and scored on a one-out, ground-ball single to center by Christian Yelich. Ozuna followed by hitting his homer, an opposite-field shot to right.

"Dee started with a long at-bat," Nola said of Gordon. "He kept fouling pitches off, and I ended up walking him. That's not how you want to start the game.

"I got myself in a jam to start the game, and I was behind in the count a good bit, and that puts in more work."

Gordon started another rally in the third. He singled, advanced to second on a JT Riddle single and eventually scored when Ozuna's chopper ate up Franco at third base. The play was ruled a hit for Ozuna, but it wasn't Franco's best moment.

After that, Miami poured it on against Philadelphia's bullpen, scoring one run in the fourth, three in the fifth and two in the sixth. Bour hit a solo homer in the fifth and a two-run shot in the sixth, both to right field.

Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said he removed Nola as a precaution.

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"He's fine, but 73 pitches in three innings -- that's too many," Mackanin said. "I didn't want him to get hurt and throw 100 pitches in four innings."

Mackanin correctly pointed out that the Marlins had been struggling until recently.

"They came out on top, and we came out on the bottom," he said. "We need a series like they just had against somebody."

NOTES: Philadelphia placed RHP Vince Velasquez (right elbow) on the disabled list after he felt numbness in Tuesday's first inning. ... Philadelphia recalled RHP Ricardo Pinto Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Pinto pitched Wednesday, allowing four runs in two innings of relief. ... Phillies OF Daniel Nava, who has been out since suffering a hamstring injury on May 19, has played two rehab games and is nearing a return. ... Marlins LHP Justin Nicolino, who suffered a contusion on his left index finger that he hurt while trying to bunt on Tuesday, is expected to be placed on the disabled list on Thursday. That's when the Marlins plan to activate LHP Jeff Locke off the disabled list, where he has been all season. ... Marlins 1B Justin Bour has 11 homers this month, one short of the team record owned by Giancarlo Stanton. ... The Marlins are 7-3 when backup C A.J. Ellis starts. ... The Marlins, last in the NL in attendance, announced their smallest crowd of the season: 15,197.

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