Miami 5, Chi. Cubs 2
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Where: Marlins Park, Miami, Florida
Temperature:
Indoors
Umpires:
Home -
Sam Holbrook, 1B -
James Hoye, 2B -
John Hirschbeck, 3B -
Bill Welke
Attendance:
23789
By The Sports Xchange
MIAMI -- It took three extra-base hits -- all of them with two outs and all of them by right-handed hitters going to the opposite field -- to power the Miami Marlins to victory on Tuesday night.
But a ninth-inning base-running mistake by the Chicago Cubs provided the final push the Marlins needed.
Center fielder Marcell Ozuna cleared the bases in the fifth inning with a three-run double, the decisive blow in Miami's 5-2 win over Chicago at Marlins Park.
The Cubs momentarily loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton's throw to second caught Chicago's Addison Russell off the base.
"I was just looking to go to third," Russell said. "At the last second, I saw (third-base coach Gary) Jones hold up his hands, and I tried to get back as fast as I could.
"I'm aggressive. I don't think that was a stupid or dumb play. I was trying to get to third to put my team in a better situation to win. Next time, I've got to make sure I pick up Jonesy."
Marlins closer A.J. Ramos then struck out pinch-hitter Miguel Montero to nail down his fifth save of the season.
"We had a great opportunity to come back," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "We did have overzealous base-running at second. Otherwise, we have bases loaded and one out -- that's not a bad moment right there.
"I love our fight. I'll take our fight any day of the week."
Stanton added a solo homer in the seventh, putting Miami up 5-2. That gave Stanton 16 homers and 45 RBIs on the season. He started the day tied for first in the National League in RBIs and tied for third in homers.
The Marlins' other big hit was a run-scoring double by shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. Ozuna, Stanton and Hechavarria are all right-handed hitters who went to the opposite field for their extra-base hits.
"Frankie (Menechino, the hitting coach) drives that approach home, especially in this (spacious) ballpark," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said. "Our guys get in the cage and they work on using both gaps. When they can turn the field around a little bit, it opens things up for them."
Left-hander Brad Hand (1-1) earned his first win of the season, allowing six hits, two walks and two runs in six innings. Hand was the first left-handed starter faced by the Cubs in 18 days.
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (1-2) took the loss, allowing seven hits, two walks and four runs.
Miami (21-32) snapped a two-game losing streak.
Chicago (27-23) had a modest two-game win streak broken.
The highlight for the Cubs came in the ninth when shortstop Starlin Castro, 25, singled to left. He became the youngest player to reach 900 career hits while in a Cubs uniform. He beat the previous record set by Ron Santo in 1965.
Miami opened the scoring in the second inning. Ozuna beat out an infield hit and eventually scored on a ground-rule double by Hechavarria, who hit a 1-2 pitch to right field, where it went over the fence on a hop.
Chicago took a 2-1 lead in the third. Center fielder Dexter Fowler beat out an infield single and scored from first on a two-out double to the right-field corner by first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Right fielder Junior Lake then followed with his own RBI double, also to the right-field corner.
Miami took a 4-2 lead in the fifth on a two-out, three-run double to right-center by Ozuna, who hit the first pitch of the at-bat, capitalizing on a fastball up in the zone.
Hand started the rally with a single, and he's now hitting .200 on the season.
"I can hit a little bit," Hand said. "I used to be able to do it in high school, but you just don't get as many reps here and you lose the feel.
"I was just looking for a pitch I could hit up the middle. It ran away, and it broke my bat, actually."
Before Ozuna got his big hit, Stanton was up with the ba
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Chi. Cubs
|
8 |
0 |
12 |
.242 |
13 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
| Miami
|
8 |
1 |
13 |
.250 |
14 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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