Saltalamacchia's fourth-inning, 2-run double was the difference maker in a 3-2 Marlins win Wednesday
A.J Burnett was solid over seven innings, but timely hitting and a strong start from Henderson Alvarez made the difference in Miami's 3-2 win Wednesday night.
Things went smoothly in the first for Burnett, who needed nine pitches to sit the Marlins down in order. Miami second baseman Derek Dietrich made a great diving play to snag a Jimmy Rollins grounder and make the out at first as Alvarez worked a clean bottom of the first.
Ryan Howard led off the bottom of the second with a walk, and Marlon Byrd followed it up with a single to left. Cody Asche, who recently returned from the disabled list, grounded into what appeared to be a 4-6-3 double play, but the call on the field was ruled that shortstop Ed Lucas, covering second, didn't have his foot on the bag when receiving the ball. Byrd was called safe, putting men on second and third with one out. After a strikeout of Domonic Brown, Ben Revere was intentionally walked (yes, you read that correctly) to get to A.J. Burnett, who grounded out weakly to end the inning.
Both pitchers managed 1-2-3 innings in the third, with offense at a premium early on. Giancarlo Stanton's fourth inning, one-out single to right was the second Miami hit of the night. Casey McGehee added a single of his own with a hit to shallow center and, with two outs, Marcell Ozuna doubled over the head of Brown in left to score Stanton. Brown looked as though he misjudged the distance of the hit right off the bat, as he hesitated initially before realizing too late where the ball was going. Jarrod Saltalamacchia plated another two runners with a double of his own, this one to deep center, pushing the Marlins lead to 3-0.
Howard led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, and the Phillies looked to be catching a break when Ozuna misplayed a flyball off the bat of Byrd in left, but Alvarez made a great stab at Asche's grounder up the middle to get a double play. Brown came up again and grounded out to first, to the audible displeasure of many fans present.
Burnett worked around two walks, including one to Alvarez, to strike out two and record a scoreless top of the fifth. He seemed to be a little off with some of his breaking pitches, and labored through a 28-pitch fourth, but recovered well enough to limit the damage done. Revere reached first safely on a grounder to Dietrich that the infielder threw over the head of Garrett Jones at first. Burnett's sac bunt to first moved Revere to second before Rollins reached on an infield single to short. Alvarez got two strikes on Carlos Ruiz before coming inside and hitting the catcher to load the bases. Utley then hit a long flyout to center that just barely stayed in the park, scoring Revere to cut the Marlins lead to two. Howard ended the inning with a line drive out to center.
Burnett worked a scoreless sixth, striking out two in his first 1-2-3 inning since the third. Byrd singled to lead off the bottom of the inning. Asche followed up with a chopper towards right field that Dietrich again made a great jump on to make the out at first on a close play. Brown came up again with a chance to drive a run in and, after a long foul ball, capitalized with a run-scoring single to right center. Revere grounded into a double play, with the Marlins clinging to a 3-2 lead.
Burnett came on for the seventh and closed out strong, striking out Alvarez (who walked against him earlier) in a scoreless seventh. Rollins hit a done out double down the third base line in the bottom of the inning before alvarez was pulled with two outs. He allowed 2 runs in 6.2 innings, striking out three and walking two with 7 hits allowed. After Utley's long out earlier, manager Mike Redmond opted to go with a fresh arm in reliever Mike Dunn. Utley hit a routine grounder to second that Lucas bobbled, allowing him to reach on an error before Howard grounded out to end the inning.
Antonio Bastardo worked around a two-out single by McGehee in recording a scoreless eighth, striking out two. Miami's Kevin Gregg sat the Phillies down in order, with Brown recording the third out on a flyball to center as the crowd again voiced their dissatisfaction with the struggling left fielder. Justin De Fratus gave the Phillies a chance with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, but Miami closer struck out the side to seal the deal for the Marlins. The final: 3-2.
Notable Statistics:
Marlon Byrd: 3-4, R
A.J. Burnett: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 K 107 Pitches (70 Strikes)
Domonic Brown: 1-4, RBI
Impact:
Burnett wasn't fantastic control-wise, but he had pretty good stuff all night and gave the Phillies a good chance to win. The fourth inning was the back-breaker, especially with Alvarez pitching as well as he has of late. He is now 3-0 in his last seven starts with a 0.78 ERA. He wasn't dominant, but he kept the Phillies hitters off balance with a hard fastball (93-97 all night) despite allowing 11 men to reach base in 6.2 innings. The fans let Brown hear it tonight, and its hard to argue with them considering the left fielder's season-long struggles. He has been one of baseball's worst players by both traditional and sabermetric stats alike, and its hard to imagine him playing regularly if he keeps this up, plain and simple.
Up Next:
The Phillies will try for a split of the four-game series Thursday. They'll send Cole Hamels (2-4, 2.76) to the hill against Miami, who will counter with Tom Koehler (5-6, 3.74 ERA)
