MIAMI — The Miami Marlins got revenge Saturday afternoon.
After a tough loss on Friday night, the Marlins defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3, on Saturday at loanDepot Park, snapping the Phillies’ 13-game road win streak and evening the series heading into Sunday’s series finale — the final game before the All-Star break.
At 52-39, the Marlins are guaranteed to be in second place in the National League East heading into the break. The Phillies fall to 48-40.
Jorge Soler’s solo home run and a two-run single from Dane Myers put the Marlins up 3-1 in the first inning. Myers scored on Soler’s sacrifice fly to center field, extending the lead to 4-3 in the fourth. Luiz Arraez’s pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh inning capped off the win and extended his on-base streak to 22 games.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Braxton Garrett has a good day on the mound
Left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett has been stellar on the mound thus far in the season.
The fourth-year lefty was undefeated in his previous 10 starts, producing a 2.26 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 55 2/3 frames.
On Saturday, he held the Phillies to three earned runs on six hits while striking out three across five innings. All three runs came in the first two innings before Garrett settled in, ultimately retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced.
Heading into the All-Star Break, he has amassed a 3.70 ERA with 101 strikeouts against 15 walks over 92 1/2 innings in 18 games (17 starts).
“I’ve been real happy with how I’ve competed even on days when I haven’t had my best stuff,” Garrett said after the game. “It’s good to get a win against a team like that, they’re really good [and are] on a hot streak. Just getting the win is huge there.”
Another home run for Soler
Soler tied the game 1-1 in the first inning with a solo home run and his sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave Miami a 4-3 advantage over Philadelphia.
The home run was his 23rd of the season, which is tied for the fifth-most in Marlins history before the All-Star break. Mike Lowell owns the club record with 28 home runs prior to the break in 2003.
“Soler has been a monster,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said after the game. “Good at-bat, home run, tough walks, sac flies. He’s just taking really good at-bats. … I think his game planning has been excellent. Soler has been in the league a long time, I still think he’s growing as a player and I think he’s just getting better and better.”
AJ Puk successfully closes it out
Miami entered the ninth inning holding on to a 5-3 lead over the Phillies as Puk took the mound to start.
Despite Puk blowing two consecutive saves, he was able to get redemption this time around. Schumaker was hoping to get him back on the mound sooner than later.
“He wanted to get back out here,” Schumaker said. “It shows you how tough that kid is. … I would have liked to [have] won by a lot, but I also like him to be in the game to show what kind of confidence we have in him. You’re gonna have a couple of those. Nobody’s perfect. So, I’m glad he bounced back.”
