/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/38498110/20140913_ajw_se7_509.JPG.0.jpg)
The Miami Marlins struggled to score runs yesterday against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the same happened again tonight against Marlins killer Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick went 6 1/ innings and struck out six Marlins while walking one and giving up one lone run. The only Marlins run came off a Garrett Jones solo home run in the second inning.
If I told you that that was the only run Miami scored, you would think the Fish might be on the bad end of a blowout. But this game stayed close all throughout thanks in part to the efforts of Brad Hand. Hand outpitched Kendrick in tonight's game, as he gave up two runs on four hits in six innings while striking out four with no walks. Those two runs came on some unfortunate incidences. Three of the four Phillies hits in the entire game came in the first inning, when Ben Rever singled and scored on a wild pitch and Maikel Franco single. Marlon Byrd doubled home Franco, and Hand then finished off the final two hitters in the inning. From that Byrd double, Hand actually retired the next 14 batters in a row before Revere singled again in the sixth inning.
The Marlins, in the meantime, picked up eight hits on the night. The Fish unfortunately spread those hits out, and in one of the team's few chances with multiple men on board, the club failed to deliver. With Kendrick reeling in the seventh, the Fish got Justin Bour and Adeiny Hechavarria on board with base hits and one out. Pinch-hitter Reed Johnson faced Jake Diekman, only to get a base hit. Bour rounded third and headed home, but the throw from Marlon Byrd was in line and WIl Nieves reached back and made a spectacular diving tag to get the stumbling Bour on the way home.
Miami never got as close as that to tying the game, and Jonathan Papelbon recorded yet another save to put the Marlins in the loss column again.
Source: FanGraphs
Attendance: 26,163
Hero of the Game: No one
Goat of the Game: Christian Yelich (-0.163 WPA)
Play of the Game: Adeiny Hechavarria singled in the seventh inning. Justin Bour to second base. (+0.106 WPA)