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Tonight was a much needed night for the Marlins' players and fans. Everything seemed to go their way throughout the entire ball game, with effective pitching and offense paving the way for a shutout win for Miami.
The scoring started early for the Fish, as one of the usual scorers pulled through in a big way. In the bottom of the first, Martin Prado and Christian Yelich managed to reach base on a double and walk, respectively. With one out and two men on, Giancarlo Stanton arrived at the plate. He did what Giancarlo does, and hit a laser beam of a homef run to left field, scoring three.
It wasn't long until the Marlins struck again. In the bottom of the second, Adeiny Hechavarria was able to single to center, followed by Christian Yelich tripling to right, scoring Hechavarria. This two-out RBI triple would give Miami a 4-0 lead, early on. Giancarlo Stanton would continue his destruction of opposing pitching, by hitting an infield single, driving in Yelich from third, leading to a 5-0 cushion for the Fish.
Speaking of Hechavarria (remember to vote Hech for the All-Star Game, Marlins fans!), he had a gem of a putout in the top of the third. You should definitely check it out here.
An unexpected homer came in the bottom of the fifth, off the bat of first basemen Jeff Baker. Only his third of the year, the home run was crushed beyond the "stairway to heaven" behind the center field wall. Watch that home run here. This solo shot gave Miami a 6-0 lead.
David Phelps pitched out of his mind in this contest. Going eight strong innings, he allowed only four hits and no runs, striking out six, walking only one. Carter Capps would relive him in the ninth, allowing one hit, but no runs.
On the other hand, Chris Rusin, who had been pitching great as of late, struggled to keep the off-and-on Marlins offense in check. He allowed six runs off of eleven hits in 5.1 innings. The Rockies bullpen would close things out, with Tommy Kahnle and LaTroy Hawkins keeping the Fish off the board.
Miami started this series out strong, and they hope to keep this momentum for the rest of the series.
Source: FanGraphs
Hero of the game: Giancarlo Stanton (+.255)
Goat of the game: Chris Rusin (-.332)
Play of the game: Giancarlo Stanton three-run homer (+.224)