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After a strong month of July in 2016, the Miami Marlins started to fizzle late in August. Their last win from that month however, was a memorable one and it took place on this day five years ago.
Trailing by four runs in the seventh inning, Chris Johnson played the role of hero for Miami. Johnson’s walk-off ground rule double propelled the Marlins past the San Diego Padres, 7-6.
Miami trailed 6-2 at Marlins Park on Aug. 26, 2016 at the seventh-inning stretch. Marcell Ozuna singled home a run to bring Miami within three in the seventh inning before the team plated three runs in the eighth to draw even.
Martín Prado cut the deficit to 6-5 with a two-out, two-run single in the eighth before Christian Yelich tied the game with an RBI single of his own. Ozuna lined out to end the frame, but Fernando Rodney worked a perfect ninth to put the Marlins in position to win the contest.
San Diego’s Brandon Maurer got Dee Strange-Gordon to fly out to start the bottom of the ninth, but that was followed with an infield single by Jeff Francoeur and a walk to Ichiro Suzuki. Maurer struck Miguel Rojas out swinging to set the stage for Johnson.
Johnson was 0-for-3 to that point in the game, but got ahead in the count before hitting one into the right-center field gap. Johnson initially put his head down, indicating that he thought he had flied out, but as outfielders gave chase the ball landed just beyond the outstretched glove of center field Travis Jankowski and bounced into the stands to end the contest.
Miami actually led 2-0 early behind an RBI double from Marcell Ozuna in the first and an RBI groundout from Christian Yelich in the third. The Padres responded with runs in each of the next three innings.
A three-run double from Luis Sardinas headlined a four-run fourth for San Diego. Ryan Schimpf and Sardinas hit solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.
With the win, Miami improved to 67-61 but went on to lose 10 if its next 11 games. As for Johnson, the walk-off hit was just the second of his career and the only one as the member of the Miami Marlins. It came on this day five years ago.