PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Blown out in the first game of the series against the Phillies, the Marlins responded with wins in the next two games that showed they might have some fight in them this season against the NL East's best.
Bryan De La Cruz won the game with an RBI single in the 10th inning and Jorge Soler’s solo tying homer in the eighth sparked Miami to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
“I think they're starting to believe that they can play with anybody,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “There's a lot of good guys in there that have won before and guys that are learning how to win.”
De La Cruz singled off Craig Kimbrel, who had relieved Gregory Soto (1-2), and was thrown out trying to extend the hit into a double. He drove in Nick Fortes, who had pinch run for Soler, the automatic runner.
A.J. Puk (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for Miami, which took two of three from the NL champions.
Soler had the game-changing shot when he connected off José Alvarado in the eighth for his fourth homer this season.
“Up and down the lineup, the young guys are starting to gain more confidence,” Schumaker said. “Then the big boys producing.”
Philadelphia wasted a solid outing from Zack Wheeler.
Wheeler became only the second Phillies starter to pitch six innings this season. The Phillies had been running their bullpen ragged and Wheeler was to blame for some of that -- the ace righty only went 4 1/3 innings against Texas in a loss and then 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against Cincinnati.
He threw 95 pitches and allowed three hits against the Marlins. Wheeler was uncharacteristically wild in the fifth inning when he walked the bases loaded. But he retired Luis Arraez -- who a night earlier became the first Marlin to hit for the cycle -- on a flyball to end the threat.
Wheeler has openly grumbled about the introduction of the pitch clock since spring training. The 2021 NL Cy Young Award runner-up, Wheeler tried not to blame the clock for his wild fifth.
“I don't think you're ever going to get comfortable with it,” he said. “It's always pressure to get the right sign, get the right grip and feel comfortable and go. It was a track meet today just because all the innings were going by quick. Before you knew it, it was the fourth or fifth inning.”
Even with a 10th inning, the game wrapped in 2 hours, 40 minutes.
HOW THEY SCORED
Bryson Stott singled against Edward Cabrera in the first inning and joined Puddin’ Head Jones in 1950 (16 games) as the only Phillies to start the season with a 12-game hitting streak.
Wheeler allowed De La Cruz’s RBI single in the fourth for a 1-0 lead and Brandon Marsh tied the game in the bottom half of the inning with a run-scoring double.
Kody Clemens' first hit for the Phillies was a one-out single of Cabrera in the fifth. Stott followed with a 105.1 mph shot that hit off the right-field wall and sprung past Jesús Sánchez and rolled almost to the infield. Clemens easily scored for the 2-1 lead.
“We're going to be in a good spot here soon,” manager Rob Thomson said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter will play catch up to 60 feet on Friday as he recovers from a sprained ligament in his right elbow. The 20-year-old hasn't pitched since he felt tenderness in his elbow after his spring training debut on March 1. .There is no timeline on his return ... LHP Ranger Suárez (left forearm) will throw a bullpen session on Friday. ... 1B Darick Hall had surgery Wednesday for a torn ligament in his right thumb. He is expected to miss two months.
GETTING TO .500
Arraez went 1-for-5 and his average actually dropped to .500 on the season. Still, the second baseman is now just the fifth qualified player to hit .500 through his team's first 13 games of the season in the wild-card era. He joins Ramón Hernández in 2006 (.526), Barry Bonds (.500) in 2004, Sandy Alomar (.512) in 1997 and Mike Piazza (.525) in 1995.
HOT STOTT
Stott went 2-for-5 and has five straight multi-hit games and nine multi-hit games this season. His 21 hits through the Phillies' first 12 games are the most since Chase Utley had 22 in 2014.
UP NEXT
Marlins: Head home and open a three-game set Friday against Arizona. The Marlins send LHP Trevor Rogers (0-2, 6.00) to the mound against Diamondbacks LHP Madison Bumgarner (0-1, 7.27).
Phillies: The Phillies send LHP Bailey Falter (0-1, 2.61 ERA) to the mound against Cincinnati LHP Nick Lodolo (1-0, 1.50 ERA) on Thursday for the start of a four-game series. Lodolo struck out a career-high 12 and tossed three-hit ball over seven shutout innings against the Phillies on Saturday.
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