Brian Anderson's career-high 4 RBI lift Marlins past Phillies in series opener
MIAMI (AP) --Brian Anderson was unsure whether his drive to center field had enough distance to clear the wall, and then it caromed halfway up the home run sculpture at Marlins Park.
The rookie is still finding his bearings in the major leagues, but he homered, drove in four runs and made a clutch diving catch in right field Monday night, helping the Miami Marlins beat Jake Arrieta and the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4.
"I was lucky to have a good day," Anderson said.
The Marlins have won three games in a row for the first time this season, and five of six. The Phillies lost their third consecutive game.
Anderson hit a two-run double in the third , the first of his three hits, and added a Stanton-esque two-run homer in the seventh. He didn't spend any time admiring the clout on his way to first base.
"It's a big park and usually the ball doesn't fly that well, so I'm not at the point where I'm going to act like they're gone," he said. "I'll keep running them out."
Anderson surprised himself even more by making a lunging, backhand catch with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, which helped Kyle Barraclough escape a jam as the Marlins retained a 6-4 lead.
Anderson began the season at third base and recently moved to the outfield, which he played at the University of Arkansas.
"I don't have much experience out there," he said. "At the same time, I want to be able to make those plays."
The homer was his second, and he leads the Marlins with 16 RBIs. Few saw his latest performance-- the crowd of 5,415 was the smallest in the seven-season history of Marlins Park.
Arrieta (3-1) lasted only 3 2/3 innings. He allowed six earned runs after giving up three or fewer in each of his past 18 starts.
The Marlins reached him for eight hits, including five doubles. They came into the game with 29 doubles, last in the majors.
"You have one or two of those a year, trying to find your way through it," Arrieta said. "It seemed like everything I threw over the plate got hit with men on base. It was a struggle from the get-go."
Miami starter Dan Straily wasn't sharp either in his season debut, allowing four runs in four innings. He had been sidelined since the middle of spring training because of forearm inflammation.
Jorge Alfaro and Maikel Franco each hit a two-run homer off Straily.
"A couple of bad sliders," Straily said. "But it's good to be back."
The Phillies' Odubel Herrera singled in the first inning to reach base safely in his 30th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors.
READY FOR PRIME TIME PLAYERS
The Phillies are set to take the hill on "The Goldbergs."
In the episode "Opportunity Of A Lifetime," Barry Goldberg wins a SportsRadio WIP contest to throw out the first pitch at a Phillies game at Veterans Stadium.
The idea for the episode was sparked last season when the real Barry Goldberg and the actor who portrays him on TV, Troy Gentile, were invited to throw out the first pitch at a Phillies game. "The Goldbergs" draws on the childhood and videotaped domestic life of series creator Adam F. Goldberg, a native of the Philadelphia suburbs.
The first-pitch experience turned into a natural story line for Barry Goldberg.
"His first reaction when I asked him about it, he said, `My throw is so powerful that it'll go over the plate and into the stands,'" Adam F. Goldberg told the AP. "That is a Barry line. Watching him get so nervous, training with friends, sending me videos every day pretending he was a professional pitcher; at the end of the day, he just went out and threw it. Lobbed it in."
Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt appears at the end of Wednesday's episode.
ROSTER MOVE
To make room on the roster for Straily, RHP Tyler Cloyd was placed on paternity leave.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: 1B Justin Bour (back spasms) was held out of the starting lineup for the third day in a row but pinch-hit and flied out. ... SS JT Riddle (right shoulder tendinitis) played in a rehab game at Triple-A New Orleans. ... RHP Odrisamer Despaigne (right forearm strain) threw a bullpen.
Phillies: RHP Mark Leiter Jr. (right forearm strain) threw his entire repertoire in a 20-pitch bullpen session.
UP NEXT
RHP Zach Eflin is scheduled to make his season debut for the Phillies against LHP Jarlin Garcia (1-0, 1.00 ERA). Eflin has a career record of 4-10, while Garcia has allowed three runs and 10 hits in 27 innings this season.
