Grit, a little luck help Marlins survive first game without Giancarlo Stanton
MIAMI -- Life without Giancarlo Stanton.
It's a situation the Miami Marlins hoped to avoid this season after ending 2014 that way.
But like last September when a fastball prematurely halted his MVP-caliber campaign, the Marlins must carry on over the 4-6 weeks without him.
Hours after the unfortunate news broke, Miami took its first step by besting three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday.
As manager Dan Jennings put it, the ballclub will forge its identity with pitching, defense and quality at-bats.
It did just that led by a "gritty" and "gutsy" effort by right-hander Tom Koehler, who threw seven solid innings, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts. His home ERA dropped to 1.68, lowering the fifth-best mark among major-league-qualifying starters.
"For me, my job remains the same, to go out there for as long as I can and keep the team in it," said Koehler, who improved to 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA. "Obviously it's a big blow. You can't replace him with anybody. At the same time you can't try to. Similar when we lost Jose (Fernandez) last year. You can't expect guys to go up there and try to be him. Nobody -- no offense to anybody in here -- he's got a different skill set than a lot of guys in the league. Everyone just needs to do their job and worry about being the best version of themselves that they can and hopefully that will make up for the difference."
Miami set the tone with an aggressive approach in the first, putting up two runs on two hits, a throwing error and a wild pitch.
Koehler helped himself out when his liner to center surprised Joc Pederson in the second. He leapt for the ball but it fell out of his glove for an error that scored the eventual game-winning run from third.
In the fourth, the middle infield duo of Adeiny Hechavarria and Dee Gordon turned a flashy 6-4-3 double play to erase a threat. While the Dodgers committed two errors, hurting Kershaw with two unearned runs, the Marlins backed up their pitcher.
"Total team effort again," Jennings said. "It was big for us to step up and not fold. I think it speaks to the character of these men and what they were able to accomplish."
Christian Yelich, in a season-long slump, produced his second career four-hit game. All four knocks came off left-handed pitching. He entered the game with a .154 clip against southpaws.
"That's what we're going to have to do," said Yelich, whose average jumped 15 points to .242. "Big fella going down, he's been carrying us for the last couple of weeks. Now we know we're going to have to find different ways to win. Guys are going to have to step up, and that's how were going to have to play until he gets back."
Gordon, who felt under the weather both during and after the game, experienced his first Marlins game without Stanton in the dugout. He went 1 for 4 against his former club.
"I just need him to get better," Gordon said. "We all need him to get better. The quicker he can get better the quicker he can help us."
Until then, the Marlins will need more ballgames like the one they played on Saturday to stay afloat.
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
