PHOENIX (AP) — The Miami Marlins have found themselves on the losing end of most close games this year.
They may have found a solution: blowouts.
Miami turned a competitive afternoon into a comfortable win Wednesday, riding big swings by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Avisaíl García to an eight-run ninth inning and an 11-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Definitely a sigh of relief,” manager Don Mattingly said. “Hopefully that little breakout at the end can get us rolling.”
The Marlins avoided a three-game sweep and won for just the second time in their past 11 games. The D-backs had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Miami controlled most of the game until the eighth, when Arizona pinch hitter Jordan Luplow connected for a tying two-run homer against Steven Okert.
The Marlins have already lost 10 one-run games this season, and it looked as if another heartbreak might be coming.
But Miami responded quickly — and decisively — off Mark Melancon. Catcher Jacob Stallings entered the game hitting just .183 but came up big in the ninth, hitting a single that put the Marlins back in front. Chisholm then drove a low pitch out to left-center, barely clearing the wall for a three-run blast that pushed Miami’s lead to 7-3.
It was Chisholm’s sixth homer of the season. Anthony Bass (1-1) got one out for the win.
It has been a rough stretch for Melancon (0-4), the veteran closer who signed a $14 million, two-year deal with the Diamondbacks during the offseason. He has surrendered eight runs over his last three outings.
“We ran out of gas in the ninth,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I was proud of the way the guys fought to tie the game.”
García capped the Miami’s big ninth with another three-run shot off J.B. Wendelken….
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