Ozuna’s walk-off single ends Marlins’ comeback
Miami overcomes six-run deficit
MIAMI — The celebratory shaving cream in Marcell Ozuna’s ears provided a clue: This time it was the Miami Marlins with the walk-off hit.
After blowing leads and losing on the final pitch in back-to-back weekend games, the Marlins overcame an early six-run deficit Monday night, and Ozuna singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to beat the Washington Nationals 8-7.
Justin Bour helped reverse the script for Miami when he tied the game at 6 in the third with a grand slam , his 18th homer. Giancarlo Stanton also hit his 18th to make it 7-all in the seventh.
“That was a lot of fun,” Bour said. “It was a great ballgame to be a part of. We were down six but never really out of it.”
Miami bounced back after losing twice in Atlanta on walkoff hits by Brandon Phillips.
“Guys have pretty short memories. You move forward all the time,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We’ve really had a lot of guys swinging the bat well, and I think it gives us confidence.”
Bryce Harper hit his 18th homer for Washington. Anthony Rendon also homered before leaving in the fifth with a neck stinger he sustained diving for a grounder. His status is day to day.
“Nothing too serious,” Rendon said. “Just trying to be a little cautious. A little scary; a jolt of pain. We’ll see how it feels Tuesday.”
Enny Romero (2-3) retired his first two batters in the ninth but walked Dee Gordon on four pitches. Gordon stole second and went to third on a sharp infield single by Stanton before Christian Yelich walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases.
Ozuna badly missed a 99 mph fastball to fall behind
0-2. Romero’s next pitch was clocked at 96 mph, and Ozuna launched it to the warning track in left-center, triggering a celebration that included a shaving cream pie to his face .
“After swinging at a fastball at 99, I said, ‘OK, stay short and put the ball in play,’” Ozuna said. “That’s what I did.”
The bullpen failure was all too familiar for the Nationals.
“These guys have been giving up runs late,” Mattingly said. “You get into that bullpen, you never know what’s going to happen, but you know you have a chance to score some runs.”