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Koehler guts out a victory as Marlins whip Padres with 6-run 6th
Marlins take 2 of 3 from San Diego.
SAN DIEGO — Justin Bour’s slow start toward first base and subsequent bat flip — restrained, but existent — said all that needed to be said. That one felt good.
A home run from Bour, a line-drive nodoubter to right field, was the biggest in a series of blows in the Marlins’ six-run sixth inning against the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Miami parlayed that outburst with a good-enough start from righty Tom Koehler and strong relief work to win 7-3 at Petco Park and take the series rubbermatch.
“Any time you lose the first game and come back to win the series, it feels good,” Koehler said. “I love this team and it’s going to take wins like this and someone stepping up every night to get to where we want to get to.”
Bour’s blast came one day after manager Don Mattingly opted to sit the first baseman, who entered Sunday batting .190 with a .328 slugging percentage — a mark lower than some teammates’ batting averages. After adding a hard-hit, pinch-hit single late Saturday and a long ball Sunday, Bour has hit in five straight games.
“I just want to see good at-bats,” Mattingly said. “I’m not really worried about the number as far as he’s hitting .150 or 60 or 70 or 80 or whatever that is. You’re looking for quality at-bats. And really, you hope to get that.”
Before the homer, RBI knocks from Gi-
ancarlo Stanton (single), Marcell Ozuna (double) and J.T. Realmuto (single) tied it. The first of those came against San Diego starter Luis Perdomo, who had cruised through five innings but didn’t record an out in the sixth.
The Marlins’ six runs were there most in one inning since they scored seven on June 13, 2016 — also at Petco Park.
“Everything fell for us that inning and we were able to keep swinging the bat,” Mattingly said.
Koehler allowed three runs in six innings, scattering six hits and two walks. He struck out seven.
Two of the Padres’ runs came on a fourth-inning homer from Hunter Renfroe, a long fly ball that carried and carried until it landed over the wall in straightaway center.
“I hung a slider there to Renfroe and he crushed it,” Koehler said. “That’s a pitch that if it’s executed it might have had a different result. I told myself it’s not the pitch selection so much as the execution.”
Koehler also allowed two hits to rookie center fielder Manuel Margot, who went 6 for 12 in the series. San Diego’s leadoff hitter, Margot recorded multiple hits and reached base in the first inning in all three games.
Koehler’s best inning was his last. After the Marlins put up the six-spot, he set the Padres down in order for the first time all day, striking out a pair. The inning prior, he put two runners on with one out, but induced an around-the-horn double play off the bat of Wil Myers to escape.
Mattingly was close to pulling Koehler during that fifth inning — righthander Dustin McGowan was warming in the bullpen — but that one ground ball proved to be a lifeline, for Koehler and for the team.
“Those are the kinds of things sometimes in the course of the game you miss them,” Mattingly said. “You watch the game, you never know when momentum is going to change.”
It allowed Koehler to do all Mattingly asks his starting pitchers to do: Keep the Marlins in the game.
“Tom hung in there today. It didn’t look like he had his good stuff,” Mattingly said. “He missed some spots and things like that, but he was able to keep battling. That’s kind of what he does.”
Right-hander David Phelps pitched a perfect seventh, his first clean outing of the season. Righties Brad Ziegler and A.J. Ramos followed with a perfect inning apiece.
Dee Gordon led off the ninth with a triple into the right-field corner, later scoring on Christian Yelich’s sacrifice fly. Gordon’s hit meant all eight Miami starting position players had at least one, including Stanton, who went 3 for 5.
None were bigger than Bour’s.
“My numbers aren’t where I’d want them to be,” Bour said, “but you keep grinding and trying to get good at-bats and it feels good to put a good swing on it to help the team win.
“It feels good, honestly, especially because of the win.”
“Any time you lose the first game and come back to win the series, it feels good.” Tom Koehler, Marlins starter