Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
In the win column
JT Riddle’s RBI triple powers Marlins.
MIAMI — JT Riddle did not want to work overtime again.
The Marlins shortstop — who played all 26 innings of the previous two games between Miami and Tampa Bay — nearly single-handedly boosted his team to a 3-0 win over the Rays on Wednesday afternoon.
Riddle’s RBI triple in the sixth inning plated the first run of the game, and a nifty slide from Riddle gave Miami a tworun lead. He also crushed fastball for a solo home run in the eighth inning.
“Don’t miss heaters,” Riddle said. “That’s kind of been my thing lately.”
The win was the Marlins’ fifth in their last seven games and marked the second straight series victory for Miami (36-52). The .409 winning percentage is the highest for Miami since it was 2-2 on April 1.
The victory came on the heels of a 16-inning defeat on Tuesday night and a 10-inning win on Monday. Riddle said he got a solid six hours of sleep, even if his body didn’t feel 100 percent. Marlins starter Jose Ureña said he left in the 15th inning of Tuesday night’s game and watched the remainder on his phone as he drove home.
“Both teams know they’re
kind of beat up on both sides, from their bullpen through their lineup,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “The whole thing. It’s one of those days you got to kind of push yourself a little bit, and it feels good to get a win on a day like that.”
Riddle’s big sixth inning backed Jose Ureña’s strong return to the rotation after he missed about two weeks with right shoulder impingement. Ureña completed five shutout innings, allowing just three Rays hits and striking out six.
Tampa Bay only had two players reach second base against Ureña, who largely cruised through throwing 78 pitches.
Whatever threats the Rays mounted, the Marlins defused. A double play ended the second inning. Catcher Bryan Holaday caught Kevin Kiermaier stealing to finish the third. Brian Anderson’s athletic sliding catch and off-balance throw to first doubled off Joey Wendle in the seventh. And a 5-4-3 double play ended the eighth.
For Riddle, a 3-for-4 performance continued a recent resurgence for the 26-year-old. In his last 10 games, Riddle is slashing .351/.385/.622, adding much-needed depth to the Marlins lineup after he posted a .217/.256/.384 line in his first 27 games.
Riddle missed the first month of the season with a shoulder injury after offseason surgery and spent a month in the minors before he arrived in Miami. Mattingly said Riddle’s offseason recovery impeded his ability to prepare for this season, leading to a slow start, and said Riddle is now “hitting the ball with a lot more authority.”
“He wasn’t able to do anything as far as physically get stronger,” Mattingly said. “That’s really where you make your gains as a player is in the winter. It’s hard to do it during the season because you’re playing a lot. The offseason is a time to get strong, to get your body right. He wasn’t able to do that this year. I think he’s kind of had to do that on the run.”
The Marlins promoted right-hander Jordan Yamamoto from High-A Jupiter to Double-A Jacksonville. Yamamoto, acquired from Milwaukee in the Christian Yelich trade, had a 1.77 ERA in seven starts in Jupiter, including 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings.