Marlins make it three straight wins since virus layoff
Five pitchers combined on a four-hitter for Don Mattingly’s undermanned, gritty and first-place Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Wednesday night for a doubleheader sweep.
Brian Anderson homered in opener, and Miami won 1-0 despite getting only two hits.
The sweep kept the Marlins atop the NL East and earned Mattingly his 281st win as Miami’s manager, tying Jack McKeon’s club record.
In a season complete with new rules and an ever-changing, abbreviated schedule, this doubleheader raised the bar on strange.
Not only were both games seven innings apiece, but the Orioles were the home team in the opener and the Marlins served as hosts in the nightcap.
And to top it all, the Marlins won their third straight game since emerging from a coronavirus-prompted layoff that left them with a roster filled with callups, free agents and rookies. Miami has allowed a total of one run and 10 hits in those three games at Camden Yards.
PHILLIES, YANKEES SPLIT >> Playing a road game in their home ballpark, the Philadelphia Phillies came out swinging against the New York Yankees. Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto homered to back Zack Wheeler (2-0) and lead the “visiting” Phillies to an 11-7 victory over the Yankees, snapping New York’s seven-game winning streak in the opener of a doubleheader in Philadelphia. The Yankees won the second game 3-1.
METS 3, NATIONALS 1 >> Nationals starter Max Scherzer exited because of a hamstring problem after laboring through just one inning, overshadowing Juan Soto’s 2020 debut for the World Series champs, and Rick Porcello collected his 150th career win in the New York Mets’ 3-1 victory at Washington.
Soto doubled in his first official at-bat since the World Series.
TWINS 5, PIRATES 2 >> Minnesota’s Randy Dobnak allowed three hits in six innings as the Twins topped Pittsburgh for their sixth straight win. Dobnak grew up a half-hour south of PNC Park in the Pittsburgh suburb of South Park. The reeling Pirates have lost seven in a row.