The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Marlins rout woeful Red Sox
As J.T. Realmuto walked back to the dugout in the eighth inning after whiffing wildly at a 3-2 pitch, he could afford to laugh.
Despite the strikeout, he had a pretty good day.
The rookie drove in six runs, including five in a franchise record-tying 10run sixth inning, which helped the Miami Marlins complete a two-game sweep in a series between last-place teams by beating the Boston Red Sox 14-6 on Wednesday.
Realmuto hit an RBI single in the sixth to put the Marlins ahead 5-4, and then hit his first career grand slamlater in the inning to make the score 14-4.
“You’ve got take advantage of these times,” Realmuto said, “because when you feel hot, it doesn’t last too long.”
Boston’s David Ortiz drove in three runs with two homers, giving him 25 this season and 491 in his career. It was his 48th multihomer game and second of the year.
The afternoon game drew a crowd of 26,041, with more than half rooting for the Red Sox. Ortiz’s first homer drew the biggest cheer of the day.
“It felt like I was playing in the Dominican,” he said. “It feels good to feel like you’re playing at home.”
Realmuto gave the local supporters lots to celebrate when he became the first Marlins player to drive in five runs in an inning. It was the second time the Marlins reached double figures in runs in an inning— they scored 10 times at Arizona in 2009.
Needing a double in the eighth to hit for the cycle, he struck out.
“I was laughing because on that 3-2 pitch I toldmyself I’m swinging no matter what,” Realmuto said. “Then he throws one way out of the zone. Normally I probably wouldn’t have swung at it.”
Realmuto’s first RBI came on his sixth triple, the most by a rookie catcher since Carlton Fisk of the Red Sox in 1972, according to STATS. The only catcher withmore than six RBIs in a game against the Red Sox was Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.