Urena shakes off early mistake to shut down Phillies in Miami
MIAMI — Jose Urena jumped up and down in disappointment after giving up a home run in the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
That would be his only mistake of the day.
Urena kept the Phillies lineup in check from that point on and the offense produced just enough during a Labor Day matinee to lift the Marlins to a 3-1 win over a Phillies team still in the playoff hunt.
Urena pitched seven solid innings, giving up four hits while tying a season high with seven strikeouts and not giving up a walk. Of his 99 pitches, 67 went for strikes.
“His stuff was electric,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “It stayed there all day long.”
Urena has been on a tear as of late. Over his last three starts since being ejected for plunking the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. to open the game on Aug. 15 and being subsequently ejected, Urena has thrown 22 innings and given up six earned runs (2.45 ERA) and earned two wins. He is also up to a career-high 117 strikeouts this season.
His one major blemish on Monday: That solo home run in the top of the second to third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera after sweeping through Philadelphia’s first five batters. The 375-foot blast over the right-field fence gave Philadelphia (72-65) its first — and only — run of the game.
The Marlins (55-83) made sure Philadelphia’s lead was shortlived, peppering Phillies starter Vince Velasquez for three runs off four hits in the bottom half
of the inning for a lead that would stay intact.
Derek Dietrich started the rally with a leadoff triple that bounced off the first-base bag before hopping and skipping into deep right field. Lewis Brinson drove Dietrich in two batters later with a single to center field to tie the game. Austin Dean then roped a double to left field before Rafael Ortega drove both Dean and Brinson home on a ground ball through the left side.
Lefty Adam Conley tossed a scoreless eighth and Drew Steckenrider shut the door in the ninth, earning his third save of the year.
Bour’s return
Justin Bour made his return to South Florida on Monday a little less than a month after being traded to the Phillies for minor league left-handed pitcher McKenzie Mills.
It was a moment in his career he didn’t envision happening when the season began.
“I never really asked to go,” said Bour, who was not in the lineup Monday. “I wanted to be part of that turnaround and wanted to be part of Miami, but obviously it’s a business. I understand it.”
The Marlins selected Bour in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft and called him up late in the 2014 season. Bour played 478 career games for the Marlins, hitting .261 with 84 home runs, 274 RBIs and 185 runs scored. He set a career high with 71 walks while also batting a career-low .228 this season before being traded. In nine games for the Phillies, Bour has hit .250 with a home run and 2 RBIs.
“It’s just part of the game of baseball,” Bour said, “but also when it happens, it’s a bit of a ‘woah’ moment. So for me, after the initial ‘woah’ moment, very fortunately people on the Phillies were really accommodating and welcoming. It was an easy transition.”