Ichiro, Stanton homer in Marlins’ win
PHILADELPHIA — Ichiro Suzuki thought about bunting before swinging away and hitting the ball a long way.
Suzuki’s pinch-hit threerun homer broke a tie in the seventh inning, Giancarlo Stanton added his major league-leading 46th homer and the Miami Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies 12-8 in the opener of a traditional doubleheader Tuesday.
Manager Don Mattingly didn’t send Suzuki to the plate to sacrifice so he’s happy he took a cut.
“Ich’s homer was huge, freed us up,” Mattingly said. “If he was bunting, it was on his own for a hit.”
Dan Straily (8-8) allowed three runs and two hits — homers to Rhys Hoskins and Cameron Rupp — while striking out 10 in six innings.
“It feels good to contribute something to my team like that,” Straily said.
Marcell Ozuna also went deep for the Marlins in a sixrun sixth and J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run shot in the ninth.
Cesar Hernandez, Tommy Joseph and pinch-hitter Andres Blanco also connected for the Phillies as the teams combined for nine homers.
“You score that many runs,
you should win,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
Aaron Nola (9-9) gave up seven runs and nine hits in
6 1-3 innings in his second straight poor start after 10 excellent outings in a row.
After Christian Yelich gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI double, Hoskins drove a two-run shot out to center for his sixth homer in eight games. It was initially ruled a double, but overturned on replay.
Stanton ripped an RBI double for a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Rupp answered with his
13th homer in the bottom half. Suzuki, who leads the majors with 21 pinch hits, made it 6-3 on his third homer and second career as a pinch hitter. The other was against the Phillies on Sept. 6, 2016.
After Stanton connected one batter later, Yelich singled and Ozuna hit his 28th homer for a 9-3 lead.