Philly homers buryMarlins
PHILADELPHIA— WeiYin Chen waited eight days for his next start, but it took only one pitch to ruin it.
Chen, the MiamiMarlins left-hander who tossed seven no-hit innings in his previous start more than a week ago, didn’t fare nearly as well in a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
Faced with the unusual circumstances of pitching after two team off days and a one game postponement due to rain, Chen allowed four runs in five innings, scattering seven hits and two walks. All four runs scored on a lone swing.
Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco hit a grand slam in the thirdinning, getting ahold of a 2-2 fastball over the heart of the plate and sending it over the wall in left. It was the first grand slam Chen has allowed in 44 plate appearances in the major leagues.
“That’s the last moment I want to make a mistake in,” Chen said through interpreter Louis Chao.
Chen threwtwo bullpens instead of his usual one, since he had two extra planned days of rest.
“As a player, you need to be able to deal with this kind of situation,” Chen said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t do itwell and Iwasn’t able to help the team.”
Chen’s only perfect inning was his first, and he was fortunate to give up only four runs. The Phillies put at least nine hard-hit balls in play, including the Franco slam and several outs.
Manager Don Mattingly removed Chen in favor of rookie lefty Jarlin Garcia — also seeing his first action in aweek— inthe sixth inning. Chen might’ve been able to pitch longer, having thrown 83 pitches, but Mattingly acted in accordance with his generally conservative philosophy with his starters this year.
Marlins pitchers have averaged 5.18 innings per start this year, the second-lowest mark in the majors behind the Cincinnati Reds.
“I look at the season as a whole. I think guys in general are looking at that day, or they’re not really looking down the road,” Mattingly said before the game. “One of the thingsmyself andmy staff have to do is keep preparing for a full season and balancing that with where you’re at that day, what part of the season you’re in.”
Garcia allowedone run in one inning on a Galvis homer, and Dustin McGowan allowed two runs in two innings on a Michael Saunders homer.
The night started as a promising one for Miami. Dee Gordon led off the first inning with a triple and scored on Christian Yelich’s ground out to shortstop. In the top of the third, Martin Prado homered — his second in 21 at-bats across six games since returning from injury lastweek.
Adeiny Hechavarria doubled into the left-field corner in the seventh inning, scoring J.T. Realmuto from first base, part of Hechavarria’s 3-for-4 day. He also singled home Justin Bour in the ninth. Hechavarria is a career .368 hitter (43 for 117) in 32 games at Citizens Bank Park, tops among all Marlins with a minimum of 100 at-bats at CBP since it opened in 2004.
“There’s certain ballparks you feel good [in],” Mattingly said. “If you’ve been swinging the bat good here, every time youwalk in the building, you think you’re going to get your hits. As much as anything, it’s just agoodfeelingwhenyou walk in the door.”