Field Level Media
Sep 13, 2020
Left-hander Braxton Garrett earned the victory in his major-league debut to help the host Miami Marlins complete a doubleheader sweep with an 8-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon.
With the sweep, the Marlins (23-21) jumped over the Phillies (23-22) by a half-game into second place in the National League East.
Miami posted a 2-1 win in the opening game of the doubleheader behind the efforts of another rookie pitcher, Sixto Sanchez.
In the second game, Garrett - the seventh overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft - allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts in five innings.
Garrett (1-0), whose best pitch is his 12-6 curve that ranges at about 79 mph, struck out the first two batters he faced. Garrett also used a slider and a fastball that topped out at 91 mph.
The Marlins lead this rare seven-game series 4-2, with the finale set for Monday. It is the longest series in Marlins history and the first of this duration for the Phillies since 1930.
Zach Eflin (2-2) was stunned by a 32-pitch, three-run first inning. He lasted four innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks.
Miami's first five batters reached base. Corey Dickerson drew a leadoff walk, and Starling Marte singled to start the rally. The Marlins then got RBI singles from Jesus Aguilar, Matt Joyce and Brian Anderson. The walk and three of the hits in the inning came with two strikes.
On Aguilar's single to right, Dickerson ran through the stop sign put up by third-base coach Trey Hillman, stepping on his left foot in the process. Phillies manager Joe Girardi argued illegal physical assistance by a coach, but his protest was denied.
The Phillies got out of the inning in part because Andrew Knapp - catching both ends of the doubleheader - threw out Anderson trying to advance to second on a pitch in the dirt.
Philadelphia got on the board in the second on rookie Alec Bohm's 436-foot bomb to right-center, a solo blast. Bohm hit a 91-mph fastball on a 2-2 pitch for his third homer of the season.
Marte started another Marlins rally in the third, smacking a double that one-hopped the wall in left with a 109-mph exit velocity. Aguilar then gave the Marlins a 4-1 lead on an RBI double down the left-field line.
Miguel Rojas, who missed the first game of the doubleheader due to an injured middle finger on his right hand, pulled a two-run double in the sixth. Chad Wallach followed with a two-run homer to give Miami an 8-1 lead.
--Field Level Media