Koehler Pitches 7 Innings, Marlins Win 2-0 Against Giants
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – The Miami Marlins starting rotation is becoming quite the formidable bunch.
One of those starters, Tom Koehler, continued his impressive second half with another sharp outing.
Koehler pitched seven innings to help the Marlins to a 2-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.
"He's basically been our best pitcher for the last month," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
Koehler (9-8) allowed two hits and three walks. He struck out six. Koehler is 3-0 with a 0.67 ERA over his last four starts.
"We've got a long way to go here and I'm not trying to get too high on anything that's been going on because this game can humble you quick and things can change really fast," Koehler said. "I know what we're trying to do here and I want to be a part of something really special. I think we have a special group and I'm trying to do everything I can every fifth day to be a part of that."
Giancarlo Stanton's RBI double and Marcell Ozuna's groundout in the first inning provided the scoring the day after a 14-inning game won by the Giants 8-7.
Fernando Rodney, filling in for the injured A.J. Ramos, pitched the ninth to record his 19th save in 21 opportunities.
The loss, combined with Los Angeles' win over Philadelphia, has the Giants in a first place tie atop the NL West with the Dodgers. The Giants were alone in first place since May 15.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy was back in the dugout after missing Monday's game with an irregular heartbeat following an overnight stay in a local hospital.
Brandon Crawford, Monday's hero for the Giants who went 7 for 8 including the go-ahead RBI in the top of the 14th, was hitless in four at-bats.
"We came up with a plan," Mattingly said. "We got him out."
Stanton's RBI double came off a broken bat that bounced over the head of left fielder Angel Pagan and one-hopped the wall scoring Dee Gordon, who reached on a leadoff walk.
"I've never seen anything like that," Koehler said. "That's a joke. That guy is so strong. A bat's not supposed to go 110 feet and the ball 370. It just doesn't make sense, but I'm glad he's on our side."
Ozuna followed Stanton with a groundout scoring Martin Prado.
The Giants had three at-bats with runners in scoring position without recording a hit after going 6 for 21 the previous game.
"That's huge," Marlins catcher Jeff Mathis said. "Anytime you have those less-stress innings or guys aren't on the sacks it makes it a little bit easier and a little bit less hectic and I'm just happy we were able to do that tonight."
Giants starter Matt Moore (7-8) allowed two runs and three hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked five.
"I felt I was fighting my rhythm all night," Moore said. "I felt in the sixth inning I was closer to what I'm looking for."
Pagan had two of the Giants' three hits.
"We're just not firing on all cylinders right now with our lineup," Bochy said.
MARLINS STREAKING
Stanton has an RBI in five consecutive games, Christian Yelich has an eight-game hitting streak, and Gordon has scored a run in six straight games.
Also, J.T. Realmuto, who was given the day off, has an 11-game hitting streak.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: Stanton left in the eighth inning with soreness in his right hip area after making a sliding catch in Monday's game. Stanton will not play Wednesday in what was already a scheduled day off for him before the injury. "He thought he was going to be able to get through the game today, but I think he's all right," Mattingly said.
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Jeff Samardzija (9-8, 4.40 ERA) will start the final game of the series on Wednesday afternoon. Samardzija has struggled over his last four starts going 0-3 with a 6.85 ERA.
Marlins: RHP David Phelps (5-5, 2.45) will start his second consecutive game after moving into the rotation from the setup role. Phelps threw 4 1-3 scoreless innings with 70 pitches in a 5-3 win at Colorado in his last start.
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