A's Florida Struggles Continue, Fall To Marlins 8-1
MIAMI (AP) — A fastball to the wrist didn't stop Giancarlo Stanton's recent surge.
Stanton returned to the Miami Marlins' starting lineup after recovering from a bruised right wrist and hit a two-run homer to help beat the Oakland Athletics 8-1 on Tuesday night.
Stanton missed only one start after being hit Saturday. His 17th homer of the year put Miami ahead 4-1 in the fifth inning.
"I worry when he gets hit by a pitch," teammate Marcell Ozuna said. "A 96 mph fastball? Maybe he breaks the wrist."
Instead, Stanton continued his recent tear. He's batting .354 with six homers in 18 games since moving to the No. 2 spot in the batting order.
Jose Urena (5-2) won his fourth consecutive decision by allowing one run in six-plus innings. The right-hander, who leads the Marlins in wins, retired 14 straight batters before tiring in the seventh.
"He's growing," manager Don Mattingly said. "Hopefully he just keeps building on what he's doing. You get to the point now where you feel like he's going to keep you in the game. His stuff is good enough. He doesn't go out and get knocked around. That's encouraging for young guys."
Ozuna hit his 16th homer and had two singles, hiking his average to .332. Tyler Moore added three hits, including a two-run double.
Ichiro Suzuki had a pinch-hit single in the eighth for his 364th interleague hit, tying Derek Jeter's major league record.
The Marlins won for the ninth time in their past 11 home games.
The Athletics (27-37), who have the worst record in the American League, fell to 10 games below .500 for the first time. They are 9-24 on the road.
Jharel Cotton (3-7) allowed five runs in five innings. He's 0-4 in his past five starts.
The Marlins scored four runs in the fifth, all with two outs. Dee Gordon's RBI single put them ahead 2-1, Stanton followed with his homer, and J.T. Realmuto added a run-scoring double.
"It's frustrating that everything came with two outs," Cotton said. "Everything just snowballed. I have to be better than that."
It was a familiar problem for the A's.
"We have to find a way to shut down the big inning like we've been giving up here recently," manager Bob Melvin said.
Urena balked home a run in the second with two outs and Cotton at the plate. Oakland didn't have another baserunner until the seventh.
Three Miami relievers combined to retire nine in a row and complete a three-hitter.
SUSTAINABLE?
Ozuna also had a strong half in 2016, but batted just .209 after the All-Star break. This year he's hoping to sustain his early success.
"Swing like crazy and let's see what happens," he said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: 1B Justin Bour (ankle bone bruise) is expected to play a rehab game Wednesday with Single-A Jupiter before rejoining the Marlins on Friday. ... 3B Martin Prado (right hamstring) and SS Adeiny Hechavarria (abdominal muscle) are scheduled to begin mid-week rehab assignments at Jupiter, and if they progress as expected, they'll rejoin the Marlins next week.
Athletics: RHP Chris Bassitt (elbow) has begun a throwing program.
UP NEXT: RHP Daniel Gossett is scheduled to make his major league debut Wednesday afternoon for the Athletics against RHP Edinson Volquez (3-7, 3.41), who pitched a no-hitter in his most recent home start June 3. Volquez has allowed three hits in 16 scoreless innings in his past two outings.
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