Marlins Back To .500, Defeat Diamondbacks 10-3
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — The numbers are adding up for Giancarlo Stanton. So are the wins for the Miami Marlins.
Stanton hit his major league-leading 32nd homer and drove in four runs Sunday, powering the Marlins past the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-3.
Stanton has a career-high 88 RBIs, one more than he had in 2011. He went 7 for 14 with four walks and six RBIs in the four-game series against Arizona.
"I think ultimately his numbers are going to speak for him when you talk about what he means to our ballclub and the intimidation factor that he brings to other ballclubs," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "This guy just continues to get big hits."
The Marlins have won five of seven and evened their record at 62-62, equaling their victory total from all of last year.
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"It's different coming to the field, it's not a morgue in here every time you walk in and the black drapes and everything is drooping," Stanton said.
Garrett Jones also homered for the Marlins. Marcell Ozuna and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each drove in two runs and Christian Yelich had three hits.
Stanton hit a three-run home run in the first inning, surpassing Hanley Ramirez for second place on the club's all-time list with 149 career homers. He also boosted his RBI total with a single in the seventh.
"That's good for me, I haven't broke 100 yet here," Stanton said. "It's helping us win, that's more than any single accolade that I can have."
Tom Koehler (9-9) pitched six innings, allowing two runs.
Stanton hit a three-run homer and Jones also connected in the first against Josh Collmenter (8-7).
"I don't how many times (Stanton) has hit a homer for me in the first inning, but I love it," Koehler said.
Arizona's Ender Inciarte extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a bunt single in the sixth.
"It was a bad thing that we couldn't keep them close," Inciarte said. "We've got to be able to give ourselves a chance to in the game."
Mark Trumbo and Jake Lamb hit RBI singles in the sixth that pulled Arizona within 5-2.
The Marlins broke open the game by scoring five times in the seventh. Stanton hit an RBI single, Ozuna had a two-run double and Saltalamacchia singled home two runs. Diamondbacks reliever Randall Delgado was charged with five runs and got just one batter out.
"You get down five runs and you chip away," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "We got two back and were at least in the picture there, but you have to hold them and we were unable to do that."
This was Miami's highest-scoring game since an 11-6 win at Tampa Bay on June 5.
"We've all been waiting for one of those and give ourselves a real cushion so we don't have to pitch so perfect," Redmond said.
Diamondbacks: RHP Daniel Hudson (Tommy John surgery) threw one scoreless inning on Saturday night in the Arizona League, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Diamondbacks: Arizona travels to Washington for a four-game series beginning on Monday night. LHP Vidal Nuno (0-3, 3.92) starts against Nationals RHP Jordan Zimmermann (8-5, 2.92).
Marlins: Off Monday, Miami will start RHP Jarred Cosart (1-1, 2.92) at home Tuesday night against Texas RHP Miles Mikolas (1-5, 7.71) to begin a two-game set.
Stanton has hit 11 of his 32 home runs this season in the first inning, which is the second-highest total of first-inning homers in a season by a Marlins player. Gary Sheffield hit 14 in 1996.
Inciarte's hitting string is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest ever by a Diamondbacks rookie. He is hitting .320 (24 for 75) during that stretch.
"He's a smart player and he utilizes his tools very well," Gibson said. "He plays hard."
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