After Rain Delay, Urena Pitches Marlins To 3-1 Win Over Reds
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CINCINNATI (AP) — Jose Urena's pitching was good enough to win in any ballpark.
At Great American Ball Park, it was especially impressive.
Urena tossed three-hit ball into the seventh inning, Christian Yelich drove in two runs and the struggling Miami Marlins opened a six-game road trip with a rain-delayed 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
"I was just focused on keeping the ball down," Urena said. "I knew I had to be aggressive. I was throwing my two-seamer inside."
Cincinnati managed just four hits while falling to 1-7 on its 10-game homestand. The Marlins were coming off a 1-5 homestand.
After the start was delayed nearly two hours, Urena (8-4) allowed one run with two walks and four strikeouts. He also hit Scott Schebler with a pitch — twice.
"That was good anywhere, not just here," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "He was on the attack and going after guys."
Urena and three relievers limited the Reds to one extra-base hit: Scooter Gennett's double. AJ Ramos worked the ninth for his 18th save.
The Reds, who allowed a team-record 20 homers during the first seven games of the homestand, kept National League home run leader Giancarlo Stanton and his teammates in the park. The homer-less game was the fourth this season and 101st in the 15-year, 1,185-game history of Great American Ball Park.
"I think it was just guys pitching good," Mattingly said. "Their guy gave up a couple in the first, but then he got a line-drive double play and basically settled in. Jose was good early, then he looked like he was getting a little wobbly, but he settled down."
Homer Bailey, in his sixth start since coming off the disabled list following February elbow surgery, turned in five shutout innings after Miami scored two in the first. Bailey (2-4) gave up eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Dee Gordon dumped a single into short left field to lead off the game. He went to third on Stanton's double and scored on Yelich's groundout. Stanton scored on Bailey's wild pitch as he was striking out Marcell Ozuna. Bailey avoided further damage when third baseman Eugenio Suarez snared J.T. Realmuto's hard line drive and doubled Marcell Ozuna off third.
"It was a really weird game," Bailey said. "We were fortunate to get two outs at home but had some bad luck. Gordon hit a flare that dropped over the infielder and in front of the outfielder. I felt the ball was coming out of my hand real well. Early on I left some sliders up, but got them in my spots later. I think this is going to be an up-and-down year. I have to compete with what I have that day."
Schebler scored the Reds' only run on Billy Hamilton's sacrifice fly in the third.
Urena left the bases loaded in the fourth when he got Tucker Barnhart to line out to Stanton in right. Barnhart hit his only career grand slam off Urena last August.
"They were aggressive and swinging hard," said Urena, who also doubled in the fourth. "I got a little break."
Yelich capitalized on Gennett's throwing error at second base on a potential double-play ball in the seventh with an RBI single that made it 3-1.
TARP TIME
The first pitch was held up for 1 hour, 47 minutes. It was Cincinnati's fourth rain delay this season.
SLOW STARTS
Bailey has allowed a total of eight runs in the first inning during his six starts. He's allowed at least one run in the first inning five times.
SPIN-O-RAMA
Reds shortstop Zack Cozart took Gennett's throw and whirled completely around counter-clockwise to complete an inning-ending double play in the third.
HIT MEN
Urena was in a four-way tie for the major league lead with nine hit batters going into the game. He grazed Schebler twice, boosting Schebler's team-high total to 10.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: RHP Brad Ziegler was scheduled to throw a bullpen and another one Sunday. The reliever went on the disabled list June 21 with a right back strain.
Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani is scheduled to throw three innings Sunday for Cincinnati's Arizona Rookie League team, which manager Bryan Price said starts the clock ticking on DeSclafani's 30-day rehab assignment. DeSclafani hasn't pitched this season because of sprained right elbow. He threw two innings of batting practice on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Marlins: LHP Chris O'Grady (1-1), who spent much of spring training in 2016 with Cincinnati, makes his third career start and first against the Reds. He has 10 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings over his first two starts.
Reds: RHP Robert Stephenson (0-2) becomes the eighth rookie pitcher to start a game for the Reds this season. Stephenson made 13 relief appearances earlier this year.
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