Marlins Rally Past Twins 5-3 For Winning June
MIAMI (AP) — Placido Polanco homered for the first time in more than a year and Jeff Mathis hit his first since last August, helping the Miami Marlins overcome a three-run deficit Wednesday in a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Miami is 13-9 this month and is ensured of a winning record in June following a 14-41 start. Still, the Marlins' 27-50 record is the poorest in the major leagues.
With the Marlins trailing 3-0, Mathis hit a two-run homer in the fifth off Scott Diamond (5-7). Just 5 for 52 (.096) this season entering the at-bat, Mathis had not homered since Aug. 24 for Toronto against Baltimore's Matt Lindstrom.
Kevin Slowey (3-6), who pitched three scoreless innings, singled and scored the tying run on Giancarlo Stanton's groundout.
Logan Morrison's leadoff single in the sixth chased Diamond, and Polanco sent a 354-foot drive off Ryan Pressly just over the left-field wall. He had gone 350 consecutive at-bats without a home run since hitting one off the Los Angeles' Dodgers Clayton Kershaw on June 4 last year.
Pressly, who made his major league debut this year, had not allowed a home run in his previous 23 big league games.
Mike Dunn and Steve Cishek followed Slowey with an inning each of perfect relief. Cishek retired the Twins in order in the ninth for the second straight game and earned his 14th save in 16 chances.
Joe Mauer had three hits for Minnesota, which has lost four of five.
Minnesota took a 3-0 lead in the first off Tom Koehler when Mauer and Josh Willingham hit consecutive run-scoring singles and Oswaldo Arcia followed with an RBI groundout.
Koehler allowed four hits and four walks in four innings.
Diamond gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings.
NOTES: Miami has allowed three runs or fewer in 10 consecutive games, going 7-3. ... Diamond's single in the sixth was only the second in 33 at-bats for Minnesota pitchers in the last two seasons. ... Mauer has a .429 (12 for 28) average against the Marlins. ... Minnesota will return home for a four-game series against Kansas City beginning on Thursday and will send RHP Samuel Deduno (3-2, 3.72 ERA) to the mound against RHP Jeremy Guthrie (7-5, 4.20 ERA). Miami has a day off before a four-game series against San Diego. RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-7, 3.68 ERA) is Friday's scheduled starter.
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