Francoeur's 2-Run HR In 9th Lifts Phillies Past Marlins
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jeff Francoeur's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the PhiladelphiaPhillies to an 8-7 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday.
Ryan Howard and Freddy Galvis also homered for the Phillies on a hot, muggy afternoon that felt much warmer than the game-time temperate of 93 degrees.
Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels was roughed up for the second straight outing, giving up five runs and eight hits in three innings. The left-hander, considered to be a top candidate to be dealt at the trading deadline, gave up a career-worst nine runs in 3 1/3 innings in his last outing.
Ichiro Suzuki had three hits and an RBI and Cole Gillespie added three hits, a double and an RBI for the Marlins, who have lost a season-high seven straight on the road.
A.J. Ramos (0-2) walked Carlos Ruiz to lead off the ninth and Francoeur hit a 1-0 pitch into the seats in left field to give the Phillies just their second sweep of the season.
Hector Neris (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win.
Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP and three-time All-Star, might have made his final home start for thePhillies. He expressed an interest in being traded prior to the season and the rebuilding Phillies reportedly have been holding out for top prospects.
However, since his last victory on May 23, Hamels is 0-4 with 5.06 ERA over nine starts.
And he even got some rare run support in this game. The Phillies had been scoreless in 46 of the last 50 1/3 innings Hamels had pitched. But they scored five runs in the second inning to take a 5-2 lead, setting the stage for Hamels to earn a win. Entering Sunday, he had been 12-1 in 20 starts since 2014 when getting three runs or more of support.
But Miami erased the lead with three runs in the third. Christian Yelich and Gillespie each had RBI singles, and Adeiny Hechavarria had an RBI double in the inning as the Marlins sent seven batters to the plate.
Hamels didn't come out for the fourth, marking his shortest outing since April 5, 2011.
With Hamels long gone, Miami went ahead 7-6 in the eighth after a pair of runs off Ken Giles. Gillespie led off with a double, went to third on Derek Dietrich's single and scored on Jeff Mathis' sacrifice fly. Dietrich moved to second when Francoeur's throw from left field got past catcher Ruiz, and he scored on Suzuki's single.
The Phillies had taken a 6-5 lead in the seventh on Cesar Hernandez's RBI double against Bryan Morris.
Howard's leadoff homer and Galvis' two-run shot highlighted Philadelphia's five-run second. It was the fourth homer in 23 at-bats by Howard against Dan Haren, who remained winless at Citizens Bank Park.
Haren, 0-4 with a 6.09 ERA in six career starts in Philadelphia, settled down after the second. He ended up giving up five runs and seven hits with two strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: 2B Miguel Rojas left after singling in the fifth inning due to stomach nausea. He was replaced by Donovan Solano.
Phillies: RHP Chad Billingsley saw a doctor on Sunday after experiencing right elbow soreness on Saturday night when he pitched five scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over Miami. Billingsley missed most of the last two seasons due to a pair of right elbow surgeries. He is 2-3 with a 5.84 ERA in seven starts this season.
UP NEXT
Marlins: RHP David Phelps (4-5, 3.86) starts the opener of a three-game series at Arizona on Monday night. The Marlins are winless in four games against the Diamondbacks this season. RHP Rubby De La Rosa (6-5, 5.06) starts for Arizona.
Phillies: RHP David Buchanan (0-5, 7.58) makes his second start since returning from the DL due to a severely sprained right ankle when the Phillies host Tampa Bay on Monday night. He didn't get a decision in his last start when allowing one run on eight hits in five innings of Philadelphia's 8-5 loss at San Francisco July 11. LHP Matt Moore (1-0, 7.07) starts for the Rays.
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