5-year Mariniversary: Marlins find offense late to erase 5-run deficit, top Phils

[Mike Ferguson]

Down five runs, the Miami Marlins went ahead for good with six runs in the seventh on this day five years ago.

The Miami Marlins didn't do a whole lot of winning during their 105-loss campaign in 2019, but there were some memorable wins along the way. That included a pair of memorable comebacks against the Philadelphia Phillies.

One of those came on this day five years ago. Trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Marlins scored eight unanswered runs to end the contest for a 9-6 victory.

For the first five innings at Marlins Park on June 29, 2019, a first-inning RBI single from Garrett Cooper had accounted for all the Miami offense against Philadelphia starter Zach Eflin. Six pitches into the bottom of the sixth, a single from Brian Anderson and a two-run blast from Neil Walker cut the deficit to 6-3.

With Eflin's quality start over, the Marlins went ahead for good with six runs in the bottom of the seventh. The rally started against Phillies reliever Juan Nicasio. After a single from Miguel Rojas and a double from Harold Ramírez—both on the first pitch from Nicasio—put runners in scoring position, Cooper's RBI groundout cut the lead to two. A four-pitch walk to Anderson ended Nicasio's night.

Adam Morgan wouldn't fare much better for the Phillies. After Walker singled on an 0-2 pitch to cut the deficit to one, Starlin Castro's RBI double to center field tied things up. Two pitches later. JT Riddle gave the Marlins their first lead with a two-run double to right. Yadiel Rivera would cap the big inning with an RBI single as the Marlins sent 10 men to the plate in the inning.

Maikel Franco singled to open the top of the eighth, but he would serve as the only Phillies baserunner the rest of the way. Jarlín García worked a scoreless seventh to pick up the win. Sergio Romo retired the Phillies in order in the ninth to earn the save.

As a team, the Marlins finished with 15 hits with five different Marlins having multi-hit games. Ramírez finished with three hits while Walker, Rojas, Cooper and Castro each added two. Ramírez, Anderson and Walker each scored twice. Rhys Hoskins homered for Philadelphia in the loss.

June would serve as the only winning month for the Marlins during the 2019 season. Their two biggest comebacks from that year, however, both came against the Phillies. Miami would erase a 7-0 deficit to beat the Phillies 19-11 on Aug. 23. The first big comeback against Philadelphia came on this day five years ago. 

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