Marlins win again in Philly behind lights-out bullpen, two-out hits

[Kevin Barral]

The Marlins took an early lead against Aaron Nola, then went ahead for good during a two-out rally in the seventh inning. The Phillies offense went hitless vs. Miami's relievers.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Aaron Nola ended the 2023 Marlins season with a scoreless start in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series. Facing them again on Saturday, Nola had another strong outing, but Miami's offense knocked him out of the game in the seventh inning with unlikely hero Nick Fortes delivering the game-tying RBI. That set up Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s go-ahead RBI single in a 3-2 win for the Marlins. After being swept at Citizens Bank Park last October, they have secured at least a series split this time around.

Overall, Nola allowed three runs off of six hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out nine. The game was tied 2-2 when he was removed with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Left-hander Matt Strahm allowed the inherited runner to score on Chisholm's single.

Nick Gordon entered Saturday's contest riding a six-game hit streak. Gordon, who had never faced Nola before, took him deep on the second pitch of the at-bat to take an early 1-0 lead. The ball left the bat at 93.8 mph and went 350 feet to right field, landing in the first row for his eighth home run of the season. Gordon ended the night going 2-for-4.

"When he gets too pull-happy, that becomes an issue," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. "When he uses the middle or the other way...he's a good hitter. When he tries to go one way, it becomes an easier and easier out. Really good at-bats today."

Nick Fortes was previously 1-for-13 in his career against Nola when he doubled down the left field line to tie the game in the seventh. He took advantage of Nola's sinker right down the middle and a hit-and-run with Otto Lopez at second also helped.

"The first couple of at-bats, I was just getting on top of that sinker, fouling it off. Same with the curveball," said Fortes. "That third at-bat, I really just wanted to get the ball in the air. That was my main focus. I knew he was going to throw the sinker...so I got under that one a little bit better and ended up squaring it up for a double."

The Phillies brought in Strahm to face Chisholm, who has historically struggled to hit lefties, but he entered Saturday slashing a career-best .267/.333/.396/.729 against them this season. Those numbers will go up after his clutch hit.

"I feel like it was work in the offseason," said Chisholm after the game. "I don't feel like anything changes during the season. You get into the season and you are who you are."

Strahm also struggled in the first game of this series, allowing two runs in Thursday's Phillies loss after entering for Zack Wheeler.

Right-hander Roddery Muñoz went 4 ⅔ innings, allowing two runs off of five hits, two walks and struck out four. Muñoz relied on his four-seam more than any pitch, which averaged 96.0 mph and topped out at 96.9 mph.

Every Marlins starter in this series has struggled with throwing first-pitch strikes. Muñoz's first-pitch strike percentage was at 52.4%, which is actually an improvement compared to Trevor Rogers and Kyle Tyler. The MLB average this season is 62.0%.

Muñoz surrendered a home run to catcher Garrett Stubbs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at one apiece. It was Stubbs' first home run of 2024 and the 15th allowed by Muñoz.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Muñoz ran into some trouble, allowing a walk to Johan Rojas and then a base hit to Bryson Stott, which moved Rojas to third. Alec Bohm drove in Rojas on a sac fly. Skip Schumaker took him out after allowing his second run. The Phillies were constantly putting the ball in air off of Muñoz, including six flyouts and two lineouts compared to only one groundout.

"Roddery did enough to keep us in the game," said Schumaker. "Not a ton on the ground. Not a lot of punchouts. We got to figure out a way to keep the ball in the yard."

A Marlins bullpen unit of Andrew Nardi, A.J. Puk, Calvin Faucher and Tanner Scott kept the Phillies offense at bay, not allowing a single hit and only one walk. As a whole, they struck out six. It marked the fourth time this season that Calvin Faucher was used on back-to-back days and he struck out two, lowering his ERA to 3.34. A.J. Puk has now gone 5 ⅓ innings without allowing a run. He's allowed one hit through that scoreless streak.

"I sound like a broken record, but when you have a really good bullpen, it keeps you in the game and allows you to make comebacks," said Schumaker. "We were down and Nardi had the huge inning and a third. Puk was really good, obviously. He's been on a roll lately and it's been as good as anybody in the league. Faucher went through the middle of that order, but no issues and then obviously, Scott is Scott. In my opinion, top two or three reliever in the league. Just a really good job overall."

With the win, the Marlins earned their 30th win of the season. Yonny Chirinos will take the mound on Sunday as the Marlins look to take the series against the Phillies. The starter for Philadelphia will be star left-hander Ranger Suárez. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 pm (there's a chance of rain in the forecast).

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

I miss about a dozen games live a year, so I love the MLB.tv replay features. When I returned home last night, I was delighted to see a Marlins win and thus chose to watch the entire game replay with the delicious surety in the back of my mind! Isn't it delightful to send a large opponent crowd home unhappy? Beating the division- and baseball-win-leader-Phillies is the cherry on top. The Sunday game now holds the (saying it does not jinx the team!) improbable chance of a Marlins series victory - in a four-game series, nonetheless! Oh, baseball gods, give us this one!

[Ely Sussman]

20 minutes ago, THOMAS JOSEPH said:

The Sunday game now holds the (saying it does not jinx the team!) improbable chance of a Marlins series victory - in a four-game series, nonetheless! Oh, baseball gods, give us this one!

It would be very amusing if the only four-game series win they've gotten all season came against the team that's arguably baseball's best.

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

So close! Proud of the Marlins grit in this series, even with the Phillies shorthanded.