20-year Marliniversary: Marlins stun D-Backs, get over .500 with 8 unanswered runs

With a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers to open the month of September 2006, the Florida Marlins became the first team in Major League Baseball history to get back to .500 after falling 20 games below earlier in the season. The very next night, they became the first team to get over .500 after falling 20 games below.

They did so on this day 20 years ago and in improbable fashion. Down five runs in the sixth, the Marlins scored eight unanswered runs to stun the Arizona Diamondbacks in a Labor Day matinee, 8-5.

As the Marlins came to bat in the bottom of the sixth at Dolphins Stadium on Sept. 4, 2006, they had managed just one hit off Arizona starter Enrique González. Trailing 5-0, Florida would take the lead with six runs in the inning. Each of them scored with two outs.

Alfredo Amézaga singled to open the inning but after Jeremy Hermida hit into a fielder’s choice and Hanley Ramírez flied out, it looked to be another quiet inning. Instead, Florida responded with five straight hits.

One pitch after Dan Uggla singled, Miguel Cabrera broke up the shutout with an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-1. Not known for his speed, Josh Willingham followed by legging out an infield hit to load the bases. Mike Jacobs then cut the lead to 5-3 with a two-run single.

Arizona stuck with González, which proved to be a mistake. Ahead in the count of Joe Borchard, González left one out over the plate and the Florida right fielder crushed it to right-center field for the go-ahead three-run home run. What had been a 5-0 deficit when the inning started had become a 6-5 lead for the Marlins.

After Renyel Pinto stranded the tying run at third in the top of the seventh, Uggla put the exclamation point on the comeback with a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame. Taylor Tankersley and Joe Borowski each worked 1-2-3 innings to slam the door on the Diamondbacks.

For Arizona, most of the offense came early. The Diamondbacks plated four runs in the first against Florida starter Brian Moehler with two coming on a double by Conor Jackson. The Diamondbacks extended the lead to 5-0 on Eric Byrnes’ solo home run to lead off the fifth.

Despite having just one hit through six innings, Amézaga, Uggla and Jacobs each finished the night with two. Byrnes and Orlando Hudson each had two hits for Arizona. While Borowski picked up the save for the Marlins, Randy Messenger worked a 1-2-3 sixth to earn the win.

In addition to getting over .500 for the first time, the five-run comeback served as the biggest of the season for the Marlins. It came on this day two decades ago.