5-year Marliniversary: Fish set team record with 11-run fifth in Milwaukee

During the 2019 season, the Miami Marlins scored the second-fewest runs in all of baseball and the fewest in the National League. On this day five years ago, however, the club erupted for their biggest offensive inning ever.

The Marlins already held a 4-0 lead as they came to bat against the Milwaukee Brewers in the top of the fifth inning at Miller Park on June 4, 2019. By the time the half-inning was over, Miami had touched home 11 times in an eventual 16-0 shutout.

Home runs by Starlin Castro, Garrett Cooper, and Brian Anderson had propelled Miami to the early lead. During the 11-run fifth, however, the Marlins didn't leave the yard.

Facing Brewers starter Taylor Williams, Garrett Cooper opened the inning with a single. Following a walk to Anderson, Castro struck out. The next 10 men for Miami would reach.

An RBI double by Harold Ramírez was followed by an intentional walk to JT Riddle. Jorge Alfaro's two-run single started a streak of five straight RBI hits for Miami. Starting pitcher Pablo López doubled while Miguel Rojas, Curtis Granderson and Cooper singled during the stretch. 

After an error by Milwaukee third baseman Travis Shaw plated the eighth run of the inning, Castro atoned for his strikeout with an RBI double. Ramírez followed with an RBI groundout before Riddle singled home a run to cap the 11-run, nine-hit inning.

For good measure, Austin Dean doubled home a run in the eighth to cap the scoring. As a team, the Marlins finished with 19 hits. Cooper went 4-for-5 with four runs scored. Rojas added three hits. Dean, Castro, Ramirez and Alfaro each had two.

While the offense stole the show, López shined on the mound, yielding just three hits in six shutout innings while fanning seven. Shaw and former Marlins star Christian Yelich each had two of the six hits for the Brewers.

The 16 runs would serve as a season-high for the Marlins and the most in a game since putting up a franchise record 22 runs in a July 2017 victory over the Texas Rangers. The bulk of the damage came during the team-record 11-run fifth on this day five years ago.