Ichiro Suzuki continued his quest for 3,000 hits with four more as the Miami Marlins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 on Monday.
Suzuki's four-hit day was his second such game in his last three played. The veteran now has ten hits in his last 13 at-bats. Suzuki has been playing more lately due to Christian Yelich's battle with back spasms, and figures to remain in the lineup until he cools off.
Suzuki now has 2,960 hits in his career and has a legitimate chance of reaching the 3,000 hit milestone this season. Should Suzuki fail to meet the mark, the Marlins hold an option for 2017 as well.
The win for Miami was of the comeback variety after blowing a lead of their own earlier in the game. Suzuki was right in the middle of an eighth inning rally for the Marlins that put the team ahead by one. That run would up in the ninth to give Miami the win in the first game of the Citrus Series.
Earlier in the game, Marcell Ozuna hit his ninth home run of the series. Ozuna who has been on a torrid pace had three more hits in this game. Miami's center-fielder is now batting .321 on the season.
While the offense was doing its job with 14 hits, the pitching staff had its share of struggles. Wei-Yin Chen started for Miami and did not fare well as he allowed five runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings. Chen also walked three while coming away with a no-decision.
Tom Koehler will get the ball on Tuesday as the Marlins look to sweep the Miami portion of the Citrus Series.
