Odúbel Herrera hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Philadelphia Phillies averted a three-game sweep, beating the Miami Marlins 4-3 Sunday.
Bryce Harper hit his 27th home run and Freddy Galvis also connected for the playoff-chasing Phillies.
Herrera had been 0 for 4 before driving in automatic runner Freddy Galvis from second with his hit off Dylan Floro (5-6).
“I faced that guy last night, so I knew to look for something middle in. I got the pitch I wanted,” Herrera said. “Everybody’s excited now. We just have to continue to stay positive.”
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Ian Kennedy (1-0) pitched two scoreless and struck out four.
“I knew Ian was fresh coming in,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “You don’t plan to use your closer two innings, but he had a quick (ninth) and I felt he was pretty rested.”
Girardi knew Kennedy had the poise to handle the extra workload.
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“You know he’s not going to get rattled, you know he’s not going to beat himself,” Girardi said. “He’s a competitor.”
Miami tied it at 3 with an unearned run in the sixth inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr. reached on an error by first baseman Brad Miller and later scored on Bryan De La Cruz’s grounder.
After managing only one walk in the first three innings against Miami starter Elieser Hernandez, the Phillies’ broke loose in the fourth. Harper homered, and Galvis hit a two-run drive for a 3-1 lead.
Harper, who enjoyed a surge at the plate in August, began the day with only a single in eight at-bats in the first two games of the series.
Despite losing the series after coming to Miami riding a six-game winning streak, Harper feels the team can go to Milwaukee with confidence.
”“We didn’t play well at all, myself included, but it’s time to put this series behind us,” Harper said. ”(Kennedy) was dominant those last two innings, and our bullpen as a whole got the job done today.”
De La Cruz recovered nicely after being hit by a pitch in his first at-bat, connecting for a solo homer in the fourth.
Miami took an early lead against Sam Coonrod, a reliever who went 1 1/3 innings in his first major league start, on a bases-loaded grounder by Isan Diaz in the second inning.
Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly was pleased with the series win and the way the team battled throughout Sunday’s game.
“We didn’t get a whole lot going today, but there was a lot of fight in us, that’s for sure,” Mattingly said. “Definitely not the outcome we wanted, but they hung in there.”
Philadelphia missed a chance to add to its lead in the sixth after J.T. Realmuto greeted reliever Zach Thompson with a double. The former Marlins catcher advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Harper — his third in the last seven seasons — but was left stranded.
MIAMI THORN
Harper continues to be a nemesis to the Marlins. In 152 games against Miami with both Philadelphia and Washington, Harper has 33 home runs and 101 RBIs.
SCARY MOMENT
De La Cruz was hit high, behind his left shoulder, by a 98 mph fastball from Coonrod in the second. De La Cruz immediately fell to the ground, grabbing the back of his head in pain, and remained motionless for several minutes. He stayed in the game and managed a smile while standing on first base.
UP NEXT
RHP Zack Wheeler (11-9, 3.01) gets the start for the Phillies in their series opener at Milwaukee. The Marlins will go with RHP Edward Cabrera (0-1, 5.23) to begin a three-game set against the Mets.
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