Starling Marte had four hits, including a homer and double, and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 11-4 on Thursday night.
Adam Duvall and Jazz Chisholm also went deep for the Marlins, who had 16 hits.
“The guys were swinging the bats pretty good all night,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said.
Trevor Rogers (7-3) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings. Miami’s rookie left-hander struck out eight, walked one and has yielded two runs or fewer in 12 of his 13 starts.
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The homers from Duvall, Chisholm and Marte off starter Chi Chi González keyed a six-run second inning.
Duvall’s two-run shot started the scoring. Chisholm’s three-run blast bounced off the upper deck in right field, and Marte followed with his solo shot over the left-center field wall.
“Hitting is contagious,” Chisholm said. “The offense is contagious. You always want to jump into the fun.”
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Miami padded its lead in the fifth on José Devers’ RBI single and Jon Berti’s run-scoring double.
In addition to his four-hit performance, Marte stole a potential homer from Yonathan Daza with his leaping catch at the wall in center to start the fifth.
“This is like a dude throughout the game, one of the best players out there,” Mattingly said of his center fielder. “It gives you that guy who does all the things he does.”
González (2-4), of neighboring Delray Beach, allowed eight runs, 11 hits, struck out six and walked one in five innings.
“I made mistakes and they took advantage of it,” González said. “Unlike other games, I make a couple of mistakes I get away with them, but today, any mistake I made they hit it hard.”
Jorge Alfaro also had three hits, and his RBI single capped a three-run sixth for Miami.
Staked to an 11-0 lead, Rogers surrendered Brendan Rodgers’ leadoff homer and Daza’s RBI groundout in the seventh.
“A big boost of confidence,” Rogers said of pitching with a huge advantage. “It makes me want to attack the strike zone even more.
The Rockies scored twice against reliever Ross Detwiler in the eighth on Rodgers’ RBI single and Ryan McMahon’s sacrifice fly.
Rockies shortstop Trevor Story rejoined the club Thursday after a stint on the injured list. Sidelined since May 28 because of left elbow inflammation, Story went 1 for 3, walked and scored a run.
“It was only 11-12 days but it felt like a long time,” Story said. “Great to be back out there playing with the guys and having fun playing baseball.”
A NEAR COLLISION AND THEN SMILES
Marlins first baseman Jésus Aguilar and Colorado leadoff hitter Raimel Tapia nearly collided after the first out of the game. Aguilar fielded Tapia’s grounder and raced to the bag to beat the charging Tapia. As Tapia reached the bag, Aguilar grabbed him to avoid a collision and continued holding onto Tapia until he reached the front steps of the Rockies dugout. The two smiled as they walked.
GONZÁLEZ’S CHEERING SECTION
González lost count on the family and friends who were in the stands for his first start against the team he grew up rooting for.
“I had old teammates, high school teammates, Little League teammates, cousins, family,” Gonzalez said. “It was awesome that they were able to come. Unfortunately, I didn’t perform at my best. They hadn’t seen me pitch in a long time. I was happy they were able to experience it and I’m sure they had fun today.”
TRAINER’S ROOM:
Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (forearm flexor strain) tossed from 90 to 120 feet before Thursday’s game.
UP NEXT:
Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland (0-1, 6.23) will start the opener of a three-game series at Cincinnati Friday.
Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara (3-5, 3.30) looks to follow the eight-inning outing of his previous start in the opener of a three-game series against Atlanta on Friday. Alcantara didn’t allow an earned run and scattered six hits at Pittsburgh Sunday.
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