Marlins' gritty hitters deliver a comeback win in finale in Bronx

NEW YORK – One thing can be said about the Marlins: They are a pesky team and will not go away if they are behind the 8-ball. After a three-hour, 35-minute rain delay, it showed in a 7-6 victory over the Yankees on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

The Fightin’ Fish were down, 4-3, after seven innings, but scored four runs in the top of the eighth against the Yankees’ bullpen. With the bases loaded and right-hander Jake Bird on the mound, pinch-hitter Graham Pauley doubled down the right-field line, scoring Jakob Marsee and Otto Lopez for a 5-4 lead. Pauley was 3-for-15 going into the at-bat.

“It was a great moment in the game,” Pauley said. “I got put in a situation my coaches saw I could succeed in. I went out there and I executed [against the sweeper]. That was a big moment for myself.

“The swing has come a long way in the last couple of weeks. The season is still early. There are going to be changes to figure out. I think I’m in a good spot to hopefully continue to hit.”

Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough entered the game for New York to face Xavier Edwards, who is considered a weaker hitter from the right side of the plate – .236 against lefties last year, vs. .306 against righties. It didn’t work for New York as Edwards’ single drove in Griffin Conine and Pauley.

“X is just really an excellent baseball player,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He is off to a really hot start at the plate. We are seeing X using both sides of the plate. That’s a good sign. He takes really good at-bats. …

“Most nights, when things are going well, X is usually right in the middle of things – the ability to impact both sides of the ball and on the bases. He is a really good player that is off to a terrific start.”

It was a bullpen game for the Marlins. After a slow start from Pete Fairbanks, Andrew Nardi, Chris Paddack, John King, Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender held the Bronx Bombers to three runs (two earned) in eight innings.

Paddack made up for his disappointing first start in a Marlins uniform. In that game against the White Sox on March 30, he allowed eight runs in four innings. He made up for that Sunday, pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing one unearned run.

Paddack was emotional after the game. He acknowledged that he had mental lapses and felt alone after that start in Miami, but pitching coach Daniel Moskos and assistant pitching coach Rob Marcello encouraged Paddack that he had eight players on the field to support him and the rest of the team had his back.

Paddack said the game sped up when he felt he was all by himself on the field. He was no longer in attack mode and started doubting himself. Throughout Sunday’s game, Paddack kept looking at his pitching coaches, and they kept hyping him up.

“It was weird coming after Fairbanks, but mentally, at the end of the day after a long rain delay, you have to go out there and compete,” Paddack said. “You can’t overthink it. You are trying to keep your mind at peace all day with the rain delay. It’s not ideal. We came out today and headed back to Miami tonight.”

It was the first litmus test for the Marlins, who were facing an expected postseason contender for the first time this season. McCullough came away pleased with how his team battled the Bronx Bombers, though he acknowledged the Marlins must throw strikes. They walked 30 batters during the three-game series, which set a team record for New York.

Even though New York won two of the three games, Miami showed throughout the series that its hitters are pesky. The Marlins were never out of the game and out of the fight until the last out was made. During the three-game series, the Marlins scored 16 runs and collected 27 hits.

“Looking at this series for three days, offensively, we were very good,” McCullough said. “We stretched their pitchers. … We came through with some hits.

“What we take from this is, we got one win. We did a lot of things well. We did a lot of things that we need to do better, moving forward if we are going to win more games. Our guys recognize that. … Toe to toe, we had a competitive series. … I loved how we finished up today.”