MIAMI -- Adam Conley seems to have found a groove. Backed by a Christian Yelich three-run homer, the left-hander held the Reds in check for 7 2/3 strong frames as the Marlins defeated the Reds, 7-3, on Saturday night at Marlins Park.
Miami has suddenly caught fire, winning four straight and seven of its last nine. Cincinnati's second-half woes continued, as the club dropped its sixth in a row and is 2-14 since the All-Star break.
"I love his pace because he keeps everyone working a lot like [Jose] Urena," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Conley. "He seems to like to work at that pace, and he's been aggressive, and obviously it's working."
Conley impressed yet again for the Marlins. The southpaw worked around a first-inning Joey Votto homer and an Adam Duvall fourth-inning solo shot, striking out seven and walking two. In three starts since being called up from the Minors, he has gone at least six innings and yielded two runs or fewer in each outing.
"The biggest thing is getting ahead of guys," Conley said of his success. "It's hard to pitch in this league when you're behind in the count."
Votto, who hadn't gone deep since July 8, snapped a season-high 16-game streak without a homer. Duvall has three in his last four games.

Reds starter Tim Adleman had a different fate. Miami roughed him up for six runs on six hits before he was pulled with one out in the fifth. He walked four, giving Reds starters 17 free passes in three games. Adleman has surrendered at least one home run in each of his last 12 starts.
"It didn't go my way all night, really. I was just bad out there," said Adleman, who is 5-9 with a 5.42 ERA in 20 games. "My fastball command was awful, which is kind of my trademark. I was only sporadically good, off-speed wise. I just didn't do a whole lot well tonight."
• Reds not lacking in effort during rough stretch
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Yelich for three: Yelich's power surge continued in a pivotal way. With two outs in the third, he launched a three-run shot to left-center field to put Miami ahead, 3-1. Statcast™ estimated the long ball at 403 feet with an exit velocity of 103 mph. It marked his third homer in his last five games, during which he has eight extra-base hits.
"I'll take them. You've gotta earn them," Yelich said of his rare opposite-field shot. "You don't really get any cheap homers in this place. I think it's probably one of the biggest -- or one of, if not the worst -- hitter's parks in the league." More >

Double up on insurance: The Reds had pitched around Giancarlo Stanton for much of the series prior to the fifth inning. But after Conley walked and Dee Gordon singled, they had little choice but to pitch to him. The slugger laced a two-run double to right-center off Adleman at a 115-mph exit velocity.
"From second base, watching G hit a ball like that is something I don't get to see a lot," Conley said. "So it's impressive to watch from the dugout, but it was really cool to watch him hit a ball like that from the field. I just wanna say I'm thankful he's on my team and that I'm not on that side of him anymore than that."

Two batters later, Marcell Ozuna padded the lead with an RBI two-bagger of his own to center. Stanton and Ozuna have combined to hit 77 balls at 110 mph or higher this season, most by any pair of teammates.

QUOTABLE
"I don't take it any different. I don't take it personally with teams. It's part of baseball. If there's going to be more guys out there, drive them in." -- Yelich, on the Reds walking Stanton six times in three games ahead of him this series
MESORACO HURTS KNEE
Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco left the game before the bottom of the sixth inning because of a sore right knee, and he was replaced by Stuart Turner. Manager Bryan Price removed Mesoraco as a precaution and said he wouldn't start him on Sunday as planned.
During a rehab assignment earlier this season, Mesoraco's same knee bent when a runner slid into him while he covered third base during a rundown. But he's not sure what caused it to hurt again.
"I don't recall a certain play I did up in New York or anything [in the previous series]," Mesoraco said. "It seemed to bother me. I thought today it would be fine. Warming up wasn't an issue. Then once I got out there in the game, I felt it."
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Votto's home run was No. 248 of his career and moved him past Justin Morneau into third place on the all-time list among hitters from Canada. Votto also has 801 RBIs, which put him into sole possession of 11th place on the Reds' all-time list ahead of Frank McCormick.
REPLAY REVIEW
Gordon is one of the fastest players in the Majors, but even his 29.6-mph sprint speed couldn't help him in the first inning. Gordon lined a ball past Votto down the first-base line and tried extending a single into a double. The speedster was called safe, but his foot popped off the bag just enough to be tagged out by Scooter Gennett on a throw from Patrick Kivlehan. The Reds challenged the call, and it was overturned.

WHAT'S NEXT
Reds: Rookie Luis Castillo, once a Marlins prospect, will pitch for the Reds when the series concludes at 1:10 p.m. ET on Sunday at Marlins Park. Castillo (1-4, 4.05 ERA) benefitted from a triple play in his last start on Tuesday against the Yankees, but he still took a 4-2 loss after allowing three earned runs on seven hits over five innings.
Marlins:Dan Straily (7-6, 3.84 ERA) faces his former team on Sunday. Miami acquired the right-hander in a deal that included Castillo, his opponent on Sunday. There still could be a catch to this: Straily is the subject of trade discussion, and if a deal for him is considered close, he could be scratched.
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