Yelich-Stanton 3-4 punch could be formidable one

MIAMI -- Marlins manager Dan Jennings wouldn't say how long he plans to go with Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton in the three and four spots in the lineup. But if it continues to work like it did in Thursday's 6-0 win against the Rockies, the experiment may last for a while.

As Miami scored five runs in the first two innings, Stanton notched two hits and four RBIs, while Yelich scored two runs and banged out an RBI triple. It was the second consecutive game that Yelich hit in front of the Major League home run leader.

"We're going to let it play itself out," Jennings said. "Yeli had a big triple, he gets a walk. The whole idea to put him there was to get more traffic on in front of [Stanton] and let him swing the bat and give him run-producing situations."

After Martin Prado doubled in the first inning, Yelich -- who finished 2-for-4 -- walked. Stanton then followed with a laser blast to left field off Rockies starter Chris Rusin for a 3-0 lead.

Video: COL@MIA: Stanton lines a three-run blast off Rusin

In the second inning, Yelich recorded an RBI triple for a 4-0 Marlins lead. Stanton once again brought home the lefty -- although this time with an RBI infield single that nestled halfway down along the third-base line.

Gif: Giancarlo Stanton foul ball stays fair

"I've hit in front of [Stanton] before," Yelich said. "They're probably gonna go after me more and make me beat them rather than pitch to him. Everybody knows what he can do. You just have to try to get a good pitch to hit in front of him and try to do what you can with it."

The lineup change can be especially effective if Yelich keeps up his recent pace. While he's batting just .225 on the season, he's hitting .276 in his last 15 games.

Stanton, meanwhile, is leading the league with 22 home runs -- nine in the past 12 games. While Yelich has hit in front of Stanton in the past, he may want to get used to running the bases with the slugger at the plate again.

"I was running from first trying to score on a double," he said of Stanton's first-inning home run. "I thought it was gonna bounce and hit the wall, but it kind of just went over it. He's probably the only guy in the league where that's a homer. Everybody else it's either hitting off the fence or the guy's maybe catching it. He's a special player and he's showing everybody what he can do right now."