Stanton homers, Marlins hold off D-backs for Jose

May 5th, 2016

MIAMI -- Giancarlo Stanton met power with power, crushing Rubby De La Rosa's 94-mph fastball over the wall in dead center for a two-run homer that helped propel the Marlins to a 4-3 win over the D-backs on Wednesday at Marlins Park.
Stanton's ninth home run of the season was the big blast that provided enough support for Jose Fernandez, who gave up three runs in five innings and improved to 19-1 all-time at Marlins Park. David Peralta belted a two-run homer off Fernandez, but Miami's bullpen logged four shutout innings, and the club has now won nine of 10, including the first two in the series.
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A.J. Ramos logged his ninth save in as many chances.

"The team got a win," Fernandez said. "Tough game. But the goal here is winning ballgames, no matter what we do, how we do it. That's the main goal, win ballgames. The results don't really matter to me."
De La Rosa's night was over after 96 pitches with two outs in the sixth, as pinch-hitter Cole Gillespie reached on a two-base error when right fielder Brandon Drury was unable to make a tough running catch.
"It's been great," Stanton said of the team's hot streak. "We've been having a great time. Everybody has been contributing, too; that's the best part of it. So it's never one guy to look to for the win. We've got to keep it going."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Stanton delivers to center: It's not a coincidence that the Marlins started playing better once Stanton started hitting. The slugger doubled and scored in the second inning, and in the third, he crushed a two-run homer to center. The blast gave Miami a 4-0 lead. Statcast™ projected the drive to have landed 436 feet from home plate with an exit velocity of 111 mph. Stanton has hit six home runs since April 24.

"The home run, I got a heater over the plate," Stanton said. "He throws hard. Just make sure I'm on time." More >
Redemption: After walking two batters Tuesday night on eight consecutive balls, Andrew Chafin relieved De La Rosa in the sixth inning and promptly struck out J.T. Realmuto on three pitches to strand Marlins on second and third and keep the D-backs within a run.

"Our bullpen's been fine," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "Last night was an aberration."
One bad inning: De La Rosa suffered through a three-run third inning in an otherwise decent outing. It was back-to-back plate appearances by Yelich, who hit an RBI single, and Stanton, who hit the two-run homer, that did him in.

"The first couple of innings, he was just leaving the ball up," catcher Chris Herrmann said of his batterymate. "Stanton made him pay, hit the home run. That was a big home run. We couldn't quite catch up after that." More >
Jose's high pitch counts: In his first five starts, Fernandez didn't make it past six innings. On Wednesday, the Miami ace's night ended after five because he threw 99 pitches. Fernandez struck out seven and walked two. It was a struggle getting quick outs. The right-hander was at 79 pitches through four innings.

"A lot of pitches," manager Don Mattingly said. "It's kind of what we've seen all year so far. Obviously, his stuff is always good. He's always competitive, always getting after it. But just a lot of pitches." More >
DRURY'S DIVE INTO STANDS
Drury couldn't come up with Gillespie's bloop in the sixth, but in the previous inning, the outfielder was able to hold on to a ball off the bat of Martin Prado despite tumbling into the seats near the right-field line. More >

QUOTABLE
"I think everybody knows their role. It helps you prepare for the innings. It was kind of hard early in the season when you didn't know who was going where. It's kind of hard to really get mentally prepared. That's a big part of pitching. Some guys have lights-out stuff, but if you're not mentally prepared. ... Now, when the phone rings, it's you." -- Ramos, on Marlins relievers settling into roles
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Realmuto has now hit safely in nine straight games. His career-high hitting streak is 10 games (Aug. 31-Sept. 15, 2015).
INSTANT REPLAY
Stanton came up big in a big moment with a throw in the sixth inning. Yasmany Tomas ripped a ball to right to lead off the sixth, and he tried to stretch it to a double as Stanton's throw came into shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. The initial call was safe, but Miami challenged, and the review took just 34 seconds to overturn, as Hechavarria clearly applied the tag.

WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: Lefty Robbie Ray gets the start for the D-backs on Thursday in the 4:10 p.m. MST series finale at Marlins Park. Ray looks to get back on track following two sub-par outings, including one on Friday in which he allowed four homers. He was 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA over his first three starts this season, but hasn't made it past four innings in his last two.
Marlins:Adam Conley, coming off a start at Milwaukee where he threw 7 2/3 no-hit innings, closes out the series on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Conley is is 1-1 with a 3.67 ERA.
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