MIAMI -- Giancarlo Stanton delivered an awe-inspiring two-run homer in the eighth inning on Wednesday afternoon, but it was the eight strong innings thrown by Jose Urena that set the tone in the Marlins' 9-2 win over the Mets at Marlins Park.
Urena held the Mets in check, allowing two runs on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts. To seal the deal, Stanton blistered a two-run homer, No. 56, off Erik Goeddel in a four-run inning.
At 56 homers, Stanton matches the season highs of Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (1997 and '98), and Hack Wilson (1930). Stanton said Griffey was one of his favorite players growing up.

"That's good company," Stanton said. "I'm getting up there with some great company. That's a good one. He was one of my favorite players. That was really cool."
Off Goeddel, the Marlins connected on three home runs in the eighth. A.J. Ellis and Miguel Rojas went back-to-back, marking the fifth time that's happened for Miami, and the first since Aug. 6 at Atlanta, when Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto did the trick. Justin Bour added a two-run homer off Rafael Montero in the third inning. Bour's 23 homers match a personal high, first accomplished in 2015.

Urena improved to 14-6 with a 3.55 ERA on the season, and the eight innings matched his season high.
"I think the story today is, obviously, Jose," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "Going eight, keeping his pitch count down. … His next progression is being able to get deeper into games and keeping his pitch count there. You know, the last game in Milwaukee, he gets frustrated when I take him out [after 4 2/3 innings] but he's at 105 [pitches] and things like that. So it was good to see him get extended, put the ball in play."

Along with his MLB-leading homer, Stanton added a run-scoring single, increasing his RBI total to 120, which is one behind Preston Wilson's club record set in 2000. Gary Sheffield also had 120 in 1996.
"He kills us," Mets manager Terry Collins said of Stanton. "You can't hang stuff. We got him down and away all series long when we made pitches. When you make mistakes on the plate, he kills you. And he did today."
Brandon Nimmo homered with one out in the seventh inning for New York. Travis d'Arnaud added a pinch-hit RBI single.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Urena limits the damage: The Mets had their shot at a big inning in the fifth, but they came away with just one run. d'Arnaud, who has hit the Marlins well over his career, dropped a perfectly placed blooper down the right-field line for an RBI single, setting New York up with runners on the corners and two outs. Urena, however, escaped the jam by inducing Norichika Aoki to fly out to left.

Urena noted he was a little more motivated on Wednesday, which marked the one-year anniversary of Jose Fernandez's final start. On Sept. 20, 2016, Fernandez threw eight innings in a win over the Nationals. The All-Star died in a boating accident five days later.
"It's sad when you remember things like that," Urena said. "But it's important to remember God has a plan. We always have [Fernandez] as something valuable to us and not just for us, but for all the people that were there and knew what kind of person he was."
Bour's big third inning: Bour made his presence felt in the third inning, in the field and at the plate. With two outs and a runner on second, Bour made a diving catch on Aoki's line drive for the third out. Then, with two outs and Ozuna on first in the bottom of the inning, Bour belted a two-run homer to center, breaking open a 4-0 Miami lead. Statcast™ projected the homer at 426 feet with an exit velocity of 106.5 mph. Montero's fastball was 93.8 mph.

"They were just really able to make adjustments on me," Montero said through an interpreter.
"He seems to be getting better," Mattingly said of Bour, who missed two months due to injury. "Obviously, he's hit a couple homers in the last couple days. He's really been pretty good the whole time. He didn't look sharp at first for me. His swing had a little drag in it, but he was getting his hits and taking some walks. So he's gotten to the point where he's played every day. He's pretty much back on timing again."
QUOTABLE
"We all said if he ever stayed healthy, he's going to hit a ton of home runs, and he's showing that that's exactly the case. I think it's great that he's been able to stay on the field this year and show everybody in baseball that he's truly the ultimate power hitter in our sport. I just hope we start to get him out a little bit better than we've been getting him out, because he kills us." -- Collins, on Stanton

"It's a first time for everything. It actually was a joke because [bench coach Tim Wallach], early in Spring Training, when I hit a homer, and he said, 'Hey, that's it. That's your one homer a year.' I was getting scared. Ten more games left, I don't know if I'm going to get one. Fortunately, I got that one today." -- Rojas, who had an MRI recently that showed he is playing with a slight tear (which won't require surgery) in his left rotator cuff

UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Mets infielder Phillip Evans narrowly avoided being doubled off first base when teammate Travis Taijeron lined out to Bour in the third inning. First-base umpire Alfonso Marquez called Evans out, but Collins challenged. A one-minute review was all the crew needed to overturn the call, determining that Evans' hand touched the base before Bour's glove.

WHAT'S NEXT
Mets:Jacob deGrom (15-9, 3.55 ERA) will return to the mound Friday at Citi Field needing just 4 2/3 innings to reach 200 for the first time in his career. deGrom will start the 7:10 p.m. ET opener of the Mets' three-game series against the Nationals.
Marlins: Off Thursday, the Marlins open their final road trip of the season on Friday at 9:40 p.m. ET at Arizona. Adam Conley (7-7, 5.20 ERA) gets the start for Miami, with Zack Greinke (17-6, 2.87) going for the D-backs. Conley's ERA on the road is 3.33, compared to 7.23 at Marlins Park. The lefty is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two starts against Arizona. Greinke is 5-0 (2.75 ERA) against Miami.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.