Bour, Marlins atone for errors, walk off on Giants
MIAMI -- A mistake-filled night by the Marlins ended in dramatic walk-off fashion on Wednesday, when Justin Bour belted a three-run homer in the ninth inning that lifted Miami to a 6-5 victory over the Giants at Marlins Park.
Miami committed a season-high three errors, including one by Bour at first. But in the ninth inning off Santiago Casilla, Bour lined a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right to give the Marlins their fourth walk-off win of the season, and first since May 23 against the Orioles. Miami had been 0-42 when trailing after eight innings.
"That's one of those games you want to start at the back and work your way to the front," Miami manager Dan Jennings said. "We were a little sloppy defensively, which is very uncharacteristic for this ballclub. You can throw all of that out the window when you have the at-bats you were having in the ninth inning."
Before Bour's heroics, the Giants claimed the lead off Dan Haren in the sixth inning on Brandon Crawford's two-out solo homer. Matt Duffy doubled to open the inning, and he scored on Brandon Belt's sacrifice fly.
Video: SF@MIA: Crawford belts a solo homer to right center
Haren, who gave up four runs (three earned) in 5 2/3 innings, helped his cause with an RBI single, and he scored on Dee Gordon's triple in a three-run third inning.
Video: SF@MIA: Haren scores Gillespie with a single
Pitching before dozens of relatives and friends, Giants right-hander Chris Heston, who hails from nearby Palm Bay, Fla., gave up three runs on five hits in six innings. Though Heston was excited to perform before his personal cheering section, he said "You can't let that stuff get in your mind." Heston has yielded three or fewer runs in five consecutive starts and is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA in that span.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Small ball: The Giants don't often manufacture runs, but that doesn't mean they don't know how. They generated a sixth-inning run that tied the score at 3 on Duffy's double and a "productive out" by Andrew Susac, whose grounder to shortstop advanced Duffy. Belt's sacrifice fly followed.
Video: SF@MIA: Belt ties the game at 3 with a sac fly
Gordon's three-base sprint: Gordon may not have sprinted around the bases, like he did on his inside-the-park home run on Tuesday, but the speedster dashed all the way to third in the third inning on his RBI triple. Gordon's fourth triple of the season put the Marlins ahead by a run, and he ended up scoring in the inning to give them a 3-1 lead.
Video: 7/1/15: Gordon plates Haren with a triple
Bour's big blast: June was certainly not the best month for Bour, who was 9-for-65 (.138) in the month. But the lefty-hitting first baseman did homer on Tuesday in Miami's 5-3 win. The power carried over on Wednesday, and Bour delivered the Marlins first walk-off home run since Giancarlo Stanton's grand slam against the Mariners on April 18, 2014.
Video: SF@MIA: Bour walks off with a three-run homer
The Marlins opened the ninth with singles from Christian Yelich and Adeiny Hechavarria.
"I watched Yelich's at-bat," Bour said. "He did a great job, setting the tone, making sure he got a pitch in the zone. He hit that ball up the middle." More >
Not bad, actually: Despite losing, the Giants sustained a spirited effort, even without Buster Posey, who took a foul ball off the mask in the fourth inning and exited in the fifth. They turned a season-high five double plays, one short of the franchise record established on Aug. 21, 2004, against the Mets. They also overcame an early 3-1 deficit with help from Brandon Crawford, who hit his career-high 11th home run.
Video: SF@MIA: Crawford, Panik turn a double play
QUOTABLE
"This is really good because it's a big day [Thursday] for the organization. Jose [Fernandez] making it back. It's nice to have the feeling of winning this game and going into tomorrow and see what happens. Hopefully Jose doesn't put too much pressure on himself. I know everyone is excited for it. I'm excited to watch it." -- Haren, on Fernandez's return and a chance for a Marlins sweep
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Giants induced five double-play ground balls from the Marlins. For Miami's offense, that tied a franchise high, done previously three times.
"That's really frustrating when you end an inning," Bour said. "Even myself, I was a little bit upset. You've got to keep battling, keep playing nine."
WHAT'S NEXT
Giants: If Matt Cain needed more encouragement heading into his comeback start in Thursday's 9:10 a.m. PT series finale against the Marlins, he could ponder his past performances against them. He's 6-4 with a 3.20 ERA lifetime against the Marlins, including 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA at Marlins Park.
Marlins: Nearly 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery, Jose Fernandez is back. The right-hander will his season debut on Thursday in the 12:10 p.m. ET start. It will be Fernandez's first big league appearance since May 9, 2014 at San Diego.
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