Stanton-less Fish edge Kershaw, sloppy Dodgers
MIAMI -- With Giancarlo Stanton on the disabled list with a fractured left hand, the Marlins are searching for ways to manufacture runs. They capitalized on two errors Saturday, scoring two unearned runs, and edged the Dodgers, 3-2, at Marlins Park.
Christian Yelich tied his career high with four hits and Miami ended a five-game skid by beating Clayton Kershaw on Stanton's first day on the DL with a broken hamate bone in his left hand.
"That's a big hole. You're not going to replace that in Giancarlo," Miami manager Dan Jennings said. "At the same time, everybody up and down this lineup is capable of delivering the at-bats they did today. We need to build off this and move forward."
Mistakes ended up costing Kershaw, who struck out nine in seven innings, but of the three runs the All-Star lefty allowed, just one was earned. Kershaw is now 5-2 (1.91 ERA) in eight career starts against Miami, and he lost three consecutive starts for the first time in his career.
Video: LAD@MIA: Kershaw strikes out nine, picks up loss
Marlins right-hander Tom Koehler stepped up with a terrific outing, settling down after Justin Turner's first-inning homer to allow two runs on six hits over seven innings while striking out five. It was Koehler's liner to center that was dropped by Joc Pederson in the second inning that drove in Miami's third run.
Video: LAD@MIA: Koehler strikes out five over seven strong
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Big DP boosts Koehler: Just when Koehler was getting into a jam, his defense picked him up in the fourth inning. Howie Kendrick, Turner and Adrian Gonzalez strung together three straight singles to open the fourth inning. Gonzalez's hit drove in a run, making it 3-2.
Video: LAD@MIA: Gonzalez's single to left drives in Kendrick
From there, Miami's middle-infield defense took over. Andre Ethier hit a sharp liner and second baseman Dee Gordon made a nice leaping play. And the threat ended when shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria turned a brilliant 6-4-3 double play on Yasmani Grandal's sharp grounder.
Video: LAD@MIA: Gordon leaps to grab Ethier's line drive
"We needed to get out of that inning," Gordon said. "That was a great play by Hechy to give me a good feed. We needed that momentum. That was a great play."
Video: Must C Combo: Hechavarria and Gordon turn slick DP
Pederson's costly blunder: With two outs and a runner on third in the second inning, Kershaw should have escaped unharmed when Koehler hit a line drive directly at Pederson in center field. But the rookie misplayed it, running in too far and then dropping the ball when he jumped to snag it. The error allowed J.T. Realmuto, who doubled to lead off the inning, to score as the Marlins took a 3-1 lead.
Video: LAD@MIA: Realmuto scores on Pederson's error
"I just dropped it," Pederson said. "I messed up and lost the game for us." More >
Kershaw loses third in a row: Although he went seven innings and allowed just one earned run, Kershaw lost his third consecutive start for the first time in his career. The lefty, who allowed seven hits and struck out nine on 101 pitches, last won on June 6 vs. St. Louis.
"You really can't ask Clayton to pitch a whole lot better," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He gives up one [earned] run and goes seven innings. We just weren't able to put any runs on the board tonight to overcome our couple mistakes." More >
Yelich has four hits: Yelich may be having a tough first half, but the Miami left fielder had a big day, collecting four singles, all off left-handed pitching. The only other time he had as many as four hits in a game was on June 10, 2014, at Texas. Yelich singled and scored on an error in the first inning.
Video: LAD@MIA: Yelich scores on Ethier's throwing error
"There was some luck involved in that, I've got to be honest," Yelich said. "You just have to battle against guys like [Kershaw]. He's a tough lefty. He's got really good offspeed pitches, good fastball. He's got good command. You just have to go out there, battle and not try to do too much. I got lucky, a couple of balls found some holes." More >
Video: LAD@MIA: Yelich's four-hit performance
QUOTABLE
"You take away the bad throw, you take away the wild pitch and we're up 2-1. ... I think we definitely beat ourselves." -- Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal
"I know Dee is getting a lot of hype and votes for the All-Star Game, but you can't look past Hechavarria. He is All-Star quality. He's playing that way, and he's bringing it every night offensively and defensively." -- Jennings on the steady and often spectacular play of Hechavarria
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
With Stanton on the DL, the Marlins are looking for power from the rest of the lineup. It won't be easy to find. Of their 62 home runs, Stanton has 27, with the rest of the team at 35.
WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers: Zack Greinke tries to earn his first win since May 5 in the series finale on Sunday (10:10 a.m. PT) at Marlins Park. Over his last two starts, the righty has notched 13 scoreless innings in a row.
Marlins: Wrapping up the series on Sunday (1:10 p.m. ET) is rookie right-hander Jose Urena (1-3, 4.34 ERA), who makes his seventh big league start.
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