Marlins top Phillies, spoil Arrieta's debut

April 8th, 2018

PHILADELPHIA -- Turning the page wasn't difficult for the Marlins after a restless night of tossing and turning.
Fresh off one of the worst defeats in franchise history, the Marlins bounced back on Sunday afternoon. Behind ' homer and 's two-run double, Miami held off the Phillies, 6-3, salvaging the series finale at Citizens Bank Park.
After Saturday's 20-1 debacle, the players arrived to the ballpark with a more serious edge, and they responded with three runs in the first inning off , who was making his Phillies debut. Rojas knocked his first homer of the season in the opening frame, while Anderson put the Marlins in front for good with his decisive eighth-inning hit off .
"I don't think it's easy to go to sleep after a night like that," Anderson said. "You're definitely thinking about it, but when you wake up the next morning, your mind is going to be clear and you're going to be focused on today, and getting after that starting pitcher and making plays for our guys."

The Marlins snapped their four-game skid. After being outscored 25-1 in the first two games of the series, they leave Philadelphia with something to cheer about.
"When you get beaten that badly, you come to the ballpark in a different mood," Rojas said. "The feeling for me, everybody was like quiet today. It's the way you have to feel when you're embarrassed."
Rojas, batting second for the first time this year, set the tone in the first inning. Statcast™ projected his home run at 369 feet with a 98.9-mph exit velocity. added a two-run single -- his first career RBIs -- to hand the Marlins a 3-0 lead.
"The good thing is a game like today, against an ace, the feeling in the clubhouse is like, 'We can do it,'" Rojas said. "We have to approach games like we did today, like we are facing Arrieta. We played better, because we didn't want to be embarrassed again."

The score remained even at 3 until Phillies right-hander hit Rojas with a pitch and walked to start the eighth. Phillies catcher allowed a passed ball to put runners at second and third with one out with Morgan on the mound. Anderson then ripped a double to right-center field to score both. singled three batters later to drive in Anderson and give the Marlins a three-run lead.
"Just how our guys bounced back," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "After that loss, you've got to be ready to put it behind you and be ready to play."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Weathering the first: After jumping Arrieta for three runs in the first inning, Marlins rookie Trevor Richards gave up two while facing seven batters. The 24-year-old right-hander ended up working four innings, allowing three runs.
First innings have been problematic for Miami starters all season. In nine games, the first-inning ERA is a Major League-high 13.00. But Richards was able to minimize the damage and get through four frames on a 44-degree, breezy afternoon.
"Trevor kind of hung in there, kept battling," Mattingly said. "To me, it didn't seem like he had his best stuff out there. He hung in there and battled, and our bullpen did a nice job, obviously."

Adjusting to the change: With the game on the line, the Marlins finally were able to get the big hit, and it came from Anderson, who showed the ability to adjust to Morgan's changeup.
With runners on second and third and one out, Morgan threw the rookie third baseman a changeup that broke down and away, but Anderson went with the pitch and got enough of the ball to place it into the right-center gap.
"I just was able to stay on it and get the barrel to it," Anderson said. "I didn't have much behind it, but I was able to flip it into the outfield. More than anything, I wanted to put the ball in play. I didn't want to strike out. It just happened to find a gap."
Anderson's approach caught the attention of Arrieta.
"Our team clawed back and tied the game up, and it really just came down to Anderson's two-strike approach, putting a good swing on a tough pitch and putting them on the board with a couple runs there," Arrieta said.

QUOTABLE
"This is what you kind of envision with him, because you know he can do this a few days a week. He can be pretty dependable in that middle section there to get it back to [Drew] Steckenrider, [Kyle] Barraclough and [Brad] Ziegler. If we can keep the game in order through those innings, it's something we think can work for us." -- Mattingly, on reliever being versatile to work multiple innings. Four relievers combined for five scoreless innings, with Ziegler notching his first save of the season. 

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Castro had his eight-game hitting streak to start the season snapped on Sunday, but he did score in the first inning. He has reached safely in the first nine games.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Marlins return to the comfort of Marlins Park on Monday after spending three games in cold conditions in Philadelphia. In the series opener with the Mets at 7:10 p.m. ET, (0-1, 4.91) gets the nod against Mets right-hander (1-0, 5.40). Urena has a 3.27 career ERA against the Mets. is hitting .385 (5-for-13) off Syndergaard.
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