Marlins crush Yanks behind 8-run first inning
MIAMI -- The Marlins' offense gave Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi a rude welcoming in his return to Marlins Park, jumping the righty for eight first-inning runs as Miami routed New York, 12-2, on Tuesday night. Eovaldi was traded from Miami to the Yankees last December, and one of the players he was swapped for was Marlins starter David Phelps, who logged seven innings and a victory in his first outing against his former team.
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"It's one of those things where it gives you the chance to take a deep breath," Phelps said of the early lead. "I've seen these guys score a lot of runs a lot of times and putting them in a hole early -- that's huge."
Eovaldi, who lasted just two-thirds of an inning, retired the first batter he faced. After that, the Marlins notched seven consecutive hits -- including a two-RBI single by Marcell Ozuna, RBI singles by Justin Bour and J.T. Realmuto, and a two-RBI triple by Adeiny Hechavarria. Dee Gordon then followed with a run-scoring single, before Derek Dietrich capped the huge inning with an RBI double for his second hit of the frame.
"I was just leaving a lot of balls up in the zone," Eovaldi said. "A lot of the off-speed, my splits were up in the zone, sliders in the middle. Just trying to make quality pitches and get out of that inning."
Giancarlo Stanton added some fireworks of his own in the fifth inning, blasting an opposite field three-run homer for his Major League-leading 24th of the year.
Video: NYY@MIA: Stanton goes the other way for 24th home run
"Offensively, those guys punished the ball," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said.
A bright spot for the Yankees, left-hander Chris Capuano threw four innings in relief of Eovaldi and allowed two runs on 77 pitches, 50 for strikes.
Video: NYY@MIA: Jennings on offensive approach in Yanks rout
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Ozuna opens the floodgates: On a full count with one out and the bases loaded in the first inning, Ozuna hit Eovaldi's fastball into right field for a 2-0 Miami lead. As it turned out, Ozuna's single opened the floodgates. Miami's offense erupted for an eight-run, nine-hit first inning. Twelve Marlins batted in the frame and all but the pitcher recorded a hit. Seven of the hits were singles, and Ozuna, Bour, Realmuto, Hechavarria, Gordon and Dietrich all recorded RBIs. It marked the first time the Marlins scored eight runs in the first inning in franchise history, as the previous high was seven runs. More >
"Ozuna started it, getting that big hit," Gordon said. "We kind of all just filtered in after that."
Video: NYY@MIA: Ozuna starts the scoring with two-run single
Phelps shuts down former team: Phelps, who pitched with the Yankees from 2012-14, faced his former teammates for the first time, and the righty certainly got the best of them. In seven innings, he allowed two runs and six hits on 108 pitches, 77 for strikes. More >
Video: NYY@MIA: Phelps bests former club for fourth victory
Capuano saves the 'pen: Capuano came on in relief of Eovaldi, pitching four innings for a ballclub in the midst of 20 games in 20 days. Capuano struck out five batters and walked two. He was charged with two earned runs allowed when righty Chris Martin served up Stanton's three-run homer in the fifth. Righty Jose Ramirez tossed the final two frames.
"Obviously, Cap came in and did a pretty good job," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We didn't use the guys in the back end. We just have to see where we're at [Wednesday]."
Video: NYY@MIA: Capuano pops up Stanton to escape trouble
QUOTABLE
"I played with [Mason Williams] in the Minor Leagues and he hit a double there. I was walking off the field and just smiling at him. If it's anybody else on any other team, I'm pretty upset. But I have a lot of good friends over there -- Phelps, on facing his former team
Video: NYY@MIA: Williams' double scores Drew for second run
"It's a game of ups and downs, and unfortunately it seems we've had a couple highs and some real low lows. Definitely frustrating when you go through that as a team and as an individual. Got to keep working hard. Another game tomorrow, will be a short night tonight, and play tomorrow night." -- Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner
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Dietrich singled and doubled in the first, becoming the first Marlin to record two hits in an inning since Carlos Lee, Jose Reyes and Donovan Solano each did so in the fourth on Aug. 20, 2012.
Video: NYY@MIA: Dietrich doubles to tack on a run in the 1st
WHAT'S NEXT
Yankees: Right-hander Michael Pineda starts Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET when the four-game home-and-home series moves to the Bronx. He went a season-low 4 1/3 innings in his last start, giving up six runs -- five earned -- on nine hits. New York has lost three of his last five outings.
Marlins: Rookie Jose Urena goes for his second consecutive win as he makes the start at Yankee Stadium. The righty was terrific in his last outing, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing just one run while collecting his first Major League victory.
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