10-RUN NIGHTCAP 9TH PUNCTUATES MARLINS DH SWEEP
Miami Raps Out MLB Season High 29 Hits
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (AP) – The Miami Marlins blew open a close game with a 10-run ninth inning, allowing them to complete a doubleheader sweep of Washington by a score of 18-6 at Nationals Park. The Marlins took the opener 5-3. Miami amassed a major league season high 29 hits in the game, 25 of them singles. Four Marlins players—Christian Yelich, Donovan Solano, Casey McGehee and Adeiny Hechavarria--rapped out four hits; every member of the starting lineup hit safely and every position player in the starting lineup had a multi-hit game. Six Marlins had at least three hits. Miami sent 16 men to the plate in the top of the ninth and at one point strung together eight consecutive hits, tying a big league season high. The Marlins are the only team in either league to put together eight straight hits in a game more than once this year; they also accomplished the feat on April 23 in the fourth inning of an 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
The game was competitive until the ninth inning outburst. The Marlins jumped out in front 2-0 in the opening frame, scoring runs on Solano’s triple and Reed Johnson’s base hit. Miami added three runs in the fourth, bringing Thomas Hill’s starting debut to end. Yelich and McGehee had the run-scoring hits, and the Marlins held a 5-0 advantage.
But Washington quickly got back in the game with three runs of their own in the bottom half if the inning. After Kevin Frandsen led off with a base hit, Jayson Werth belted his 22nd home run of the year to cut the deficit to 5-2 and, one out later, Tyler Moore’s first homer of the season sliced the lead to two runs.
But the Marlins got two runs back in the top of the fifth, on a Yelich sacrifice fly and Solano single, and Kike Hernandez’s pinch hit single in the top of the sixth restored the Miami lead to five runs.
Again the Nationals responded, plating three runs in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of a Wilson Ramos double and two-run pinch single off the bat of Scott Hairston.
The Marlins were clinging to an 8-6 lead heading into the ninth. And then, Miami unleased the team’s biggest offensive inning of the year and just the seventh double digit-run inning of the major league season.
It started innocently enough. Hechavarria led off with a first-pitch single off Matt Thornton and pinch hitter Jeff Mathis sacrificed the runner to second. Yelich rolled a single into right, scoring Hechavarria to make it 9-6. Solano lined a single to right, chasing Yelich to third. Ryan Mattheus was summoned from the bullpen by Nationals skipper Matt Williams and McGehee greeted him with a base hit to center, scoring Yelich and moving Solano to second. Garrett Jones then blooped a single to right, scoring Solano and again leaving runners on the corners. Johnson doubled to right-center, driving home McGehee and advancing Jones to third. Justin Bour dropped a single into right, scoring another run and leaving runners on first and third again. And J.T. Realmuto then singled through the box, scoring Johnson and advancing Bour to second. After allowing five straight hits, Mattheus finally recorded an out, inducing Hechavarria to foul to the catcher. But Mathis doubled to right, scoring Bour and advancing Realmuto to third. It was now 15-6, but the carnage wasn’t over. Having played two doubleheaders in as many days and trying to set his bullpen up for the coming postseason, Williams didn’t want to use another pitcher. But Mattheus simply couldn’t get the third out. Yelich followed the Mathis double with a two-run single, his second of the inning, making it 17-6. Solano followed with his second hit of the inning, a single to right, advancing Yelich to second. McGehee then made it a trio of players with multi-hit innings. His base hit to center plated Yelich and advanced Solano to second. Jones walked to load the bases and finally, to the most sarcastic cheer heard at Nationals Park all season, Williams came to the mound and summoned Aaron Barrett into the game. He retired Johnson on a line drive to left to finally, mercifully, bring the inning to a close.
Sam Dyson needed only 11 pitches to set Washington down in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
The 12 hits the Marlins amassed in the frame are the most in a single inning this major league season. The previous high was 10, set by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh inning of an 11-7 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Chase Field on May 29.
The game marked only the third time this year the Nationals have allowed more than 10 runs in a game. The previous high was 12, in a loss to the Dodgers on May 7. It was the seventh time this season that the Marlins have scored more than 10 runs, but this is the high water mark for Miami this season, eclipsing the previous high of 16, scored in a win over the Mariners on April 18.
After opening the season by dropping 10 of the first 13 games against Washington, the Marlins have won the last four head-to-head contests with the Nationals.
9/26/2014, Mia14-Was14, game 2, Nationals Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Marlins 2 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 10 18 29 0 14 1
2014 Nationals 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 6 8 1 2 0
Marlins AB R H BI AVG Nationals AB R H BI AVG
Yelich cf 6 4 4 5 .317 Taylor,MA cf 4 0 0 0 .105
Solano 2b 7 2 4 2 .261 Frandsen 3b 4 2 3 0 .268
McGehee 3b 7 1 4 4 .305 Werth rf 3 2 1 2 .341
Jones,G rf 5 1 3 1 .248 Ramos,W c 4 1 1 1 .243
Valdespin pr 0 0 0 0 .163 Moore,T 1b 4 1 1 1 .250
Johnson,R lf 6 1 2 2 .277 Souza lf 2 0 0 0 .120
Bour 1b 5 1 3 1 .299 Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000
Realmuto c 5 3 2 1 .172 Hairston ph 1 0 1 2 .184
Dyson,S p 0 0 0 0 .000 Clippard p 0 0 0 0 .000
Hechavarria ss 6 3 4 0 .264 Thornton p 0 0 0 0 .000
Heaney p 2 1 1 0 .300 Mattheus p 0 0 0 0 .000
Hernandez,E ph 1 0 1 1 .315 Barrett p 0 0 0 0 .000
Jennings,Da p 0 0 0 0 .000 Span ph 1 0 0 0 .304
Capps p 0 0 0 0 .000 Espinosa ss 4 0 1 0 .247
Mathis ph 1 1 1 1 .145 Kobernus 2b 4 0 0 0 .125
51 18 29 18 Hill,T p 1 0 0 0 .000
Zimmerman,R lf 2 0 0 0 .225
34 6 8 6
Marlins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Heaney W 2-2 5.0 4 3 3 0 1 63 44 5.19
Jennings,Da H 8 2.0 4 3 3 1 1 34 20 7.62
Capps H 3 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 9 8 2.21
Dyson,S 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 11 9 2.49
9.0 8 6 6 1 4 117 81
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Hill,T L 0-1 4.1 12 7 5 1 1 77 53 5.63
Blevins 1.2 5 1 1 1 2 39 23 3.02
Clippard 2.0 0 0 0 1 3 28 18 1.57
Thornton 0.1 3 3 3 0 0 9 8 4.37
Mattheus 0.1 9 7 7 1 0 39 23 16.43
Barrett 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 3.46
9.0 29 18 16 4 6 195 127
Mia: Hernandez,E batted for Heaney in the 6th
Mathis batted for Capps in the 9th
Valdespin ran for Jones,G in the 9th
Valdespin moved to rf in the 9th
Mathis moved to c in the 9th
Was: Zimmerman,R inserted at lf in the 5th
Hairston batted for Blevins in the 6th
Span batted for Barrett in the 9th
E-Espinosa. 2B-Johnson,R(22), Bour(1), Mathis(7), Ramos,W(14). 3B-Solano(1).
HR-Werth(22), Moore,T(1). RBI-Yelich 5(52), Solano 2(32), McGehee 4(71),
Jones,G(66), Johnson,R 2(18), Bour(4), Realmuto(2), Hernandez,E(29),
Mathis(12), Werth 2(113), Ramos,W(53), Moore,T(6), Hairston 2(5).
SB-Yelich(23). CS-Jones,G. K-Yelich, McGehee, Johnson,R 2, Bour, Realmuto,
Ramos,W, Moore,T 2, Espinosa. BB-Jones,G 2, Bour, Realmuto, Werth. SH-Heaney,
Mathis. SF-Yelich. HBP-Johnson,R. HB-Hill,T. WP-Hill,T.
GWRBI: Solano
Temperature: 61, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from left at 16 MPH.
Attendance: 41,543
Game Time: 3:26