Phillies Labor to End Losing Skid
By Matt Veasey
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | |
| Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Marlins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the division rival Miami Marlins in the Labor Day opener of a three game series.
The Phillies received yeoman work once again from starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff, and the lineup broke out for a couple of big innings, leading to a 6-2 Labor Day victory in Miami against the division rival Marlins.
Eickhoff (10-13), who has frequently been victimized by a lack of run support from the worst offense in all of baseball, finally received a little support on a day he required very little.
The righty allowed six hits and just two earned runs, both in the 1st inning. He struck out four and walked no one in an economical six innings over which he threw 58 strikes in his 89 pitches.
The Marlins got to him quickly in that 1st inning. Dee Gordon led off with a triple and was brought home by an Ichiro Suzuki RBI single.
A wild pitch from Eichoff then moved Ichiro into scoring position, and a two-out RBI single from J.T. Realmuto brought home the future Hall of Famer for an early 2-0 lead.
Eickhoff would allow no runs and just three hits over the next five innings. Meanwhile, Marlins rookie starter Jake Esch was keeping the Phils offense in check, shutting them out over the first four frames.
Freddy Galvis finally broke that spell when he followed Aaron Altherr, who had been hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, with a two-run homer in the top of the 5th inning.
Galvis’ 16th longball of the year was then immediately followed by a Peter Bourjos triple. Two batters later, an error by shortstop Miguel Rojas allowed Bourjos to score the go-ahead run.
The Phillies then struck for three more in the top of the 7th inning. Again it was Altherr and Galvis getting things started, the former by drawing a walk and the latter reaching on an error by reliever Austin Brice. Bourjos singled to score Altherr, and it was 4-2 in favor of the Phillies.
Marlins skipper Don Mattingly then made a double-switch, bringing in reliever Brian Ellington as well as former popular Phillies outfielder Jeff Francoeur.
Ellington immediately surrendered a two-run single to Jimmy Paredes that brought home both Galvis and Bourjos, and the Fightin’ Phils had broken the game open for a 6-2 lead.
When Hernandez and Odubel Herrera followed with base hits to load the bags with still just one out, it appeared that the Phillies would really open this one up. But Ellington was able to get out without any further damage.
The Phillies bullpen had all it would need, however. Edubray Ramos replaced Eickhoff for the bottom of the 7th, and set the Fish down in order. Hector Neris in the 8th and Jeanmar Gomez in the 9th did the same, and the Phils six-game losing skid was over.
“I’m just happy to get a couple of runs,” said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin per MLB.com contributors. “It was nice to see. We go on the road, and people start hitting better. Sometimes you need a change of scenery.”