MIAMI (AP) - Marcell Ozuna came into Wednesday night’s game mired in a slump.
He was 3 for 24 in the previous nine games, but hit a grand slam and knocked in five runs to help power the Miami Marlins past the Philadelphia Phillies 14-5.
“He needed that,” Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. “He needed to lock it in and have a couple good at-bats. He’s definitely had some struggles this month. … Hopefully this is a spark for him and a spark for us.”
Christian Yelich, Garrett Jones, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each drove in two runs for the Marlins, who have the best home record (18-6) in baseball.
Nathan Eovaldi (3-2) allowed three runs_one earned_and 10 hits in six innings to pick up the win.
“I felt command,” Eovaldi said. “I had better command of my fastball this outing and I was able to make the big pitches when I needed to.”
Ozuna’s first career grand slam and seventh home run of the season broke the game open in the seventh inning. Miami led 6-3 with two outs before Jeff Manship loaded the bases and Ozuna smacked a pitch over the left-field wall for a 10-3 lead.
“When I saw the pitch, I said, ’I got it. Let me not make a mistake. Just make contact,’” Ozuna said.
Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (0-5) came into the game with a 10-game winning streak against the Marlins, but lost his 10th consecutive game overall. Kendrick allowed six runs in 5 2-3 innings.
“I wasn’t good at all, falling behind in counts, missing over the plate, my fastball command wasn’t very good,” Kendrick said. “Guys scored runs and I gave it right back to them and that’s what’s frustrating.”
Domonic Brown homered and drove in three runs for the Phillies, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Brown’s two-run home run pulled Philadelphia within 10-5, but Miami scored four runs in the eighth to post their highest run total of the season.
Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton came up with a pivotal defensive play in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and the Marlins holding onto a 5-3 lead, Cody Asche hit a line drive to the right-center field gap that looked as if it would clear the bases. Stanton raced to his right making a diving back-handed catch to end the inning.
“The great catch in right-center field was a game-changing play,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. “That was potentially a 6-5 lead and a whole different type of a game.”
The Phillies scored two unearned runs in the first and the Marlins responded with two in the bottom half.
After Stanton drove in a run on a ground out to give Miami a 3-2 lead, Tony Gwynn, Jr. singled to tie the game at 3 in the fourth for Philadelphia.
Miami took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by Ozuna and Yelich for a 5-3 advantage.
NOTES: After the game the Marlins optioned RHP Anthony DeSclafani to Triple-A New Orleans. LHP Randy Wolf (0-0, 1.80) will take DeSclafani’s spot in the rotation and start Sunday against Milwaukee. … The Marlins are averaging 6.0 runs at home compared to 3.4 on the road. … Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins tied Richie Ashburn (2,217) for the second-most hits in franchise history. … Kendrick’s 10-game winning streak against the Marlins was the longest active streak by any pitcher in MLB against one team. … Philadelphia will send LHP Cole Hamels (1-2, 4.40) to the mound in Thursday’s series finale against Marlins RHP Henderson Alvarez (2-3, 3.62).
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