Phillies End 5-Game Skid With 6-2 Win Over Marlins
MIAMI (AP) — Ryan Howard had a pair of RBI hits and rookie Severino Gonzalez earned his first career victory to help the Philadelphia Phillies break a five-game losing streak by beating the Miami Marlins 6-2 Sunday.
The Phillies averted a sweep and improved to 3-11 on the road. The Marlins, who had won four in a row, missed a chance to climb above .500 for the first time this year.
Howard drove in a run with his first triple since April 2014. He also had an RBI single and improved his average to .193.
Gonzalez (1-1) improved dramatically from his first big-league start five days earlier, when he gave up seven runs in 2 2-3 innings. He allowed Miami two runs in five innings, lowering his ERA from 23.63 to 10.57.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth to complete a six-hitter.
Odubel Herrera, one of the Phillies' few bright spots, came off the bench to deliver an RBI single in the eighth. He also made a leaping catch in center field to rob Adeiny Hechavarria of an extra-base hit.
Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon was given the day off even though he has had six consecutive multihit games and leads the majors with an average of .440. His replacement, Donovan Solano, scored a run but committed two errors, and one led to an unearned run.
Jhonatan Solano drove in brother with a double in the fifth. The Solanos, both reserves, started in the same game for the first time, and batted back to back for the first time since they were youngsters growing up in Colombia.
Miami's Ichiro Suzuki, batting leadoff for the first time this season, started the first inning with a walk, stole second and third and came home on Giancarlo Stanton's sacrifice fly.
Jarred Cosart (1-2) gave up three runs in five-plus innings, including two in the sixth when the Phillies rallied for a 3-2 lead. Howard tripled home the tying run and scored when Grady Sizemore singled for his second RBI of the year.
Darin Ruf, who came into the game batting .179, singled home a run in the seventh. Howard followed with a run-scoring single.
Cosart had a streak of 16 consecutive scoreless innings stopped in the fifth, when Ben Revere hit a two-out RBI single. Revere finished with three hits.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins RHP Mat Latos (hamstring) felt fine after a bullpen session Saturday and will start at scheduled Tuesday at Atlanta.
UP NEXT
RHP Aaron Harang (2-2, 2.51) starts for the Phillies on Monday when they open a series at Atlanta. He allowed only two hits in eight shutout innings against the Braves on April 24 but received no decision.
RHP David Phelps (1-0, 3.38) starts for the Marlins on Monday when they begin a 10-game trip at Washington. Miami went 4-15 at Nationals Park in 2013-14. Giancarlo Stanton leads all visiting players in home runs there with 14 while batting .336 in 35 games.
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