Marlins 5, Phillies 2 (Game 2)
PHILADELPHIA - Christian Yelich tied a franchise record for consecutive hits and Justin Bour had two RBIs as the Miami Marlins finished off a doubleheader sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies with a 5-2 win on Saturday night.
Coupled with Cincinnati's win against Pittsburgh, the loss secures baseball's worst record for Philadelphia, which fell to 62-99 on the season's penultimate day.
The Phillies will have the first overall pick in the 2016 major-league Draft.
The Marlins collected the Game 2 win in large part thanks to Yelich, who had three hits in his first three at-bats. The outfielder also set a career-high in hits by going 5-for-5 in Game 1 and had hits in eight consecutive at-bats to tie the Marlins' club record. Preston Wilson also had eight straight hits for the Marlins in 2001.
In his first start since Aug. 11, Maikel Franco supplied the offense for the Phillies, as he hit a solo homer in the fourth and added an RBI single two innings later.
Just like Game 1, the Marlins jumped out to an early lead in the second game. Dee Gordon and Yelich both singled to start the game and scored later in the inning on Justin Bour's double against Phillies starter Alec Asher.
Yelich added an RBI double in the second inning that scored Gordon. Asher (0-6) lasted just two innings in his seventh and final start of the season, and he closed his rookie campaign with a 9.31 ERA.
Yelich struck once again in the fifth inning, recording his eighth consecutive hit on an infield single. He came around to score on a Marcell Ozuna single to make it 4-1.
The Phillies' first hit of the game came in the fourth inning when Franco took starter Justin Nicolino (5-4) deep to straightaway center field for his 14th homer of the season. Franco was making his first start in more than seven weeks after he fractured his left wrist when he got hit by a pitch against Arizona. The 23-year-old rookie went 2-for-4 in his return to the starting lineup, and Franco also got an at-bat in Game 1, though he struck out to end it as a pinch hitter.
Nicolino, a fellow rookie, turned in seven solid innings for Miami. He allowed six hits, struck out a pair and did not walk anyone on an efficient 80 pitches - 57 of which found the strike zone.
Miami won Game 1 of the twin bill, 7-6, thanks to a two-run rally in the ninth inning. The Marlins scored twice against Phillies closer Ken Giles, who gave up the game-tying triple to Martin Prado and the game-winning single to Ozuna.
Philadelphia's 99 losses are the most the franchise has had since losing the same number in 1969. The team must win Sunday to avoid hitting triple digits in the loss column, something it has not done since going 47-107 in 1961.
The Phillies will have the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft for the first time since 1998 when they selected Pat Burrell.
NOTES: Phillies 3B Maikel Franco made his first appearance since Aug. 11 in Game 1 of the Saturday's doubleheader against Miami. Franco was called on as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and struck out to end the game. The rookie, who missed more than seven weeks because of a broken wrist, was in the Phillies lineup for Game 2. In 77 games before the injury, the 23-year-old batted .277 with 13 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .830 OPS. ... Marlins OF Christian Yelich set a career high with five hits in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader. Yelich went 5-for-5 with a double, RBI and run scored. That run was crucial in the Marlins' win, as he crossed the plate on Martin Prado's triple in the ninth inning to tie the game. ... Marlins 2B Dee Gordon went 2-for-5 in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, recording his 200th hit of the season in the process. Gordon enters the final day of the season with a .331 batting average, tied with Washington's Bryce Harper (.331) for the National League lead.