Marlins edge White Sox to avoid series sweep
MIAMI -- Adeiny Hechavarria scored from second on a sacrifice bunt as the Miami Marlins snapped a three-game losing streak, rallying to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park.
The game ended on a play at the plate as Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich threw out Chicago's Carlos Sanchez, who tried to score from second on a two-out single by Tyler Saladino.
The Marlins took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on a bunt by Ichiro Suzuki. Catcher Omar Narvaez threw Suzuki out at first, but when White Sox pitcher Chris Sale didn't move to cover the plate, Hechavarria came all the way around.
The Marlins (61-56) completed a disappointing 2-4 homestand by avoiding the sweep against the White Sox (56-61).
Sale (14-6) allowed eight hits and five runs in 6 2/3 innings. The All-Star has gone six straight starts without a win.
Miami's Tom Koehler, who had gone 3-0 with a 0..67 ERA in his past four starts, allowed six hits and three runs in six innings and left with a no-decision.
Reliever Mike Dunn (3-1), who pitched a scoreless seventh inning, earned the win. Fernando Rodney, who allowed s solo homer by Tim Anderson in the ninth, got the 20th save of his season, including his third with the Marlins. The save wasn't complete, however, until the throw by Yelich to catcher Jeff Mathis.
For the third time in this series, the White Sox scored in the first inning. This time, it took just one pitch to get on the board as Adam Eaton slugged his 10th homer of the season. It was his third leadoff homer of the season and the seventh of his career.
The White Sox made it 2-0 in the first inning when Melky Cabrera doubled and scored on a one-out single by Jose Abreu. That gave Chicago five first-inning runs in this series.
Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna snapped a 1-for-28 slump with a double to lead off the bottom of the second. He reached third with no outs but was stranded after Sale picked up two straight strikeouts and Saladino made a stellar catch in shallow center field.
Robert Andino and Jeff Mathis -- Sale's strikeout victims in that second-inning escape -- produced singles to start the fifth inning. A third straight single, by Hechavarria, loaded the bases for Koehler, who entered the hitting .081.
But Koehler, on a 1-2 count, surprisingly hit a hard, two-run single off of Sale's right foot. The Marlins took a 3-2 lead when Hechavarria scored on the bunt play.
Chicago tied the score 3-3 in the sixth. Saladino hit a leadoff single, stole second and scored when a ground ball by Abreu deflected off bottom of the third-base bag for an RBI double.
Miami went up 5-3 in the seventh. Hechavarria singled, advanced to second when Suzuki was hit by a pitch and scored on a single by Martin Prado. Ozuna's two-out infield single drove in Suzuki to cap the rally.
NOTES: RF Giancarlo Stanton (groin) and LHP Adam Conley (left hand) were placed on the disabled list. INF Robert Andino, who started Sunday at 2B, had his contract selected from Triple-A New Orleans. LHP Hunter Cervenka was recalled from New Orleans. RHP Cody Hall was released to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Andino. ... The Marlins have two starting pitchers on the DL (Conley and Wei-Yin Chen) along with their closer (A.J. Ramos) and starters at 1B (Justin Bour) and RF (Stanton). ... The Marlins have not announced who will start on Tuesday. ... Chicago has 10 players on the DL, although 2B Brett Lawrie (left hamstring) went 2-for-3 with a double on Saturday in a rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham. ... After an off-day, Chicago starts a three-game series at the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday. ... Miami starts a seven-game trip on Monday with the first of four games at the Cincinnati Reds.