Miami Marlins beat San Francisco Giants, finish 5-1 on homestand

The Miami Marlins entered their homestand looking to rebound. With a sweep and a series victory, they inch closer to even.

The incredible home streak off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton came to an end. After homering in six consecutive games, the Giants kept him in the yard on Wednesday afternoon. But there was plenty of traffic on the base paths to net a Miami Marlins win.

Perhaps most encouraging was the way the Marlins won the series finale against the Giants. Riding the wave of Stanton dingers, a team effort drove an 8-1 victory on Wednesday. The win, coupled with a sweep of the Colorado Rockies combine for a 5-1 record on their return home.

As hot as they’ve been all season, they head to New York to take on the New York Mets.

Jose Urena didn’t give the Miami Marlins the kind of start they were hoping for on Wednesday. Needing him to go deep into the game, he lasted only five innings. Despite missing a number of San Francisco bats, his pitch count ultimately did him in.

90 pitches through five innings and it was off to the bullpen. A night after blowing a one-run lead, and eventually allowing the deficit to balloon, they were back to tip-top shape. Urena held the Giants to one run, the bullpen wouldn’t allow any.

The most encouraging performance came out of the hand of Brian Ellington. The fireballing right-hander showed the Miami Marlins he is starting to figure it out in the Major Leagues. His heat was hotter than ever, and his secondary pitches were better than we’ve seen all year.

Twice Ellington touched triple-digits; 100, and 101 miles per hour. He threw two perfect innings while striking out four.

Within three games

This is as close as the Miami Marlins have gotten since falling as many as 13 games under. The team plans to travel to New York today, and enjoy their off day in the Big Apple. If they’re able to keep up their play, they could return home over .500 for the first time since April.

After the New York Mets series, the Marlins travel to Philadelphia for a four-game series against the Phillies. One of the games is a makeup game from earlier in the year. Coincidentally, that rainout was when the Miami Marlins were last above the even mark.

And so the Fish get a chance to bring things full-circle and get over .500 on their upcoming road trip. They’ve have these opportunities before and failed to seize them. We’ll see what, if anything has changed.

Next: A day to digest Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors

The Miami Marlins are a fun team to watch right now. With Giancarlo’s streak over, the pressure is off and he can go out without everyone expecting him to homer in every at bat. His league leading 44 home runs is likely only the beginning.

The Miami Marlins next game is at Citi Field in Queens, New York against the New York Mets on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm with Justin Nicolino toeing the rubber for the Marlins.