Marlins Austin Dean leads charge in win over Phillies

Marlins right fielder Austin Dean had four hits and five RBI in a 10-3 victory over the Phillies at Marlins Park on Saturday night.

Sometimes all you need is a spark to get things rolling again. The Miami Marlins hope that spark is the return of Austin Dean to the starting lineup. Dean, the Marlins “new” right fielder had four hits and five RBI in a 10-3 victory over the Phillies at Marlins Park on Saturday night. His career evening came a little over 24 hours after being called up from Triple-A New Orleans after the team sent Peter O’Brien back to Triple-A.

If the Marlins had kept Dean on the 25-man roster since Opening Day, would it have changed the team’s record over the first two weeks of the season? It remains to be seen. The ball club, however, looked more energized in the win after a drought of hitting that left us all wondering if the season had already ended in South Florida.

This is a team that needed this victory in the worst way.

“I think everybody did their part today, and that was just a really fun game,” Dean said after the win. “Before I got here, we were struggling a little bit, and I know that’s not us, at all. I really do. I know we’re going to be a really good team this year.”

More from Marlins News

• Miami Marlins news: Another target gone
• Why didn’t the Miami Marlins sign JDM?
• Miami Marlins rejected Boston‘s trade offer
• Miami Marlins are pursuing Michael Conforto
• Miami Marlins need to spend to win

Austin Dean showed last season in his travels between Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans all he needed was a chance to prove how good a player he was. The reigning Minor League Player of the Year in the Marlins organization was a surprise cut by the team prior to the start of the 2019 season where he started out as a member of the Baby Cakes ball club. The thought was O’Brien would give the team more pop in the lineup.

Austin Dean did more than that on Saturday night, helping to end a five-game losing streak. It was a stretch in which they were outscored 34-5. You cannot win on any level of baseball if you cannot score runs.

The victory comes one night after a 9-1 blowout loss to the Phillies. Manager Don Mattingly told the media he thought the team was hitting the ball better in the game on Friday night, but the Marlins still came out on the losing end. Saturday night was where it all came together.

“I thought the energy was better last night [Friday],” Mattingly said. “Our at-bats were better last night. All of a sudden, we get a little bit of a breakout game. Hopefully, it’s something that helps us turn the corner and get down the road.”

Dean’s night came one hit shy of hitting for the cycle.

Per Frisaro, “Initially, Dean was credited with a two-run triple in the seventh inning, but an official scorer’s change after the game revised it to a double, with Dean taking third on the throw to the plate.”

If you want an idea of how poorly the offense has played over the course of the start of the 2019 season, Miami came into Saturday night 25th in the Majors in homers with just 12 in 14 games. The team also ranked last in runs scored with 34, before the season-high 10 runs on Saturday.