Marlins score nine runs in win over the Padres

The Miami Marlins continue to improve at the plate as they scored nine runs to beat the San Diego Padres on Saturday night, 9-3.

The Miami Marlins have won 20 games.

While that doesn’t seem like a huge deal for the average baseball fan, winning 20 games for this franchise, after starting the season 10-31 is something to get a bit excited about. The Marlins fourth-inning outburst, combined with another solid performance on the mound from Jose Urena gave Miami a 9-3 win over San Diego on the road.

The Marlins are now 20-36 on the season and 10-5 in their last 15 games. This is a ballclub moving forward after what can only be deemed as the worst start in team history.  For Urena, it was his third win in a row.

As Shaun O’Neill of MLB.com wrote, “The Marlins matched their biggest inning of the season with five runs in the fourth inning, while sending 11 batters to the plate against left-handed starter Nick Margevicius and right-handed reliever Luis Perdomo. Their six hits in the frame also matched a season high for an inning.”

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The Marlins are hitting the baseball better. The pitching is beginning to balance and for Urena, it is another step in the right direction. The team’s No. 1 starter could not side his way on the mound, leading to a 1-6 record to start the season.

On Saturday night, everything clicked.

“I came to the field today saying, ‘May is over,’” said first baseman Martín Prado, who batted .150 in the month but went 2-for-5 with an RBI on Saturday. “I told everybody, ‘I don’t want to talk about it. Don’t tell me anything about May.’ I just came with a refreshed attitude.”

It wasn’t the best start for Urena, who got in a 2-0 hole early as former Marlins first-round draft pick Josh Naylor connected for his first Major League home run of his career of his former team. The Marlins, who have played better of late when trailing, fought back by stringing together hits and putting runners in scoring position.

Urena settled down after the second inning, where he only gave up one more run, two hits, and two walks in three innings of work following San Diego’s major scoring output.

In other news: Catcher Jorge Alfaro did not play in the game Saturday night after taking a foul tip off his face mask Friday evening. He was replaced in the lineup by Bryan Holaday.

Per O’Neill, Alfaro suffered a sore jaw and left the game Friday night. He wanted to play on Saturday, but manager Don Mattingly gave him the night off.

“Mattingly said Alfaro would have gotten a rest day in the series finale on Sunday under normal circumstances, so it made sense to rest him on Saturday instead…,” O’Neill wrote.